Two questions.

[Rabbitthekitten]

I have two questions.

Firstly Dojang etiquette. What are the basics? Because it's slightly confusing on so many levels to some new like myself.

Secondly. Patterns. How do you learn them. I know repetition goes a long way but is that all there is to it? No special tricks or anything?

 

[Touch Of Death]

I can't help with much, but avoid the habit of looking down when you try to remember that stuff. You will just have to un-learn doing that, later. Some never do.

 

[Tez3]

I have two questions.

Firstly Dojang etiquette. What are the basics? Because it's slightly confusing on so many levels to some new like myself.

Secondly. Patterns. How do you learn them. I know repetition goes a long way but is that all there is to it? No special tricks or anything?

Firstly, you aren't expected as a new starter to know any of it so don't fret. I can't help you with the etiquette, I'm karate but I didn't know ours straight away, you will pick it up and you can ask other students, the instructors and also you can watch what they do. After just one class no one is going to scream at you for not knowing. Just relax and enjoy Other TKD people here will be able to tell you what they do as well.
Patterns, ( I do kata same thing, different movements though) again you are not expected to pick them up after one lesson, what will happen is after a lot of repetition it will stick in your head and you will go 'wow' I did it lol. I find learning where I'm going first easier and I learn new ones a couple of moves at a time until I have it all, repetition is the key for me then once I have the whole I polish the techniques up. This bears repeating though I think, you aren't expected to know the techniques or the patterns at this point and you will know them by the time of your first grading. I found learning the very first kata I did the most difficult, once I had it learning the rest was much easier.

 

[Flatfish]

At our school:
Bow to the flags as you step on or off the mat.
Line up at beginning of class: senior student will do the greeting, then bow to the instructor.
End of class: line up, senior student says the command to bow to the instructor, we bow. Then we do a little jump fist pump and yell TKD.

We do address each other by Mr., Ms etc but fairly loosely since we know each other pretty well by now.
If someone hands something to you , pads etc. you bow.

As for patterns: just practice. In the beginning it's really confusing but it gets easier as you progress to memorize new patterns more quickly. Don' t worry about it, just keep practicing.

 

[marques]

I have two questions.
Firstly Dojang etiquette. What are the basics? Because it's slightly confusing on so many levels to some new like myself.
Secondly. Patterns. How do you learn them. I know repetition goes a long way but is that all there is to it? No special tricks or anything?

1st: It depends on your school. Ask / follow them.
2nd: They will teach you (not us).

Just relax, because the way is long...

 

[Kickboxer101]

As for the respect to start with just use basic manners don't flip off the instructor or challenge a guy to go at it at in the car park afterwards and you're good lol you'll find everything out as you go.

No special tricks practice practice practice. Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I have two questions.

Firstly Dojang etiquette. What are the basics? Because it's slightly confusing on so many levels to some new like myself.

Secondly. Patterns. How do you learn them. I know repetition goes a long way but is that all there is to it? No special tricks or anything?

For the etiuquette, that really can vary substantially school to school. Your best bet is to get another student (someone who is in the middle of the stucent ranks or higher) and ask them to help you out.

For the patterns, there are methods for learning them, but they tend to differ by person. My approach has always been to learn it in chunks, adding as I go. So, if there's a 16-step kata I want to learn, I'll repeath fhe first two steps until I can flow between them reasonably well. Then I add the third and repeat until I can flow, then add the fourth, and so on. Sometimes you may be able to add more than one step, if you get a chunk that seems natural to you. As others have said, keep your eyes up while moving. If you need to check your feet or something, wait until you reach a pausing point, look down, then look back up. Don't adjust while you're looking down, because you want to learn how the adjustment feels, so look up, adjust, then look back down to gauge the results.

 

[Vegeta]

Firstly Dojang etiquette. What are the basics? Because it's slightly confusing on so many levels to some new like myself.

Regarding to the first question, you need to be aware of:

Your attire: Make sure the two dangling straps of your belt are the same length. If you're a black/poom belt holder, the strap with your name should be on your left side. The strap with the name of your Dojang on the right. Poom belt holders should also make sure that the black stripe of the belt is above the red stripe.

Bow: You bow to the Dojang each time you enter it. If the flag of your dojang is suspended you should also bow to it too. Also, at the beginning each lesson, the whole class will line up and bow to the instructor/master.
Terms you will need to know:
Charyut - Attention: stand up straight, feet together
Kyungnae - Bow

Receiving/giving stuff: Extend your right arm. Place your left palm under the right upper arm. If the item is too heavy to be held by one hand, using both hands is also accepted.

