what is this anyway

[terryl965]

The thread title is a way to get you all to look and think.

When people ask you this question about your Art how do you responsed?
Do you break down the Art or are you more opt. to talk about the sport aspect and if you do talk about the sport aspect what do you include in the aspect as a focal point for yourself and your school? If you are more into the Art sid eof things how do you bring up the benefits that are forthcoming in the journey and what type of timeframe do you give peole about testing.

I ask this for a couple of reasons I have been getting bombarded by folks wanting to know how they can tell the difference in just a quick glance, I can tell them but I get long winded when explaining it.

 

[Kacey]

It depends on the technique, the person asking the question, how many times the question's been asked, and what's going on at the time.

If it's a basic technique and a junior student, I may say "just do it" - because I want juniors to practice over and over and over until they can do the move correctly - that's what's important at that point. Then again, I may not; it depends on the situation.

If it's a more complex technique and a more senior student, I may do more explaining, or I may ask the student his/her interpretation... or I may say "just do it". Again, it depends on the situation.

If the student has asked the question before, and part (or especially all) of the answer was "practice" - and it's obvious from the student's performance that s/he didn't practice - then I'm probably not going to answer, unless and until the student puts in some practice.

If the question is related to what's going on in class at the time, then I'm more likely to answer it - but if it's about something else I may not answer it then. For example, if the class is sparring, and in between rounds a student starts asking a technical question about the height of a particular technique in a particular tul, I my not answer - because it's not relevant at that time and is interrupting the class's activities, and therefore disrupting the learning of all of the students in the class.

 

[bluemtn]

I give them a description of both aspects, and try to help differentiate TKD from some other art (like shotokan). Sometimes it isn't all that easy, because not all TKD is exactly the same- from some schools I've seen. However, I just stick with explaining what I know, and try to refer them to either a book or site to help even further.