Why did you choose Tae Kwon Do
- Thread starter matt.m
- Start date
I orginally chose it because my folks were higher bidders on lessons at an auction.
24 years later, I've got good stories & bad stories to tell of the highs & lows I've experienced. I've trained in boxing & kickboxing along the way. But I've stayed with Tae Kwon Do because my side kick doesn't quite look like my 1st instructor's yet....& I have a room full of students who dare me to bore them every week. They have the same pleasure I do from it.
24 years later, I've got good stories & bad stories to tell of the highs & lows I've experienced. I've trained in boxing & kickboxing along the way. But I've stayed with Tae Kwon Do because my side kick doesn't quite look like my 1st instructor's yet....& I have a room full of students who dare me to bore them every week. They have the same pleasure I do from it.
Found a website that explained Taekwondo was a 2000 year old art that advocated kicking over punching because the legs were more powerful and it would be easier to deliver a killing blow. . . . 
At the time I was looking to start I found 4 schools close to my house and they were all TKD, so at the time I didn't chose TKD over another art.
At the time I was looking to start I found 4 schools close to my house and they were all TKD, so at the time I didn't chose TKD over another art.
I had wanted to start doing MA for a long time, and figured---from the little I knew about the different arts---that a very hard linear art would be the best fit for me. There's a lot of TKD in Columbus, Ohio, my little boy was interested in starting MA also, there was a good-sounding program offered at our nearby rec center, so...
zDom
Senior Master
Soon after moving to Southeast Missouri, I met a guy named Tim Wall. We worked together at a radio station for awhile and started hanging out.
First time I was at his home, I saw some old "karate" trophies. He told me he had studied taekwondo as a kid, got as far as blue belt, then dropped out due to getting his drivers license, girls, and messing around with JKD in the backyard with a friend.
He showed me a couple of things he had picked up over the years such as some basic escrima stick strikes, which I thought were really cool.
A couple of years later, I had an unpleasant confrontation with three men outside a bar that ended with me being held down and beaten with a tire tool. They dislodged three of my teeth, leaving a hole in my lower lip big enough to stick a finger in, and shattered my jawbone.
During the five weeks my jaw was wired shut and I was sipping meals through a straw, I asked him to teach me a couple of martial art techniques. "I'm not really interested in belts and all that -- I just want to learn a couple of things..." I said.
So we started "working out" in his livingroom. He taught me some of the basics and we practiced them. Soon my brother found out and joined us. Then another friend joined us, too. Soon we had seven or eight guys crammed into that little living room.
So Wall went down to the Moo Sul Kwan in town where he had studied as a kid (under David LeGrand of Cape Girardeau, Mo., one of GM Lee H. Park's earliest students).
The school at that time was being run by Master Steven Dunn (who now teaches in Florida), who at the time was a 2nd dan.
The next night we were set to work out at Wall's home, he said to us, "Guys, you can do what you want, but I'm going to work out with this Steve Dunn guy."
His recommendation was good enough for me, so I went down and signed up. I have to say, I was instantly impressed. The power and snap in Dunn's techniques was inspiring, to say the least.
At that point in time it wouldn't have mattered to me what he was teaching: I'd been in scraps all my life and it looked like effective stuff.
After a couple of months, Dunn invited Mike Morton of Jackson, Mo., (matt.m's dad, btw) to come and teach hapkido at his school on Monday nights. Dunn asked his class to all give Morton's class a try.
I did, and liked it a lot, as well.
So for the next four years I did hapkido on Mondays and TKD on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then put hapkido on hold to concentrate on getting my TKD blackbelt.
/end wall-of-text
First time I was at his home, I saw some old "karate" trophies. He told me he had studied taekwondo as a kid, got as far as blue belt, then dropped out due to getting his drivers license, girls, and messing around with JKD in the backyard with a friend.
He showed me a couple of things he had picked up over the years such as some basic escrima stick strikes, which I thought were really cool.
A couple of years later, I had an unpleasant confrontation with three men outside a bar that ended with me being held down and beaten with a tire tool. They dislodged three of my teeth, leaving a hole in my lower lip big enough to stick a finger in, and shattered my jawbone.
During the five weeks my jaw was wired shut and I was sipping meals through a straw, I asked him to teach me a couple of martial art techniques. "I'm not really interested in belts and all that -- I just want to learn a couple of things..." I said.
So we started "working out" in his livingroom. He taught me some of the basics and we practiced them. Soon my brother found out and joined us. Then another friend joined us, too. Soon we had seven or eight guys crammed into that little living room.
So Wall went down to the Moo Sul Kwan in town where he had studied as a kid (under David LeGrand of Cape Girardeau, Mo., one of GM Lee H. Park's earliest students).
The school at that time was being run by Master Steven Dunn (who now teaches in Florida), who at the time was a 2nd dan.
The next night we were set to work out at Wall's home, he said to us, "Guys, you can do what you want, but I'm going to work out with this Steve Dunn guy."