Setting up the Dojang: As you're getting higher rank you may be asked to help your master/instructor to set up the dojang. e.g. hanging up the flags. In some occasions you will hang up the Dojang's flag and the Kukkiwon flag (especially during exams). The Kukkiwon flag is on the left side of your instructor, in other words, the right side of the class (assuming the instructor is facing the class)

These are the most traditional Dojang etiquette for TKD, but different Dojang decides how much of it to follow. E.g. my coach at college doesn't care at all

 

[WaterGal]

Regarding to the first question, you need to be aware of:

Your attire: Make sure the two dangling straps of your belt are the same length. If you're a black/poom belt holder, the strap with your name should be on your left side. The strap with the name of your Dojang on the right. Poom belt holders should also make sure that the black stripe of the belt is above the red stripe.

Bow: You bow to the Dojang each time you enter it. If the flag of your dojang is suspended you should also bow to it too. Also, at the beginning each lesson, the whole class will line up and bow to the instructor/master.

Pretty much this, yeah. There may be some minor variations on this - for example, if the dojang has a lobby separate from the training area, or multiple class rooms, you might be expected to bow when you enter the training area rather than when you enter the dojang itself. You might also bow to the flag(s) after you line up but before you bow to the instructor, depending on things like how the room is layed out and what kind of greeting procedure the class has. The instructor might also prompt the lower-ranked students to bow to more senior students.

Another Korean word to keep in mind is "kamsahamnida" (kahm-sah-hahm-nee-dah), which is a very polite way to say thank you. You might say this at the end of class, or when leaving the school. You'll almost certainly say this after sparring with someone.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I have two questions.

Firstly Dojang etiquette. What are the basics? Because it's slightly confusing on so many levels to some new like myself.

Secondly. Patterns. How do you learn them. I know repetition goes a long way but is that all there is to it? No special tricks or anything?

Firstly: Follow the lead of your senior students and instructors. The details vary from place to place.
For our school: Bow to the flags when you enter or leave. Bow in to class first to the flags, then to the Master. Same thing to bow out. Treat everybody with respect. All adults and all Dan holders are SIr/M'am/Mr/Ms. Be neat and clean and wear your dobak properly.
Don't be a jerk.

 

[Rabbitthekitten]

Brilliant thanks so much for all your help. One of the black belts where I went was quite young. I'd say late teens. He was a really nice guy actually, introduced himself when I walked in and helped me out during the lesson. But he kept calling me sir which I'm guessing is because I'm older than him. Is ok to tell him it's not necessary or should I just go with it?

 

[Touch Of Death]

Brilliant thanks so much for all your help. One of the black belts where I went was quite young. I'd say late teens. He was a really nice guy actually, introduced himself when I walked in and helped me out during the lesson. But he kept calling me sir which I'm guessing is because I'm older than him. Is ok to tell him it's not necessary or should I just go with it?

Don't correct him; just go with it. Try it, yourself, on others.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

It won't be proper for you to bow to any foreign flag even if that foreign flag is on the wall of your MA school.

 

[Touch Of Death]

It won't be proper for you to bow to any foreign flag even if that foreign flag is on the wall of your MA school.

I tend to agree, but I have done it. It doesn't hurt, that bad. When in Rome...

 

[Rabbitthekitten]

It won't be proper for you to bow to any foreign flag even if that foreign flag is on the wall of your MA school.

What do you mean exactly?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

It won't be proper for you to bow to any foreign flag even if that foreign flag is on the wall of your MA school.

The bow is nothing more than a show of respect. It's not subjugation or declaring allegiance, so there's nothing improper about it.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

What do you mean exactly?

teacher < father < country < earth < heaven

During WWII, if you are an US citizen and train Karate, would you bow to the Japanese flag if that Japanese flag was on the wall of your Karate school?

 

[Rabbitthekitten]

teacher < father < country < earth < heaven

During WWII, if you are an US citizen and train Karate, would you bow to the Japanese flag if that Japanese flag was on the wall of your Karate school?

Well I'm British. I think we have a more relaxed attitude to flags than some other places.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

teacher < father < country < earth < heaven

During WWII, if you are an US citizen and train Karate, would you bow to the Japanese flag if that Japanese flag was on the wall of your Karate school?

You're talking about wartime attitudes. During those years, even showing respect to an enemy country might not be proper in many people's minds. During peacetime, there's no reason to consider a show of respect improper.

 

[Touch Of Death]

The bow is nothing more than a show of respect. It's not subjugation or declaring allegiance, so there's nothing improper about it.

It is only improper if you have been raised to believe so; then, it is a moral dilemma. I have heard both schools of thought. I happen to be in a style that doesn't bow to people, for that reason, but it was created post WWII, and things like this bothered people, back then. I don't care. I have done TKD, and I have bowed. I lived.