Anybody heard of the WRSA board for Tae Kwon Do?

[Ivan]

I started TKD like 6 months ago and getting my yellow belt was way too easy. I know this is a McDojo so I'm gonna leave even though I know my trainer is legit as her technique is perfect, but her school is based on money, money and more money. Only 2 of the black belts deserve their title, and the forms for black belts focus on doing it as fast as possible, not kime or technique.

However, I noticed the board is WRSA (World Ring Sports Association) and their website looks a bit shady. I want to know if anybody has experience under this board and whether it is legit or if I should train under ITF and WTF and switch schools entirely.

 

[CB Jones]

I know this is a McDojo so I'm gonna leave even though I know my trainer is legit as her technique is perfect, but her school is based on money, money and more money.

If the trainer is legit I would stick with it.

You know what keeps a school open.......money, money, and money. Landlords don't take technique for rent.

Don't get caught up in the McDojo crap.....most of the time its just someone trying to feel like their training is superior to someone elses.

 

[Ivan]

I would like to stay, and I don't think I have a choice. The closes school apart from this one is 1 hour and a half by car; however, I'm worried that even with me practicing techniques at home, I won't deserve any of my belts which makes me feel guilty and ashamed.

 

[CB Jones]

I would like to stay

well then....there is your answer.

work hard and and don't worry about what others do or think.

All you need is a good work ethic and solid instructor.....sounds like you have all that covered.


and welcome to the board.

 

[dvcochran]

I would like to stay, and I don't think I have a choice. The closes school apart from this one is 1 hour and a half by car; however, I'm worried that even with me practicing techniques at home, I won't deserve any of my belts which makes me feel guilty and ashamed.

Welcome to the forum. I am glad you checked in.
The proximity of your school answers a lot of your questions. Your school being close is a major component in your continuing to practice. You said you have worked out for 6 month, hardly enough time to become seasoned. So how can you really evaluate any of the black belts, especially the owner/instructor? I suggest you try to separate the business and the teaching. Remember, it is a business, with rent, utilities, advertising, billing, intake, on and on. So factor this out of your opinion on the quality of the product first.
One of the hardest things for people to do these days is to slow down. They often get caught up in wanting to learn something new, even when they never really learned the last elements that were supposed to know for their last promotion, possibly the promotion before last. Yes, a lot of it is on the instructor and class structure but a lot is also on the student. Seek, learn, stretch.
In regards to the WRSA, I have never heard of it so I do not have an educated opinion. I appears to be a pretty thorough site with several promoters so they are doing something right.
Best of luck and keep in touch.

 

[Headhunter]

I'm no fan of belts being given early but also doesn't mean it's a bad teacher maybe he was taught to give belts that way but it doesn't mean they're not teaching the material correctly and proficiently. Frankly the first belt is never that difficult and pretty much impossible to fail unless you sit there and do nothing. Your not expected to be anywhere near perfect in your first test just show a level of competecnety and that you can do the material required at a good enough level

 

[Dirty Dog]

I started TKD like 6 months ago and getting my yellow belt was way too easy. I know this is a McDojo so I'm gonna leave even though I know my trainer is legit as her technique is perfect, but her school is based on money, money and more money. Only 2 of the black belts deserve their title, and the forms for black belts focus on doing it as fast as possible, not kime or technique.

However, I noticed the board is WRSA (World Ring Sports Association) and their website looks a bit shady. I want to know if anybody has experience under this board and whether it is legit or if I should train under ITF and WTF and switch schools entirely.

So you've had a massive six MONTHS of training, are a yellow belt (which is supposed toi be easy), and you think you're qualified to judge others?
Good luck with your training.

 

[Buka]

Landlords don't take technique for rent.

That’s a great quote.

 

[Ivan]

Welcome to the forum. I am glad you checked in.
The proximity of your school answers a lot of your questions. Your school being close is a major component in your continuing to practice. You said you have worked out for 6 month, hardly enough time to become seasoned. So how can you really evaluate any of the black belts, especially the owner/instructor? I suggest you try to separate the business and the teaching. Remember, it is a business, with rent, utilities, advertising, billing, intake, on and on. So factor this out of your opinion on the quality of the product first.
One of the hardest things for people to do these days is to slow down. They often get caught up in wanting to learn something new, even when they never really learned the last elements that were supposed to know for their last promotion, possibly the promotion before last. Yes, a lot of it is on the instructor and class structure but a lot is also on the student. Seek, learn, stretch.
In regards to the WRSA, I have never heard of it so I do not have an educated opinion. I appears to be a pretty thorough site with several promoters so they are doing something right.
Best of luck and keep in touch.

