Where Does Taekwondo End, and Gymnastics Begin?

[Gwai Lo Dan]

The attached video has some skilled kickers. For you, where is the line between TKD and gymnastics?

For me, I would call the kicking in the early part of the video TKD, but once the backflips start, I would call it gymnastics.

So for me, when the last guy on the video does a fighting stance after a running handspring and backflip, it just seems inconsistent.

The athletes on the video are impressive though

 

[Dirty Dog]

I don't think there is a line between the two. I think there is Taekwondo, there is gymnastics, and there is a rather large area over overlap in between.
Most of that video lies firmly in the overlap.

 

[Takai]

It takes skill and athletic prowess to accomplish that movement but, it seems more applicable to showmanship and demo work.

 

[IcemanSK]

The group in the video is a TKD demo team, MTeam. They perform very flashy demos all over the U.S. Many members of the team are also members of the U.S. Poomsae team. They are martial artists first. And there are only a few team members that do the flips that you see in this video. This group is a solid group of Taekwondo folks, some of whom do a few flips.

 

[Rumy73]

It is called gymkata. The athleticism is amazing, but it misses the point of quiet humility for a martial artist.

 

[Takai]

It is called gymkata. The athleticism is amazing, but it misses the point of quiet humility for a martial artist.

Quiet humility? So, they can't promote their art through skill demonstration? Marketing isn't allowed? I think you might have missed the point.

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

It is called gymkata.

I'm old - I remember that movie! (It's from 1985 once I googled it).

 

[ACJ]

You're well underselling gymnasts with that comparison. Good gymnasts are ridiculously strong, skilled people; a few jumps and spins does not make a gymnast.

 

[terryl965]

Team M is very talented, they brought back five madals from the world poomsae championships. Gymnastics is hard and alot of hours to get there, mixing the two only brings out how athletic these folks are.

 

[chrispillertkd]

The standing back flip kick is actually a Taekwon-Do kick (Tumbling Kick, though I can't recall the Korean terminology off hand). Once you add in all the back handsprings before it though, you're into gymnastics territory.

I will say, I am of two minds about a lot of the flying spinning kicks that are more than 360 degrees (and, honestly, a lot of the claimants to 540, 720, etc. degrees don't count anyway, IMNSHO, because some of the turning is done on the ground, but anyway...). I'd love to be able to do more than a 360 in the air but doubt if I'll ever get there. Not least of which is because I don't practice more than 360 degree kicks, but still KKW/WTF Taekwondo can speak for itself but according to Gen. Choi's encyclopedia there aren't any kicks that are performed with a rotation of more than 360 degrees so the question for me is, would those kicks be Taekwon-Do in the first place? Maybe. Depends on who you ask and how you quantify techniques, I suppose.

Pax,

Chris

 

[MSUTKD]

There are those that can and those that do not even try; M-Team CAN. I believe that any Taekwondo practitioner that is not actively engaged in developing their skill to the highest level should just quit the art and do something easier. When I watch M-Team I am inspired and work harder to develop my weaknesses; thanks M-Team.

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

I believe that any Taekwondo practitioner that is not actively engaged in developing their skill to the highest level should just quit the art and do something easier. .

That's a little extreme for me. Can't someone do something they enjoy, for enjoyment? Should the person take up jogging, for example, instead? If so, wouldn't someone competitive in running say that the person should quit jogging unless he is actively working on a race time?

 

[Tames D]

Very interesting to watch, and these guys are very athletic without a doubt. But I think a good street fighter would have a field day with someone attacking them in this manner. I guess I'm just old school. I still think Martial Arts should be 'Martial' Arts.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

Very interesting to watch, and these guys are very athletic without a doubt. But I think a good street fighter would have a field day with someone attacking them in this manner. I guess I'm just old school. I still think Martial Arts should be 'Martial' Arts.

I dont think these guys would attack anyone in this manner, its just a demonstration of their skills.

 

[RTKDCMB]

There are those that can and those that do not even try; M-Team CAN. I believe that any Taekwondo practitioner that is not actively engaged in developing their skill to the highest level should just quit the art and do something easier. When I watch M-Team I am inspired and work harder to develop my weaknesses; thanks M-Team.

Developing ones skill to the highest level does not necessarily mean they have to do extreme acrobatics, it all depends upon what skills you find important. Personally I prefer to develop practical skills I can use to defend myself rather than acrobatic maneuvers.

 

[DennisBreene]

There are those that can and those that do not even try; M-Team CAN. I believe that any Taekwondo practitioner that is not actively engaged in developing their skill to the highest level should just quit the art and do something easier. When I watch M-Team I am inspired and work harder to develop my weaknesses; thanks M-Team.

Not every boxer aspires to be Muhammad Ali, nor painter Picasso. While the performance art aspect of these demos is entertaining and has it's place, it is somewhat presumptuous to expect that every dedicated practitioner is solely devoted to this one aspect of life. There is plenty of room in martial arts for individually paced growth and achievement.

 

[StudentCarl]

Not every boxer aspires to be Muhammad Ali, nor painter Picasso. While the performance art aspect of these demos is entertaining and has it's place, it is somewhat presumptuous to expect that every dedicated practitioner is solely devoted to this one aspect of life. There is plenty of room in martial arts for individually paced growth and achievement.

I don't think MSUTKD was suggesting 'sole devotion to this one aspect of life' so much as that challenging your limits is an essential part of the martial spirit and important to continued growth. Otherwise our art could be limited to Taegeuk Il Jang.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[msmitht]

It is called gymkata. The athleticism is amazing, but it misses the point of quiet humility for a martial artist.

Lol. This is a demo team. They are supposed to be doing those things.

 

[msmitht]

Wow. Lots of haters. I wonder why? Is the skill level too high? Can the people on this forum not tell the difference between a demo and martial arts? Jealousy?

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

Can the people on this forum not tell the difference between a demo and martial arts?

I know what you mean, but playing the devil's advocate, shouldn't a TKD demo DEMONSTRATE TKD? Imagine there were nunchuks, and the person threw them in the air, did some cartwheels and flips - that would be like baton twirling. So when does TKD end and gymnastics (or baton twirling) begin?

in this video.