As I have stated in the past we are a Comp Team of about 20 fighters. Our Master has very high standards for fitness and work ethic. He will let anyone try out for the team but he does not slow things down for them. Most quit after a week. We had a 15 year old kid try out from ATA he was a Red Advanced belt. Master Blackburn Usually honors the belts given by other studios this kid was so bad he moved him back to white belt. No body expected him to last! Four months later he has been promoted to yellow belt is showings signs of major improvement. He is training in the Las Vegas heat 110 at the track last night for 2 1/2 hours. We are all very impressed!!! He still needs allot of work but he has something you can't teach heart. This is very hard Training our MMA fighter who is in very good shape puked 2 times. It was a real gut check our ATA kid had what it took!!!!
ATA success story!!!!
- Thread starter Gorilla
- Start date
ATC
Senior Master
That is great to hear Tal. We also have an ATA kid that just came to our Dojang. He is 16 years old and was a black belt. We to let people keep their belts and let this kid keep his. He is not on our fight team as like you stated is really a white belt wearing a black belt at this point. But he is also trying real hard to prove himself. Master Suh just told this kid that he will need to go to our traditional classes with all the color belts until his technique and conditioning is upto par. I think it will be a couple of years before he is ready to be on our competition team but we will see if he has what it takes.
That is the good thing about kids, they are moldable. Even after being molded badly, someone with the talent of Master Blackburn or Master Suh can re-mold them into somethng better.
Keep us posted.
Fing Fang Foom
Green Belt
I feel stupid, but what is "ATA"?
ArmorOfGod
Senior Master
Do you think this is a good idea though? I live in the deep south and for the past week or two, it has been 100+ with massively high humidity.
Please tell him to not do that. That is an unnecessary (and dangerous) risk to take.
AoG
The American Taekwondo Association. They use Songham forms (as opposed to Taegeuk or Chang Hon). They are a very large taekwondo organization in the US.
The ATA also uses a two tiered system of of belts, the tiers being recommended and decided, thus you can be a yellow belt recommended and then a yellow belt decided. They are, to my knowledge, the only organization that uses that particular phraseology.
The ATA is frequently accused of being overly commercial and more expensive than schools of other organizations. There are a fair number of threads deriding the organization, primarily due to business and training practices rather than due to the material itself. Their sparring rules mandate a level of padding equal to or greater than that of the WTF, yet allows for only light contact (from what I understand).
Daniel
dancingalone
Grandmaster
There are a handful of other ATA-splinter orgs that keep the same low/high belt ranks. The ITA is probably the biggest one.
They wear head gear and hogu along with the usual other hand and foot pads. Some ATA schools don't allow contact AT ALL. Thankfully, not all of them are that 'safety' oriented.
My niece and nephew train with the ATA and they enjoy it. It's quite expensive though because of the high tuition, mandatory ATA-branded gear and uniforms, and big emphasis on ATA-sanctioned tournaments. My sister spends at least $250 a month minimum per kid on their TKD activities. As a kid-friendly program however, they can't be beat with lots of cheery, youthful instructors.
Fing Fang Foom
Green Belt
TY!
I have no clue what orginization that our families Dojang falls under... but now I am curious and will ask tomorrow
I have no clue what orginization that our families Dojang falls under... but now I am curious and will ask tomorrow
I did not mean to mislead...It was a simple thread about a kid with heart who came to our team and is having success...He happened to train at ATA
We have been doing this for four years now and it is necessary for what we are trying to accomplish. The ability to handle hardship is a must if you have very high goals...We stay highly hydrated
Perhaps it should read former ATA student succeeds? An ATA success story would be more along the lines of a current ATA member joining USAT (without leaving the ATA) and making the US Olympic team, or an ATA member winning his or her weight division in the UFC.
Or something less grandiose, such as an ATA member using their ATA training to defend themselves or their family successfully.
Daniel
I believe it is his thread and he felt the name was OK, I would also like to say we have had alot of ATA people come here and they have not lasted more than the two week trail. Mainly because of the sparring here they only kick without touching.
The lack of contact in ATA sparring is pretty amazing given that they wear the same gear that WTF competitors do.
