American Chung Do Kwan TKD -- any info?

[RanaHarmamelda]

Wondering if anyone knows anything about the American Chung Do Kwan TKD Association (ACTA)?

I've been trying to find some good info on it, and failing. Just a-wondering.

I have noticed that they seem fairly clsoe to ITF...not certain how clsoe they are to CDK...eh. I'd just appreciate any info anyone coul dgiv me.

Thanks!
Peace,
Me

 

[Mithios]

In mook Kim, runs the acta he was a chung do kwan instructor that went with the General and the ITF. They do the ITF system but they have recently changed there forms from ITF to one's that In mook Kim created.they are headquartered in Texas. Hope this help's , MITHIOS

 

[RanaHarmamelda]

Actually, it did -- thanks a lot. I thought it seemed similar to ITF...but wanted to know if anyone else thought or knew the same.

Thank-you. :asian:

 

[Disco]

Based on observations and talking to the assistant Instructor at a local CDK school, their main focus is geared more toward self defense. They do some competition, but limited. Hope this helps.
:asian:

 

[Kodanjaclay]

Well, if they are very close to ITF then they are not that close to CDK. Remember that in 1959, Song, Son-Duk revoked Choi, Hong-Hi's honorary CDK 4th dan. Once they cut the ties that was it.

 

[Mithios]

the ACTA was associated with the ITF at one time, but still uses the Chung Do Kwan name. Kim,In Mook came out of Chung Do kwan.Second generation i think !but went with the ITF. MITHIOS

 

[David4516]

Well I can say that I'm learning Chung Do Kwan, but I can't tell you what organization I belong to... our school just changed affilations and I have no idea whats going on... and really I don't care too much, I'd rather focus on my training than the political stuff...

What I can say is that Chung Do Kwan is different from most other styles of TKD, in that it is taught as a martial art and not as a "sport"...

It also shares much in common with Japanese Karate...

 

[TigerWoman]

..

What I can say is that Chung Do Kwan is different from most other styles of TKD, in that it is taught as a martial art and not as a "sport"...
.

Just curious, how is Chung Do Kwan taught? How different could it be from WTF or ITF? My style is WTF, have learned all forms up to 2nd dan in WTF & ITF. We do heavy sparring-not pt./med.-hard contact except to head, heavy breaking, light self defense. We have tournaments but they are mostly for colored belts and students don't train much for them. So???

 

[David4516]

I'd have to say the main differance is simply the attitude...

I don't think anyone from our class has even been in a tournament. We train because we want to be able to defend ourselves, we want to keep in shape, and we want to have fun... not for prizes/throphys (spelling?) or glory...

But there are other differances. Sparring is a good example. We DO allow punches to the head. We really use our hands about as much (if not more) than our feet. Other things are considered Okay once you reach a particular rank. Green belts for example can 'sweep' and be 'swept'.

It is possible that I have the wrong impression of other TKD stlyes... I've never tried one myself, all the info I have is secondhand... please forgive me if I've made any stupid assumptions :asian:

 

[TigerWoman]

Not all schools are the same. No we don't punch to the head. We lost too many students from injuries-serious ones. And those were just accidental. and if I did a floor sweep on a green belt, they would definitely get hurt. A grappling type sweep, is not so bad. We do that is self-defense.

As I stated before, we have tournaments but we don't train for them, the trophy is not really the goal. Most people, adults, agree on this. For the kids its validation of a good effort. Adults don't need that. I even offered to give back mine so he could recycle them. Most adults in our school would rather NOT go. We do it for the experience, its stressful to do form with a huge audience. For me it was unstressful to do breaking but for some..and the sparring, as it is strangers it is alot more real and unpredictable. Anyway, back to differences. We train hard, we do 50-100 full body pushups (colored belts less), 6000 front kicks in a hr., we don't go there for pretend martial arts. Although our self defense is a basic 30 or so moves, it covers it. We don't do evade, deflect, control. We just learn major damage. Not just TKD moves either. And we go for fun, camaradarie, fitness too. So, yeah, don't judge a book by a ....in this case, generalities. Hope this changes your view. I'm here to learn more about MA from everyone else too!

