differences between sport tkd and normal tkd

[terry_gardener]

at the club that i do tkd in, it is normal classes (ie moves, self defense and patterns etc).

i have just noticed on the clubs website that they also do seperate sport tkd classes. so my questions are:

1) what is the diffence between the normal classes that i do and sport tkd (ie is it just preparing for tournaments).

2) what would you say would be the minimum requirement (ie grade) to take the sport classes(ie do you have to be a high grade like blue/red/black).

3) does anyone do both types of classes together and did you start them both at the same time or one later than the other.

would doing both classes help with my tkd or just confuse me as i am only a yellow belt/beginner.

i would really like your idea/suggestions about this

thanks in advance

 

[FearlessFreep]

I lot of your questions can only be answered by your instructor.

TKD has a lot of aspects to it; technique, breaking, self-defense/combat, forms, sparring, etc. They all a part if "Tae Kwon Do". Some of those aspects can be tailored for sport competition: forms, breaking, sparring. There is really no hard and fast deliniation between Tae Kwon Do and Sport TKD. It might be that your instructor has classes for those only interested or focused on doing it for sport competition. But if you do 'normal tae kwon do', it will almost certainly incorporate the 'sport' aspects, but maybe not as focused on the tactics and fine tuning of what is in sport competition.

So, it's hard to say what the 'sport' classes really are as seperate from the 'normal' classes as that is not really a set seperation within TKD itself so it's probably a demarcation that your instructor uses for focusing class interest or similar motivation

So...it probably depends on why you do Tae Kwon Do in the first place as to whether you should be in one class or the other or have time for both; and is probably well worth asking your instructor about the difference.

 

[Miles]

I believe there is one Taekwondo. I don't differentiate techniques merely for sport or merely for self-defense.

However, I do know of several schools in my area which have "tournament teams" which do numerous situational and conditioning drills solely for competition purposes. To become a team member requires attendance at regular classes and a commitment for extra training.

I have heard of but know of no school which only trains for tournaments.

Miles

 

[Brad Dunne]

Very simplisticly, sport TKD has rules, which only allow certain striking areas, which inturn promotes a different mindset as opposed to actual combat. TKD combative training allows everything and anything, depending on instructor. Joint locks, sweeps, takedowns, lots of strikes to lots of areas, etc. The biggest difference I would have to say would be in the mindset. The old saying "you fight like you train" certainly has meaning here.

 

[Andy Cap]

As a general rule - if a school or class is focused on sport, they are focused on scoring a point. Points do not equate directly to practical application. Points also do not directly point to beautiful technique.

Sport TKD has a very rigid set of rules to it, and those rules can be exploited to help you win if you train with only those ruules in mind. A "regular" class has to consider the world of no rules and also concerns itself with artistic display of technique.

People that do forms specifically for competition tend to focus on one form and making that form a tournament grade form - whereas a "regular" TKD practitioner must know several poomse and work on all of them.

So, you see there are differences. This is not to say that you can't be a "regular" practitioner and compete. Sometimes the general practitioner is better than the hardcore competitor.

Best of luck with it either way.

 

[MichiganTKD]

Sport Tae Kwon Do is different from traditional Tae Kwon Do, because sport is concerned with making points, how to set up points, and adjusting your technique to make points instead of power. As such, there are two types of Tae Kwon Do-tournament TKD and traditional TKD.

Traditional TKD is about developing your body's power, self defense, vital points, etiquette etc.

Sport TKD is about earning points in a ring. As such, its techniques and the way they are executed will be modified from traditional TKD. For example, sport TKD has the alternating roundhouse-several half roundhouses executed rapidly. It also has the tornado roundhouse. These are not part of traditional TKD becuae they are not powerful techniques. They are designed to earn points.

You cannot practice traditional TKD and sport TKD at the same time, because with traditional your body goes one way, and with sport your body goes another. If you want to practice sport for a while, you must give up traditional technique until you finish sport and come back to it. If you want to focus on traditional, you cannot free fight that way and expect to win tournaments. Trust me, I know.

 

[TX_BB]

MichiganTKD,

What is a traditional TKD tournament? Can you describe how it differs from a USA TKD tournament?

 

[TigerWoman]

We don't do USA TKD tournaments. Ours aren't traditional either. So is this sport or traditional? I think it is the competition part of traditional.

Probably like no other tournament: forms-colored and blackbelt usually 4 age categories, musical forms. team forms, weapons form, musical weapon form, breaking-same categories, sparring with foam sticks-points, t bar pushup contest, point sparring (changed from two years ago from continuous).

We don't have special classes for competition. Most just practice extra on their own time or during class if allowed the time two weeks or so before.
TW

 

[terryl965]

First off Michagan Tkd I respect and also TXBB, I have to say you can train both ways you just can't be profecient in the sport aspect when you do. TXBB you know what traditional TKD is and I know you know the difference for you are a close and personal friend of mine please do not bait like that, a hard check is not needed in a friendly decussion. I'll see you tommorrow.

 

[TX_BB]

No, I wasn't trying to bait/not even a hard check.

I am just trying to find out what a traditional tourney was all about in todays world. I have been out of traditional tourney's for almost 20 years?

 

[terryl965]

Well TXBB the traditional tournaments that I have done over the last couple of years, don't wear Hogu's and allow head shots for the Juniors. I'm not talking AAU still light contact as you know. Also they are allowed to use there hands along with the shot's to the head as well. I'll wait and see what everybody else is saying about traditional tourney in the last year or so.

 

[karatekid1975]

.... However, I do know of several schools in my area which have "tournament teams" which do numerous situational and conditioning drills solely for competition purposes. To become a team member requires attendance at regular classes and a commitment for extra training.

Yes, I agree. My dojang has a "competition team." They do exactly what you described. Most of us don't do TKD for sport, so they made a "team" for those that like the sport side of it (it's mostly the kids that like it). They have extra training on wednsdays just for the purpose of learning what to do in a match, how to score points, ect (they tried to talk me into it, because I am half way decent at sparring, but I'm not in it for sport).

The regular classes involve a lot of self defense, ect for the rest of us

 

[FearlessFreep]

Our school doesn't have a seperate 'competition' team or class or anything, but I know that the school that my sabumnim studies at does have an extra Saturday class for it.

 

[MichiganTKD]

Well,

A traditional tournament might be described as a tournament that adheres to traditional rules. For example, a traditional WTF tournament would allow WTF-rules free fighting (hogu, headgear, shin/forearm pads etc.), and accepted WTF forms (Palgue, Taebaek, Koryo). No musical forms, no made-up forms, no fancy uniforms, no face punching, no weapons. Granted, our tournaments have one step sparring for lower belts, but everything else is accepted WTF.

But as I said before, when you practice traditional Tae Kwon Do, your body develops a certain way and you get used to executing technique a certain way that is different from sport style. If you want to be a good tournament fighter, you would have to give up traditional style to focus on sparring drills and exercises and come back to traditional when you are done.