Is Taekwondo Closed-Minded?

[Gnarlie]

Would they deny that they were afflicted with KKW

I think that might be an autocorrect, but afflicted with KKW quite well describes the situation I am in.

 

[Gnarlie]

That is what so sad. Not limited to KKW System or even to TKD. People who never get out of their own little world or MA Universe to compare what they are doing. In some cases listening to instructors who tell them that experiencing or even watching other stuff is disloyal.

Yes. If it sometimes seems like people here at MT can butt heads and be a bit stubborn, think of all those people out there who aren't online exploring other's opinions and challenging their own. Scary.

 

[JohnnyEnglish]

Yes. If it sometimes seems like people here at MT can butt heads and be a bit stubborn, think of all those people out there who aren't online exploring other's opinions and challenging their own. Scary.

I think people who did one and the same martial art their whole life, tend to be scared of other martial arts. I mean more in the way to maybe get disappointed by their own martial art.

I know a couple of Wing-Tsun instructors who keep telling after 15-20 years of practising Wing-Tsun, that they do not want sparring because Wing-Tsun would be too deadly, these are usually the same people who claim that a martial art that doesn't take 10 years to actually learn, is not effective.

The people who know what is actually going on and seriously respect other martial arts are " mostly " ( not always ) people who have been doing many different martial arts over the years.

it's like with food, people who tried many different foods, even foods that they did not know before, are much more open and understanding when it comes to eating habits, than people who were raised with eating the same range of food their whole life and don't want to try something new, these people usually also claim that stuff that is different, would not taste, without even trying it.

It's exactly the same with martial arts.

 

[Gnarlie]

I think people who did one and the same martial art their whole life, tend to be scared of other martial arts. I mean more in the way to maybe get disappointed by their own martial art.

I know a couple of Wing-Tsun instructors who keep telling after 15-20 years of practising Wing-Tsun, that they do not want sparring because Wing-Tsun would be too deadly, these are usually the same people who claim that a martial art that doesn't take 10 years to actually learn, is not effective.

The people who know what is actually going on and seriously respect other martial arts are " mostly " ( not always ) people who have been doing many different martial arts over the years.

it's like with food, people who tried many different foods, even foods that they did not know before, are much more open and understanding when it comes to eating habits, than people who were raised with eating the same range of food their whole life and don't want to try something new, these people usually also claim that stuff that is different, would not taste, without even trying it.

It's exactly the same with martial arts.

I don't find that at all, but maybe the people I train with are more open minded than most. Who knows....

 

[JowGaWolf]

I liken it to learning a language. The people in the videos have highly accented taekwondo, at best. At worst, they are substituting incorrect stances or techniques or just doing it wrong. The interesting thing is that all of them are likely convinced that their way IS the standard.

I thought it was just me and I don't even study Taekwondo, but I do know the purpose of a bow stance and when it's too wide.

 

[chrispillertkd]

What date did the promotion happen?
I am waiting for an email back from SBN Norris to confirm.

News to me, and most web references have not been updated to reflect this.

I only know the date, I have someone looking into which ORG certified the 9th on Hwang Jang Lee.

My gut feeling says he was certified by the Tae Kwon Do - Moo Duk Kwan under the General Federation instead of the Kukkiwon.

Why would you (and the video) then claim that he's an ITF 9th dan?

Pax,

Chris

 

[JohnnyEnglish]

I don't find that at all, but maybe the people I train with are more open minded than most. Who knows....

Maybe it depends also from the martial art they actually train.

 

[Gnarlie]

Maybe it depends also from the martial art they actually train.

Or maybe qualities like open or closed mindedness are qualities of people rather than arts?

 

[Dirty Dog]

Maybe it depends also from the martial art they actually train.

Or (as most people will realize already) being open- or close-minded is a personality trait, not one that is attributable to any martial art.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Maybe it depends also from the martial art they actually train.

Or (as most people will realize already) being open- or close-minded is a personality trait, not one that is attributable to any martial art.

So, JohnnyEnglish, you clicked "Disagree" on this. Can you provide an explanation why you disagree with the statement that open- or close-mindedness is a personality trait?

Or are you just so close-minded that you cannot accept that possibility that your statement is wrong?

 

[Tez3]

Or maybe qualities like open or closed mindedness are qualities of people rather than arts?

