Choosing TKD without flexibility

vilwy

White Belt
I've looked into TKD after shopping around at different styles. It seems to click better me from punches, stances, to poomsae. Dispite similar origins and similarities in style and technique I'd favor TKD to Shotokan.

I have some limitations with flexibility at the hip. Front, back and low kicks are ok. I'm otherwise fit.

There seems to be some mentions of "Combat TKD", Pre-Olympic TKD and "Traditional TKD". Would any of these, or some other style/school of TKD have adaptations towards lower (chest/waist high) kicks? For example, several schools of Karate have variations in technique and philosophy.
 
There's two questions here.

First - there are no prerequisites to signing up. If you're not that athletic or not that flexible, that's fine. You'll develop that as part of training. If there is a real limitation (i.e. injury or deformity) that prevents you from developing it, that's fine too. Any decent instructor will cater to the individual.

Second - what is actually available in your area? You can find the theoretical best martial art and have it not be available. Or the school in your area is run by a charlatan or an abusive coach. Or you just don't like the people there.

Don't worry so much about what the best martial art is. Look what's available in your area and find the school you fit in best with. Then get to training.
 
There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to practice any style of TKD, or any other martial art, with flexibility limitations. Glad you found something you like.

There's a massive debate on what exactly each of those types of TKD exactly are, but so far as I can tell, there's effectively three kinds of TKD: Modern TKD, ITF, and Original/Traditional.

Modern TKD, which is controlled by Kukkiwon and largely responsible for what you see in the Olympics, is going to want to see techniques performed to a standard, so they want to see head kicks at head level (or to the moon if you're that flexible). You'll be just fine practicing this, but you may not win as many competitions.

ITF I understand a bit less than the other two types, but I believe its requirements of technique standards are the same as WT, meaning they want to see a technique performed to their standard. Same as WT, there's still nothing wrong with practicing this with hip limitations.

Original/Traditional TKD is the style(s) that were defined before everything combined under the Kukkiwon and split from what became ITF. You'll see these listed/portrayed as their Kwan name ("Taekwondo Jidokwan") or sometimes just by their original name, like Moo Duk Kwan. Many of these are actually Tang Soo Do, so maybe look into TSD as well to see if you like it. Regardless, and speaking from experience in an original Jidokwan studio, what matters is effectiveness. Yes, a side kick to the head is what the pattern may dictate, but if you can only kick to the ribs, it'll still be quite effective, which is the point. This category of TKD may be what you mean by Combat TKD.

To forestall any Traditional TKD debates, this is only my viewpoint and opinion on these topics. If you're interested, look up and read into the Kwans of TKD. Wikipedia is a start, there's plenty of interesting books out there for deeper reading.

And, in case it applies, any of these styles (as well as pretty much any other martial art) can and will improve flexibility over time, even if just by a little bit. So enjoy!
 
In line with what others say, convenience is a big factor. Class time and location etc. If you have several to choose from watch a few classes at each to see what is going on and if that is what you want to do. I say several because at any particular class certain things may be emphasized which are only part of the overall curriculum and watching just one class could give you the wrong impression as to the entire spectrum of what is taught.
 
Original/Traditional TKD is the style(s) that were defined before everything combined under the Kukkiwon and split from what became ITF. You'll see these listed/portrayed as their Kwan name ("Taekwondo Jidokwan") or sometimes just by their original name, like Moo Duk Kwan. Many of these are actually Tang Soo Do, so maybe look into TSD as well to see if you like it.

To forestall any Traditional TKD debates, this
You saw this coming. Saying the Kwans that preceded T K D were "Traditional T K D" is like saying "Cricket" is traditional Baseball.
 
I've looked into TKD after shopping around at different styles. It seems to click better me from punches, stances, to poomsae. Dispite similar origins and similarities in style and technique I'd favor TKD to Shotokan.

I have some limitations with flexibility at the hip. Front, back and low kicks are ok. I'm otherwise fit.

There seems to be some mentions of "Combat TKD", Pre-Olympic TKD and "Traditional TKD". Would any of these, or some other style/school of TKD have adaptations towards lower (chest/waist high) kicks? For example, several schools of Karate have variations in technique and philosophy.
If you genuinely have permanent hip injuries, or anatomy issues, I suggest giving Shotokan another look (this is coming from a mainly TKD guy). If you are simply like the majority of people and stiff, and needing to work on flexibility, TKD can be a great choice.
What is your endgame? Do you just want to workout or do you see real competition in your future? It matters when making a choice of schools.

I know this will get a lot of pushback, but I will say it anyway. Yes, there are distinct differences in how different styles of TKD teach, but at the end of the day, it is still the same techniques and material. The only real difference is in the 'how' of techniques, history, and some philosophical ideas.
Since they are well documented and easy to find for research, I will not dive deep into the Kwan's other than to say they really are the most identifiable origination of TKD, for many reasons. You will find inferences to material practiced for thousands of years but beyond it being practiced in the region now called Korea, it is very difficult to solidly say it ties to modern TKD (<100-years old).
In the early days of TKD there were several Kwan's (schools) mainly established based on location and instructor availability. There is quite a lot of speculation as to where/how the material taught was really created, but there is no ignoring the fact that Korea had Major influence from occupation by both Japan and China. It wasn't exactly an easy country to reach by other than water so what knowledge was self-taught was/is heavily engrained.
A study of the Kwan's is well worth it if you want a more immersive experience to your training.

To your query, it doesn't matter. What matters is which school(s) are close enough for you to realistically workout 3+ times/week, is within your budget, and teaches a quality curriculum. The latter is somewhat predicated on what you want from your training. In reality, all the 'types' of TKD you mentioned are simply buzz words used for advertising for the most part. The exception May be Combat TKD, but only if you truly plan to compete in the league or just really want to train hard. I suppose you could compare it to CrossFit. That said, Many schools that have little to none of the descriptors you mentioned will give you a hard workout.

In my mind 'Pre-Olympic' and 'traditional' TKD are going to be similar. The defining difference will be the form set(s) they use, technical differences in the same techniques, and how/when/where they use their punches.

To help with your assessment, I suggest you take a modular approach. Think about what you want. In a gross viewpoint, you could think of it as physical exercise, competition, and self defense. Yes, there is a good amount of overlap but knowing what you want matters.
 

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