Advice on an important matter...

[deadhand31]

I've been having concerns with the school I'm going to. No TKD bashing here, please.

First off, our school is not a tournament school. I don't mind that, I actually think it's a plus. But for the past 5 months or so, we've been doing nothing but drills, drills, drills. Now, I know drills are essential, however in the past year or so, i think i've had around 6 or 7 sparring sessions, tops. Now, if I had erratic attendance, I could understand this, but I'm one of the few students who's there 5 or 6 days a week. My instructor normally would schedule more sparring, but just recently my sabunim transferred his daughter in to our school, and whenever she attends, sabunim teaches the class. Whenever Sabunim teaches, it's mostly drill, drill, drill. In the 2 years I've been there, I only remember him running a sparring session once. My sabunim is very strict in his teaching ways.

Now, I like my school, instructor, and students alot. I don't want to leave them, but I really want to be put into an environment where I can apply what I learn from drills. I want to do more self-defense and ground-fighting, but if things stay the way they are, it doesn't look like I'll get that from my school.

HELP!

 

[tarabos]

yours wouldn't be the first school where sparring got "phased out" without anyone really realizing it. bring it to someone's attention that can do something about it. if they won't...then you have a decision to make, and it's not an easy one.

Sabunim?...wazzat? I assume it's an instructor of some sort....?

 

[deadhand31]

Well, here's how it's structured:

The assistant instructors, or black-belts are referred to as Kyokwonim.

Our main instructor who's always there is Posabunim, or school instructor. I really like him, because he wants more self-defense and sparring training done.

The branch instructor, or master instructor is Sabunim. This guy is the step above Posabunim, and when he comes in, he decides what's going to be taught.

The final step up is Kwonjinim, or Grandmaster.

 

[Deaf]

Well, I think what you really need to do is let someone know your feelings about the way training has been. Most schools that I know of are accomodating to the students needs. Let's face it, reality wise the school would not exist if it wasn't for students so catering to the students' needs should be considered!

On a side note, what you are desiring to train in, is it within the cirriculum of your particular style? Many people start a style and eventually "outgrow" it or realize later on down the road that they would like a different type of training. With this in consideration, you should look at the art you are learning as a whole and really consider if the art is what you desire for your own training regardless of how well you get along with your instructors etc.

HTH,

~Deaf~

 

[tarabos]

Originally posted by deadhand31

Well, here's how it's structured:

The assistant instructors, or black-belts are referred to as Kyokwonim.

Our main instructor who's always there is Posabunim, or school instructor. I really like him, because he wants more self-defense and sparring training done.

The branch instructor, or master instructor is Sabunim. This guy is the step above Posabunim, and when he comes in, he decides what's going to be taught.

The final step up is Kwonjinim, or Grandmaster.

guess you learn something new everyday...just don't ask me to remember all those names...

 

[Matt Stone]

I don't do TKD, never have, but here's my take on the whole deal...

First of all, endless sparring really isn't all it is cracked up to be in terms of teaching you how to use what you know. In Yiliquan, we make extensive use of one-step drills (attacker attacks with a given technique, we respond with a given defense) from knowing what specific technique on which side is aimed at what point on our body, to just knowing that a hand or foot technique in general will be coming toward us in general. That kind of drill development is far more useful than sparring...

So if you are missing out on doing tons of sparring, you may well have been done a favor. If all you are doing is kicking the air, without an opponent anywhere in sight, perhaps you need to discuss what the training goal is that the instructor has in mind - maybe he is going somewhere with this...

Gambarimasu.

 

[yilisifu]

TOO MUCH sparring can actually be harmful, particularly if the students' techniques begin to degenrate into a form of kickboxing rather than, in your case, Taekwondo.

As Yiliquan1 mentioned, we do much more drilling than sparring and we have several progressive stages of such drills, which become MORE DIFFICULT AND CHALLENGING THAN SPARRING! But they also develop things like timing, breaking rhythm, and emphasis is on textbook-perfect technique.

Many years ago at the AAU Kung-Fu Nationals, the Advanced Sparring competition was swept by these Yili seniors. Their technique was excellent and their timing seemed uncanny. One competitor sat down beside one of them after losing his bout and said, "Wow! You guys must spar all the time!" The Yili senior replied, 'Nah. We haven't sparred in about three months......."

But they TRAINED very, very hard.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I must agree with what has been posted already. Training on drills, techniques, etc. to the point where they become a reaction is what self defence is all about. If the body and mind learn to react almost automaticly to a given stimuli than you have learned .

Now I like sparring as much as anyone and I think that a tactful mention of the fact that there seems to be verry little to none of it might be in order. Im not sure how aprochable your branch instructor is but a direct approch to him as well as your school instructor seems to be needed. REmember proper phrashing of the request will be needed.
If you do not get a response that is to your satisfaction then you must do some hard searching inside of yourslf as to continuing at the school or not.
Shadow:asian:

 

[Elfan]

I agree with the general drift so far, tactfully tell someone how you feal and see if things change. If things don't you might consider finding out if your school as some sort of policy against you going to another school as well. That used to be a big no no but with the explosion of MMA its becoming much for common. Then you could go to another school that is big on lots of sparring ocasionaly while sitll getting what you like out of your current school.

Hope things work out!