I would agree with this and add that closed and open minded people tend to find others like themselves to associate with.

 

[TrueJim]

Or maybe qualities like open or closed mindedness are qualities of people rather than arts?

Personally, I find that there are really only two kinds of people in the world. Those who categorize people, and those who don't.

 

[Tez3]

Personally, I find that there are really only two kinds of people in the world. Those who categorize people, and those who don't.

Like there are three types of people who can do maths, those that can and those that can't..............

 

[Gnarlie]

Like there are three types of people who can do maths, those that can and those that can't..............

There are two types of people in this world, those that finish what they start, and those that.

 

[Balrog]

I thought I'd start a fun discussion. Do you see taekwondo instructors as being closed-minded, with only 1 "right" way of doing a technique?

I was watching the following video and thought that most tkd schools would say that his kick "without chambering" at 29 seconds is "WRONG", even though he is explicitly saying that it is faster (i.e., for speed).
...snip...

What are your thoughts - do tkd schools teach too often that there is only 1 "right" way, without talking about trade-offs?

I think there may be some confusion as to what he calls chambering. On his "chambered" side kick, he is stepping up with his back leg and kicking with his front. On his "unchambered" side kick, there's no step, he's just kicking with the front leg. It appears to me that the mechanic of the kick is the same in both cases.

Yes, the non-stepping side kick (what we call a #1 kick) will be faster. It is very defensive; somebody attacks, you feed them the foot and ruin their day for them. The stepping kick (what we call a #3 kick) is by definition slower, but it does generate more power overall because you are moving into the target instead of standing still.

 

[Balrog]

Like there are three types of people who can do maths, those that can and those that can't..............

Just like there are 10 kinds of people who understand binary: those that do and those that don't.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

There are two kinds of people: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data sets ...

 

[WaterGal]

Yeah. I wonder what would happen if someone who follows the Kukkiwon standard correctly, came to one of the clubs featured in the videos above, and performed the same forms. Would they be "corrected"? How would the people in the club then respond, if he then showed them videos of how the masters from Kukkiwon themselves do the forms? Would they still be in denial? Would they deny that they were afflicted with KKW? Or would they in some way claim that the KKW masters were doing the form wrong?

The people in those clubs may not know any better, because they're probably doing it how they were taught and never thought to watch KKW DVDs to check. They'd probably correct the new person - if the new person joined at all, which they probably wouldn't.

But the existence these days of so many KKW resources like DVDs and detailed books means that it's easy (if you're willing to look) to find out that you were taught wrong and what changes you need to make in how you're performing the form. I've had to do that before. But you have to have an open mind and be willing to admit that you're wrong. And then be willing to practice the right way a bunch of times.

 

[WaterGal]

On topic:

Taeguek Four Sa Chong - YouTube

Taegeuk Pil Chong - YouTube Pil Chong?? Does the Chung Do Kwan have no link to Korea in the US?

Koryo Form Poomse For Taekwondo - Basic Version - YouTube

I would call that a catalogue of errors and misunderstanding. If that makes me closed minded, then I guess OK, I'm closed minded, with regard to what I view as my standard. However, I am open minded with regard to understanding why people train the way they do. Each of these people in the clips has been taught to do things that way.

Wow. I watched the first one and went "wellllllll, there are some issues there, but it's not awful", and then I watched the rest of the videos and it just got worse and worse. That NuYu lady - what, even, what is she doing. That's so bad, I can't even. I feel so bad for her students.

 

[Dirty Dog]

The people in those clubs may not know any better, because they're probably doing it how they were taught and never thought to watch KKW DVDs to check. They'd probably correct the new person - if the new person joined at all, which they probably wouldn't.

But the existence these days of so many KKW resources like DVDs and detailed books means that it's easy (if you're willing to look) to find out that you were taught wrong and what changes you need to make in how you're performing the form. I've had to do that before. But you have to have an open mind and be willing to admit that you're wrong. And then be willing to practice the right way a bunch of times.

Or, more accurately, that there is more than one way to do things. Not just the KKW way. I'll agree that if you're doing the Taegeuk poomsae, you really should do them to the KKW standard. But that does not mean that the KKW way of doing ap kubi is the "correct" way in any other context. The way the Moo Duk Kwan teaches ap kubi is longer, wider, deeper and equally correct. If you're in a Moo Duk Kwan dojang.