I judge the black belts because i have previous experience in Martial Arts. Capoeira, Boxing, Krav Maga, Judo and Karate. I appreciate your response and I will do my best to stick to your suggestions and I also thank you for your time to look into the board. I judge the black belts by their priorities and behaviour towards others, since I was always taught to priotlritise spirit over technique; many of the black belts lack both and think themselves superior to others due to their rank. They have not yet been humbled and that concerns me most, apart from how they forget very basic stuff. Thank you.

 

[Headhunter]

I judge the black belts because i have previous experience in Martial Arts. Capoeira, Boxing, Krav Maga, Judo and Karate. I appreciate your response and I will do my best to stick to your suggestions and I also thank you for your time to look into the board. I judge the black belts by their priorities and behaviour towards others, since I was always taught to priotlritise spirit over technique; many of the black belts lack both and think themselves superior to others due to their rank. They have not yet been humbled and that concerns me most, apart from how they forget very basic stuff. Thank you.

Mate...you're 16 and you have experience in 5 martial arts so there's absolutely no way you are a good level at them.....is there a reason you keep switching styles....doing a couple months in every style doesn't make you good at them so I think your overestimate your experience

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I started TKD like 6 months ago and getting my yellow belt was way too easy. I know this is a McDojo so I'm gonna leave even though I know my trainer is legit as her technique is perfect, but her school is based on money, money and more money. Only 2 of the black belts deserve their title, and the forms for black belts focus on doing it as fast as possible, not kime or technique.

However, I noticed the board is WRSA (World Ring Sports Association) and their website looks a bit shady. I want to know if anybody has experience under this board and whether it is legit or if I should train under ITF and WTF and switch schools entirely.

If you are a yellow belt, what basis are you using to judge the appropriateness of higher ranks? What makes two "deserve" their rank?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I judge the black belts because i have previous experience in Martial Arts. Capoeira, Boxing, Krav Maga, Judo and Karate. I appreciate your response and I will do my best to stick to your suggestions and I also thank you for your time to look into the board. I judge the black belts by their priorities and behaviour towards others, since I was always taught to priotlritise spirit over technique; many of the black belts lack both and think themselves superior to others due to their rank. They have not yet been humbled and that concerns me most, apart from how they forget very basic stuff. Thank you.

You're placing your own expectations upon others, here. Let me explain what I mean, because it's not as harsh as it might sound.

We all have our own thought of what a rank "should mean". Mine are likely different from yours in some substantive ways. That doesn't make one of those opinions better than the other - just different. Your instructor has set some standards for how they evaluate for each rank. Those standards are really the only fair way to evaluate whether someone in that school deserves their rank or not. Within my curriculum, nobody would ever make BB who forgets the basics - it just takes too much work to get to that rank for me. But that's in my curriculum. In some curricula, BB rank is more of a "serious student" rank, achievable in 2-3 years with reasonable effort. Students who have been studying 2-3 years will sometimes forget things you and I might consider "basics". I've had students in that range who routinely forgot the names of techniques they'd known for 2 years. It wasn't important that they remember those names for the rank they were at (they could put the technique to the name, but not the name to the technique).

As for the business side, as others have pointed out, a school - if it is generating the instructor's primary income and/or renting its own space - must have a certain level of income. How that income is achieved can vary. I personally prefer a steady monthly amount, but some students (and instructors) prefer a lower monthly fee, with add-ons for testing, additional classes, sale of gear, etc. Either way, it's more about the total amount paid and the value received, rather than how it's structured. There's some evidence, by the way, that giving students multiple ways to pay more if they wish (product sales, additional classes, etc.) is more stable in some ways than trying to charge every student the same price every month.

 

[Ivan]

For starters, if you want to start an argument, using my age is a good way to lose it. Secondly, I've been training in martial arts since I was young. I had to stop Judo and Karate due to me moving to the UK, which is when I picked up boxing 8 years ago, Capoeira 2 years ago and Krav Maga a little later. I'm passionate about martial arts and I really want to dedicate myself to them; I do many different things to help me with my conditioning too such as gym and I used to competitive swimming for 6 years to improve my physical shape.

