Tae Kwon Do as a way of life

Manny

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Reading the last post about Traditional Vs Sport Tae Kwon Do, I did a little research on internet about this, I wrote down my findings and what I know about this Korean martial art.

I sent my findings to some MA friends that are not Tae Kwon Doings just to let them know what Tae Kwon Do is cause they have a slight idea of Tae Kwon Do.

In retrospective this findings open my mind a little and let me see that TKD is much more than just WTF/Olimpic sparring, yes the trend of TKD is towards the competition but this is just a part of the art and not all the TKD practicing are competitors, so even the focus is on sport sparring we as pupils must ask politely to our instructors, masters or grandmasters to teach us the other things TKD has to offer besides WTF sparring.

Daniel Sullivan helped me to not to be stubborn and take my TKD classes as they are and enjoy them, some days are not so good for me and there are days that are super. Every time I bow before enter the mat something happens to me, I just recharge myself with a sense of pride and martiality that makes me feel special. Maybe I am not the best TKD student, maybe I have not the best technike but something I have is the determination to do my best and to learn.

TKD is more than sport.

Manny
 

Miles

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To me, TKD is life. There are ebbs and tides to life, just as there are to TKD training. I feel like I am missing something if I go a day without training.
 

StudentCarl

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If you were taken away from Tae Kwon Do, would you still be influenced by it?

My story is different from most:

I began studying Tae Kwon Do 30 years ago in Lansing, MI when I was in high school and could drive the half hour to classes. I loved it and was a red belt when I left for college. Unfortunately I could not find a school to continue. As I trained to become an army officer the five tenets continued to shape my life. In the years since then I've become a high school teacher and parent, with tenets still in mind.

Last summer, 30 years after being a white belt, I became one again. 46 is a different world from 16 athletically as well as in life experience. I am more skilled with the tenets than with my feet, but am enjoying our competition team where the focus is sparring, and every day I improve. I enjoy watching all of the other students learning about the art and about themselves, in part because I see how Tae Kwon Do meshes with the issues and challenges of their ages, whether they are young kids, teens, or young adults or young parents. Although I was away for 30 years, Tae Kwon Do has never left my life and I'm a better person because of it.

Another question:
If you had to leave Tae Kwon Do for 30 years and could only take either your technical skills or how it has shaped you as a person, which would you take?
 

dancingalone

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Another question:
If you had to leave Tae Kwon Do for 30 years and could only take either your technical skills or how it has shaped you as a person, which would you take?


It should be your technical skills first and foremost since we're talking about tae kwon do, a MARTIAL ART. Hopefully one has other outlets for character examples or moral philosophy such as one's parents or a church pastor.
 

StudentCarl

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My skills are as green as my belt, so I don't have enough yet to fairly compare. When I really think about Tae Kwon do as a way of life, I think of it as the path of continuous learning and challenging myself without end...the path of a martial artist in pursuit of mastery.
 

Miles

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It should be your technical skills first and foremost since we're talking about tae kwon do, a MARTIAL ART. Hopefully one has other outlets for character examples or moral philosophy such as one's parents or a church pastor.


And yet, would you not agree that if you stopped training for 30 yrs, your technical skills would have diminished?

Would that 30yr gap necessarily diminish how you were affected or influenced by the "Do" ?
 

dancingalone

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And yet, would you not agree that if you stopped training for 30 yrs, your technical skills would have diminished?

Would that 30yr gap necessarily diminish how you were affected or influenced by the "Do" ?

Oh, I assumed he meant walked away with one's skills intact. There wouldn't be much of a choice to make if we're talking about a 30 year atrophy.
 
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Manny

Manny

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If you were taken away from Tae Kwon Do, would you still be influenced by it?

My story is different from most:

I began studying Tae Kwon Do 30 years ago in Lansing, MI when I was in high school and could drive the half hour to classes. I loved it and was a red belt when I left for college. Unfortunately I could not find a school to continue. As I trained to become an army officer the five tenets continued to shape my life. In the years since then I've become a high school teacher and parent, with tenets still in mind.

Last summer, 30 years after being a white belt, I became one again. 46 is a different world from 16 athletically as well as in life experience. I am more skilled with the tenets than with my feet, but am enjoying our competition team where the focus is sparring, and every day I improve. I enjoy watching all of the other students learning about the art and about themselves, in part because I see how Tae Kwon Do meshes with the issues and challenges of their ages, whether they are young kids, teens, or young adults or young parents. Although I was away for 30 years, Tae Kwon Do has never left my life and I'm a better person because of it.

Another question:
If you had to leave Tae Kwon Do for 30 years and could only take either your technical skills or how it has shaped you as a person, which would you take?


I leave TKD from 1992 to 2007 that is 15 years, you know College then work then wife then children however in those absent days I always think on TKD and MA.

Manny
 

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