His recommendation was good enough for me, so I went down and signed up. I have to say, I was instantly impressed. The power and snap in Dunn's techniques was inspiring, to say the least.
At that point in time it wouldn't have mattered to me what he was teaching: I'd been in scraps all my life and it looked like effective stuff.
After a couple of months, Dunn invited Mike Morton of Jackson, Mo., (matt.m's dad, btw) to come and teach hapkido at his school on Monday nights. Dunn asked his class to all give Morton's class a try.
I did, and liked it a lot, as well.
So for the next four years I did hapkido on Mondays and TKD on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then put hapkido on hold to concentrate on getting my TKD blackbelt.
/end wall-of-text
cali_tkdbruin
Master of Arts
It's a family thing for me. My brother-in-law and his son, my nephew, started in TKD back in the late 80's. They're now 3rd dan BBs. Well, later on in the 90's when my daughter would visit them during the summer, they would train, and my little girl who was about 7 then, would watch them go at it. When she came back home she kept telling me, "Daddy I wanna do Karate". So I signed her up. After watching her train for a while I thought, hey I want to do this too. Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to try the martial arts but never got around to it. So, I started my journey in the MAs and in Taekwondo because of them.
Years later now, my daughter is a Kukkiwon 1st dan, and I'm currently a 2nd dan. I'm so proud of my daughter. Of all the females in our very large, extended family, she's the only female of all of the sisters, aunts, girl cousins, sisters-in-law and girlfriends to have earned a black belt in the MAs. Also, my nephew was good enough to earn a spot on the All US Army Taekwondo team a few years ago in 2001-2002.
As for me, I would like to keep training in TKD for as long as I'm able. Great stuff, it kicks...:mst:
Years later now, my daughter is a Kukkiwon 1st dan, and I'm currently a 2nd dan. I'm so proud of my daughter. Of all the females in our very large, extended family, she's the only female of all of the sisters, aunts, girl cousins, sisters-in-law and girlfriends to have earned a black belt in the MAs. Also, my nephew was good enough to earn a spot on the All US Army Taekwondo team a few years ago in 2001-2002.
As for me, I would like to keep training in TKD for as long as I'm able. Great stuff, it kicks...:mst:
OP
OP
matt.m
Senior Master
Everyone's situation is a tad different however no less important and all held with the same conviction.
:asian:
As a kid I thought that Tae Kwon Do was a training aid to hapkido. If you guys knew my dad you would understand why. However, he will even tell you that it is one of the most effective and dynamic arts you could study.
I have found Tae kwon Do to be a great art which I enjoy participating in quite a lot. Pop told me to seek at Grandmaster Hildebrand to seek help and knowledge of Tae Kwon Do for physical therapy reasons.
I believe the road is a long one, the difference between a belt collector and martial artist is one of the mind. However, that being said, to find a great teacher that cares about what he is teaching and doesn't allow belt collecting is priceless.
:asian:
As a kid I thought that Tae Kwon Do was a training aid to hapkido. If you guys knew my dad you would understand why. However, he will even tell you that it is one of the most effective and dynamic arts you could study.
I have found Tae kwon Do to be a great art which I enjoy participating in quite a lot. Pop told me to seek at Grandmaster Hildebrand to seek help and knowledge of Tae Kwon Do for physical therapy reasons.
I believe the road is a long one, the difference between a belt collector and martial artist is one of the mind. However, that being said, to find a great teacher that cares about what he is teaching and doesn't allow belt collecting is priceless.
I started TKD because the guy I was dating kept asking me (he'd gotten his blue belt about 10 years previously, in high school) to try it with him - by the third class I was in love; something about it just 'fit' with something I didn't know until then was missing in my life. That was 19 years ago, and I'm still in it.
I trained in Tae Kwon Do when I was in college.
When I was at the club exhibition event, where all of the recreational / non-varsity clubs were holding demonstrations, I noticed that there were only two clubs that were martial arts; the TKD organization, and a Shorin Ryu organization.
The Tae Kwon Do organization put on a much better demonstration, and the classes were run very smoothly, so I decided to go with the Tae Kwon Do club. The instructor was able to inspire the students there to push themselves to that next level.
I don't regret my decision one bit, and did enjoy four years of excellent training. After I graduated, I was looking around for a school in the new area, but couldn't find a decent Tae Kwon Do dojang, so I went back to Shotokan after that.
In all fairness, the Shorin Ryu club was actually a very good one, but the problem was that the instructor who had been teaching for the club, had abruptly gotten up and left, due to a family emergency, so during that critical time, it was being run by someone less capable of doing so. Had their instructor been present during that exhibition time, and for the class I watched, it could have made a difference.
When I was at the club exhibition event, where all of the recreational / non-varsity clubs were holding demonstrations, I noticed that there were only two clubs that were martial arts; the TKD organization, and a Shorin Ryu organization.
The Tae Kwon Do organization put on a much better demonstration, and the classes were run very smoothly, so I decided to go with the Tae Kwon Do club. The instructor was able to inspire the students there to push themselves to that next level.