I am simply stating, that I (as humbly as can be), am concerned with the legitimacy of my Tae Kwon Do board, school and teaching methods. You don't have to bring up my experience as a way to invalidate my concerns.

 

[PSMA]

I'm going to ask.......who is your instructor?

 

[Ivan]

I'm going to ask.......who is your instructor?

Her first name is Sarah. Ill pm you her full name soon.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Part of this also comes down to the style. In TKD, traditionally, a black belt is seen as a starting point. So you're not supposed to have everything down at black, you're supposed to know all the basics and then start honing it all in. Also, in just about every style I've trained that has a yellow belt, 6 months to get there is longer than normal. But overall, if you find the training useful for you, think that what your learning is legitimate, and the money aspect is not a huge issue (being made to sign a contract you can't afford, or belt/stripe fees that seriously increase the monthly cost), it doesn't matter all that much if some would consider the school a mcdojo.

 

[Headhunter]

For starters, if you want to start an argument, using my age is a good way to lose it. Secondly, I've been training in martial arts since I was young. I had to stop Judo and Karate due to me moving to the UK, which is when I picked up boxing 8 years ago, Capoeira 2 years ago and Krav Maga a little later. I'm passionate about martial arts and I really want to dedicate myself to them; I do many different things to help me with my conditioning too such as gym and I used to competitive swimming for 6 years to improve my physical shape.

I am simply stating, that I (as humbly as can be), am concerned with the legitimacy of my Tae Kwon Do board, school and teaching methods. You don't have to bring up my experience as a way to invalidate my concerns.

No one is invalidating anything but the fact is you are 16 and studied 5 martial arts and done competitive swimming and gym work. The simple fact is no one can train 5 martial arts in that short period of time and be at a high level in any of them. Even if an adult starts training in 5 martial arts they'll reach a high level in any of them. Fact is if you like it then quit you don't have to be there

 

[Ivan]

You're placing your own expectations upon others, here. Let me explain what I mean, because it's not as harsh as it might sound.

We all have our own thought of what a rank "should mean". Mine are likely different from yours in some substantive ways. That doesn't make one of those opinions better than the other - just different. Your instructor has set some standards for how they evaluate for each rank. Those standards are really the only fair way to evaluate whether someone in that school deserves their rank or not. Within my curriculum, nobody would ever make BB who forgets the basics - it just takes too much work to get to that rank for me. But that's in my curriculum. In some curricula, BB rank is more of a "serious student" rank, achievable in 2-3 years with reasonable effort. Students who have been studying 2-3 years will sometimes forget things you and I might consider "basics". I've had students in that range who routinely forgot the names of techniques they'd known for 2 years. It wasn't important that they remember those names for the rank they were at (they could put the technique to the name, but not the name to the technique).

As for the business side, as others have pointed out, a school - if it is generating the instructor's primary income and/or renting its own space - must have a certain level of income. How that income is achieved can vary. I personally prefer a steady monthly amount, but some students (and instructors) prefer a lower monthly fee, with add-ons for testing, additional classes, sale of gear, etc. Either way, it's more about the total amount paid and the value received, rather than how it's structured. There's some evidence, by the way, that giving students multiple ways to pay more if they wish (product sales, additional classes, etc.) is more stable in some ways than trying to charge every student the same price every month.

I feel like you're right. Thanks for clearing all this up for me.

 

[Bruce7]

I think some of you guys are being rude to Ivan.
You don't need years of experience to evaluate Black Belts.
The first place I look at when judging a black belt is how good is his balance, how precise are his punches, kicks, blocks, stances, and movements between stances.
The second place I look at when judging a black belt is how perfectly he can perform a white belt H form.
If he cares about his art, he will do his best to do all forms as perfectly as possible.
Thirdly even an untrained eye can see how well someone can spar.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I think some of you guys are being rude to Ivan.
You don't need years of experience to evaluate Black Belts.
The first place I look at when judging a black belt is how good is his balance, how precise are his punches, kicks, blocks, stances, and movements between stances.
The second place I look at when judging a black belt is how perfectly he can perform a white belt H form.
If he cares about his art, he will do his best to do all forms as perfectly as possible.
Thirdly even an untrained eye can see how well someone can spar.

The issue is more of understanding what the appropriate level is for BB at that school. I wouldn’t expect a TKD BB to be equivalent to where I was when I first wore that tank, because many schools have it as a 2-3 year track.