From what I have read, the rah-rah-ataboy stuff really is the focus of the organization, making it a kid friendly atmosphere, but the cost is inexcusible.
Daniel
dancingalone
Grandmaster
I've heard more than one ATA sales person describe their system as the Rolls Royce of martial arts education. Maybe the line is in their promotional literature somewhere.
The Price is Rolls Royce. The product is somewhat lacking. The father of our ATA kid feels he was ripped off. I did not want this to become an ATA bash but they did charge him $200 for a TKD bag.
His monthly fee with us is one third of what he paid at ATA. The dad is a great guy and we do rib him a little about the ATA. One of the other Parents tried to sell him an old worn out pair of TKD Shoes for $300 with team name scrolled on it in magic marker. He is a great sport and in the end he said the ATA is like a cult they keep you in the dark and most of the parents just don't know any better. He also stated that for most it is a good program because they would not be able to put in the work that is required in real Martial Arts. So they fit a need. It is a martial Arts "themed" after school program.
TY!
I have no clue what orginization that our families Dojang falls under... but now I am curious and will ask tomorrow
Let us know! What is the name of you School it is a small world we may know your school.
dancingalone
Grandmaster
Perhaps a minor distinction, but I think the ATA product (curriculum) is fine compared to most peers. They have the same teaching methods most other TKD schools employ: forms, one steps, and self-defense drills. Where they fall apart as a group is that their business really isn't about producing skilled martial artists. It's about selling a fun, friendly, martial themed activity to children 14 and under in a safe, clean, brightly lit and decorated location. It takes money to do that, hence partially the reason for the high fees.
Also many ATA school owners are full-time, meaning the school is their living. I imagine it's tough to hoe that row while striving to teach to a high standard.
Last edited:
An apt description.
Though not in the way that the salesperson intended.
Compare the cost vs. performance of a Rolls versus pretty much anything else. Any other car of equal cost will out perform the Rolls so handily that it is laughable. That includes former sister division Bentley, anything with a three point star, and most definitely anything with a trident, a prancing horse, or a rampant bull. Even with BMW owning them, any BMW will out perform the Rolls in every category except volume and comfort.
Spend half the money and get a CTS-V and there isn't a Rolls that's been built that will be able to keep up with you. On the straights, through the slalom, around the track, or anywhere else. You'll get better mileage and stop a whole lot better too.
Spend even less and you can get a Taurus SHO that, while not as fast as the Caddy, will still lay a beat down on the Rolls and get you there in more than reasonable comfort.
Spend a whole ton less on, say an Acura TSX, and excepting maybe straight line acceleration (V6 is 5.9 seconds, 4 is 7.5), interior volume, and comfort, the Acura will also outperform the Rolls in virtually every performance category.
Seeing as how martial arts are not meant to be comfortable or luxurious, but to enable you to perform when your life depends on it or to perform when you are in competion, yes, I'd say that the Rolls Royce comparison might be appropriate.
Does that mean that the Rolls is a bad car? Of course not. It wasn't designed to be a sports sedan, sports car, or to really be a performance car on any level. It was designed to carry passengers in comfort and perform well enough to be driven safely.
Does that make the ATA bad? Not in and of itself, though the ATA seems to want to maintain the illusion that their product is equal to or batter than that of other organizations, which from all indications, simply is not true.
I grant that it is likely the most well developed martial fitness family and kids program in existance.
Unlike the Rolls, however, there is no status or snob factor to be had for the high prices. Outside of the ATA, the program is looked down upon as simply overpriced. The Rolls also holds its value, something the ATA product does not, as demonstrated by Terry and Gorilla.
Daniel
The Rolls and a Subaru Legacy Outback both have wheels, a reciprocating engine, a transmission, and all of the compenents necessary to get down the road. The Subaru will outperform the Rolls in most every category with the possible exception of straight line acceleration. Acceleration per dollar, however, and the Rolls is horrible. Not to mention that the Subaru will get you through weather and terrain that a Rolls can't.
Bingo, so the curriculum really is unimportant.
I don't know if I can cut them slack for this. Plenty of places in my area offer safe, clean, and brightly lit places in good locations, do it full time, and still seem to be able to keep the 'martial' in the mix.
Daniel
