First TKD class - was i expecting too much ????

[android]

Hi everyone
I just wanted to get some thoughts on a TKD class i went along to for the first time last night, maybe i was expecting too much ! must be all the stuff i was reading online beforehand........
Was quite a small class, myself - 2 ladies, and one older guy - they were all black belts, and one young lad about 10 years old, strange as i thought i was in an Adults class?
Anyway, did some stances, and walking stances - basic kicks.
bit of punching pads, nothing too extreme.
I asked if they did sparring , she said of course, but they didnt wear all the body protection.
The class finished after an hour, which didnt feel long enough for me, i thought it would be quite a workout, but im more worn out when i go out for a 3mile run during the week !
Also i thought 2 x 1 hr lessons a week, for £45 seemed a bit steep?
Class was ok, im just not sure whether to go back, even at the end when we did some stretches, which must have lasted all of 2 minutes. sitting on the floor, i noticed none of them could touch there toes. and they all wore black belts.
Not sure, first time in a TKD class, i really want to learn the patterns and do gradings, just not sure if this class will provide what i need.

 

[Gnarlie]

If the black belts don't inspire you, you're probably in the wrong place in my view.

That said, it's too early to tell after one lesson. They might have done 1000 naeryo chagis at the previous session, and that might be why they can't touch their toes due to the resulting muscle tightness.

Also, not every lesson has to be a workout. You're there to learn a skill...sessions can be technical too.

I would give it a month and if it's not for you, change.

£5 to £10 per lesson is normal in the UK, with significantly higher rates for 1 to 1 tuition. You don't always get what you pay for in my experience.

 

[Metal]

Well, at a lot of clubs 'adult classes' unfortunately mean 12+, at least over here in Germany.

Small groups can be awesome, since the instructor will have more time to focus on you. Yet it can be disappointing if there's nobody of your same age or weight.

The fact that the black belts you saw weren't flexible doesn't mean anything. You need to know their background. Maybe they quit for a couple of years and just came back or maybe they just have other priorities.

At my club there are lots of older black belts who're not flexible anymore. That doesn't affect my own training or my own aim of becoming more flexible though.

Since it's £45 I guess you're in the UK, aren't you?

Maybe you can use the British Taekwodno club finder in order to find other clubs nearby?

British Taekwondo Control Board

 

[Gnarlie]

Well, at a lot of clubs 'adult classes' unfortunately mean 12+, at least over here in Germany.

Small groups can be awesome, since the instructor will have more time to focus on you. Yet it can be disappointing if there's nobody of your same age or weight.

The fact that the black belts you saw weren't flexible doesn't mean anything. You need to know their background. Maybe they quit for a couple of years and just came back or maybe they just have other priorities.

At my club there are lots of older black belts who're not flexible anymore. That doesn't affect my own training or my own aim of becoming more flexible though.

Since it's £45 I guess you're in the UK, aren't you?

Maybe you can use the British Taekwodno club finder in order to find other clubs nearby?

British Taekwondo Control Board

You can also find Kukkiwon TKD in the UK under the UKTDC.

I reckon adult classes and kids classes should be separate. It really makes a difference to the learning experience for both.

 

[Manny]

Give a try!! one class is nothing, all what you see and all your toughts you can reach the sabonim at the end of the class and have a littel chat with him/her let him/her know what you tjhinking. I am a 3rd dan black belt and I am not very flexible (never was but when I was a teen I con do amazing kicks).

Try some more classes stay for a while and try to get the feeling you want, if not just leave and find another dojang.

Manny

 

[skribs]

Older black belts may also have body issues like bad joints that prevent them from stretching. Also remember some black belts lived and breathed the art most of their lives, while others may have started later and only practiced when they had time between work and family.

One class does not tell you how the place is run. I would give it another couple tries and see if your opinion improves. If it doesn't improve, maybe look at another dojang.

One thing in the amount of workout, is the more effort you put in the more workout you will get. When I do forms, I notice that people like me, with deep stances and good power, are sweating by the end of the form. But people who just breeze through it look like they walked 20 feet. Some of this will come as you get a better technical understanding, but some is just pure effort on your part.

Last, don't let one studio color your impressions of the art. All arts have good and bad studios. If, after going back to this place a few more times, you want to look for another place, I would recommend you don't limit your search to Taekwondo. Having a good instructor is better than being in any one specific art.

 

[Mephisto]

Train at a place with senior students that embody what you want to be. I hate cliches but if you want to be a lion train with lions. Athletic and skilled students will motivate by example and physically push you to reach a higher level. It's not necessarily a bad thing to be intimidated slightly by the appearance and movement of the senior ranks. As long as they are nice in conversation and interaction. This school doesn't sound like the place for you. Some people just show up to class for years and never push themselves, some people slow down or change priorities with age, but you may never know how they really used to be. Plenty of people think they were hardcore back in the day when in reality they never were.

That said maybe all the young fit guys were off that day. I'd be alarmed by a group that sparrs without proper protective equipment. I couldn't imagine boxing without head gear and gloves. At the level of contact and intensity I usually spar, no pads would be a bloody affair. I can't imagine these guys train that hard regularly. More often than not, no pads equates to a feigned hard core attitude, where no power is really used in sparring. Unless of course you're training kyukoshin karate.

 

[android]

Update............Well i went along to another local club that i had found online- in fact thise felt like a last hope !!
Glad to say it went well, small class WTF style.
About 8 people in the class, the Black belts all seemed very competent,
warm ups stretching, then kicking Pads, after hour and a half i was exhausted
oh, and i manged to spill blood over the floor - underneath of my big toe, skin had ripped off - and i didnt evn notice!!
They train again Friday which im planning to go back too.