I don't regret my decision one bit, and did enjoy four years of excellent training. After I graduated, I was looking around for a school in the new area, but couldn't find a decent Tae Kwon Do dojang, so I went back to Shotokan after that.
In all fairness, the Shorin Ryu club was actually a very good one, but the problem was that the instructor who had been teaching for the club, had abruptly gotten up and left, due to a family emergency, so during that critical time, it was being run by someone less capable of doing so. Had their instructor been present during that exhibition time, and for the class I watched, it could have made a difference.
andyjeffries
Senior Master
I was always bullied (physically and mentall, from the age of about 7), so when I got to 11 years old my mum decided that I should enrol in a martial art. I got a book out of the library (it was by David Mitchell and contained a 20 page summary of each martial art). Flicking through I was instantly drawn to Taekwondo as it showed step by step how to do a jump reverse turning kick. It also showed a guy jumping over someone and doing a flying side kick.
Anyway, ultimately the choice of martial art would be over which one was available locally, looked in the local paper and there was no Taekwondo, but there was a Karate class. We went down to the leisure centre and found a new Taekwondo class has started the week before but wasn't advertising in the paper yet. It was run by a small oriental man and the advert at the leisure centre showed him flying side kicking through a board. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but hey - he fitted the bill (and don't forget I was only 12!).
I trained under this guy (Master Pan, Sim-Woon) until I was 15 then a senior student took over (Master Carl Lees) and I carried on until about 2000, when I stopped due to work and a new family. That's my only regret in life, I wished I'd carried on - even once per week.
I've recently gone back to it (about 8 weeks ago), the weight's slowly coming off and I've definitely caught the bug again!!!
Anyway, ultimately the choice of martial art would be over which one was available locally, looked in the local paper and there was no Taekwondo, but there was a Karate class. We went down to the leisure centre and found a new Taekwondo class has started the week before but wasn't advertising in the paper yet. It was run by a small oriental man and the advert at the leisure centre showed him flying side kicking through a board. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but hey - he fitted the bill (and don't forget I was only 12!).
I trained under this guy (Master Pan, Sim-Woon) until I was 15 then a senior student took over (Master Carl Lees) and I carried on until about 2000, when I stopped due to work and a new family. That's my only regret in life, I wished I'd carried on - even once per week.
I've recently gone back to it (about 8 weeks ago), the weight's slowly coming off and I've definitely caught the bug again!!!
TraditionalTKD
Blue Belt
I had wanted to study martial arts for a long time, a result of the media influence and getting bullied in school. My mom wouldn't let me for quite a while, because I think she saw me as her baby and didn't want me getting hurt. I actually carried around a judo book and was trying to study and learn the moves-not very smart when you know nothing about falling, rolling, breakfalls etc.
When my dad finally realized I was serious, he asked me if I wanted to learn a hand-oriented or a foot-oriented style. I knew nothing about either and just said "foot" because it seemed interesting. Next thing I knew, I was enrolled in the local Tae Kwon Do class at the YMCA. Now, lest anyone question the effectiveness of a YMCA class, the Head of the class-my original Instructor-was straight from Korea where he had been the 6-time Korean National Free Fighting Champion both in college and for the Army. This was in the 60's, when it was truly brutal. His classes were pretty hard core, direct from the Chung Do Kwan in Korea. It's been 23 years and I still practice according to how we did it back then.
When my dad finally realized I was serious, he asked me if I wanted to learn a hand-oriented or a foot-oriented style. I knew nothing about either and just said "foot" because it seemed interesting. Next thing I knew, I was enrolled in the local Tae Kwon Do class at the YMCA. Now, lest anyone question the effectiveness of a YMCA class, the Head of the class-my original Instructor-was straight from Korea where he had been the 6-time Korean National Free Fighting Champion both in college and for the Army. This was in the 60's, when it was truly brutal. His classes were pretty hard core, direct from the Chung Do Kwan in Korea. It's been 23 years and I still practice according to how we did it back then.
How cool that you had that experience with your instructor. You're right, it's all about quality of instruction....not where the class is held.
Sirius
White Belt
Because my sisters do it. My one sister was already a black belt by the time I started, the other a poom belt. It also seemed a great way to get in shape and. . .to be perfectly honest. . .the first time I got kicked in the face (the first time I sparred), I was hooked on fighting. Forms are nice too but I prefer watching them to doing them.
TraditionalTKD
Blue Belt
But I'd be kidding myself if I thought I were just like him. Similarities perhaps, but he is one in a million. The best I can hope for is to carry on his teaching and methods the best I can, realizing that America is not Korea.
I can also take heart in the fact that my students take Tae Kwon Do seriously as I do, rather than treat it like a game.
I can also take heart in the fact that my students take Tae Kwon Do seriously as I do, rather than treat it like a game.
bookworm_cn317
2nd Black Belt
It was the only martial art offered at the Y my mom & I were members of at the time.