 

[Han-Mi]

I am A 2nd dan blackbelt in CDKTKD, and I am under the WTF and the Korean TKD Association. We don't hold to tightly to the WTF or the KTA, because we don't like to get into the politics. From what I know of CDK, it is more influenced by the hard japanese styles than the rest of the TKD styles. It is a bit more burtal as well, but that may be because of the lineage of my instructor.

My instructor is 1/2 Japanese, so he get's into that sort of idea. His instructor is a U.S. marshal, and teaches combative tactics. He learned CDK, while in Korea in the armed forces, from our GM Ahn Chang Ho. Who before teaching privately, tought the ROK army. So it could just be because of all the military influence that our style is so hard and self defense oriented.

If it is just CDK, our style is a more self-defense oriented art, though we enjoy tournaments, and go to a few a year. CDK has more punching and deeper stances as a general rule. I couldn't tell you about the association your talking about, but as Kodanjaclay said

if they are very close to ITF then they are not that close to CDK.

From what i know of the ITF, CDK and the ITF are nothing alike, so if it is similar to ITF, then it is a new form of CDK.

This is all assuming that my style is not the way it is because of military influence.

 

[David4516]

Thanks for helping to straiten me out there...

It's just that I've heard alot of negitive comments about "olympic" TKD compared to "real" martial arts. But you are right, I shouldn't just assume that the stlye I'm learning is better if I have not tried other stlyes...

Perhaps I should go and watch another class one of these days and see what it's really all about...

I also almost forgot that the quality of the instructor and the dedication of the student are more important than the particular stlye being taught...

Although our self defense is a basic 30 or so moves, it covers it.

Ever watch the movie "Karate Kid"? Mr. Miyagi has a line something like "trust the quality of what you know, not the quantity"... I think thats very true. Sort of knowing 200 moves is not as good as knowing 50 moves very well.

In fact, in Chung Do Kwan, there are only 15 basic moves that are the core of the stlye, and everyone practices them every day, the total newbie up to the highest ranking black belts. Of course you do learn more as you advance, but these 15 are the ones you use most often and spend the most time practicing...

And on the sweeping thing, it's standard procedure to catch the person you sweep so they don't get hurt. We train pretty hard but we also make saftey our top priority. I don't recall any serious injurys in our school in all the years I've been there...

 

[David4516]

Han-Mi also brings up an exclent point about CDK-TKD being similar to Japanese arts... in some ways it seems closer to Karate than it does to other branches of TKD...

Han-Mi outranks me by the way, by quite a bit (I'm a purple belt, and our ranking system is: white, yellow, green, purple, brown, black)... I'm not sure if that matters much but he may have a better idea of what he is talking about than I do...

 

[Han-Mi]

Han-Mi also brings up an exclent point about CDK-TKD being similar to Japanese arts... in some ways it seems closer to Karate than it does to other branches of TKD...

Han-Mi outranks me by the way, by quite a bit (I'm a purple belt, and our ranking system is: white, yellow, green, purple, brown, black)... I'm not sure if that matters much but he may have a better idea of what he is talking about than I do...

You agree with me, and I agree with you. In that respect, you are as wise as I am:ultracool . I just get more in depth is all.

 

[MichiganTKD]

Chung Do Kwan was indeed associated with Gen. Choi and his Oh Do Kwan at one point, but yes the ties were cut. By the time the ITF formed, there was no longer any association.
CDK was one of the Kwans that never really renouned its identity, even if the other Kwans did. Therefore, while most WTF schools dropped their individual style training in favor of the program advocated by the WTF, CDK still practiced the old way: Hard training, self defense, conditioning. This was even if you were with the WTF.
From personal experience, our organization is Chung Do Kwan, but we do the Palgue forms and very hard training. However, we do train for and participate in WTF-sanctioned tournaments, though we are not USTU.
Our GM still goes to Korea periodically to meet with Woon Kyu Uhm, CDK president.