Why does everyone mouth off on TKD?

[Humble artist]

I´m not TKD pracitioner myself,even though I respect it as "one of the arts":shrug: honestly,I do.
I wonder why so many non-TKD practitioners seem to hate TKD,always saying how bad it is-how so many schools suck ("to this day I haven´t seen one good school") How it´s ineffective and so on.
I´ve even seen threads like "Is TKD any good...`?"
I can´t say i would know very much about it but I think that I do have "the basics down" in a way or another.
I guess it is quite a same thing when it comes to aikido (another widely misunderstood art) So many to blame,at least this is how I see it.Trough these black glasses
:ubercool:
So...?
:asian:

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Welcome to MartialTalk

I think it can be boiled down to the following:
1- friendly kidding around
2- bad experiences with particular groups / schools
3- sour grapes. The TKD schools seem to be the most common (at least in my area)
4- Perception of TKD as ineffective as a 'combat' art due to the emphasis on tourniments (every school I've seen has buttloads of trophys in the window)
5- They did TKD in the past, and have since moved on to something "better".

Or any combination of the above.

My personal opinion to anyone interested in TKD (or any art) is spend several days at the school and watch several classes. This way you get a feel for how things run there. Check with the BBB (in the US) too.

:asian:

 

[tshadowchaser]

My first black belt was in TKD. And I realy didn,tknowanything that would help me in the real world.
I do know a good TKD school the instructor knows enough about the streets to be intellegent in how he teaches techniques.
He also allows's hands to be used more than most TKD schools.
I agree with Kaith most ofus have had bad experiences, or seen to many 8 year old black belts.
Strickly MHO
Shadow

:asian:

 

[kickyou]

I have used my Tae Kwon-Do training in actual confrontations from when I worked security at a local bar.I guarantee you that none of the people on the wrong side of my kicks or my other techniques would dog Tae Kwon-Do.They felt how effective it is when done properly.Once again TKD or any other MA is only as good as the person that is using it.

 

[Ty K. Doe]

And the person using it can only be as good as the one teaching it. What I mean is, if your a black belt within 9 months your instructor isn't training you properly. Everyone accells based on their level of athleticism, but your instructor has a great deal of influence on your techiques and form.

Sorry, I'm just trying to get enough posts to get promoted to yellow belt.

 

[Drunken Master]

It seems to me that Taekwon-Do is more respected in the UK than in the US.

If you read through UK forums us poor old Taekwon-Do practisioners don't get any more abuse than any other art.

 

[Battousai]

My own experience with TKD, training in it, and watching all of the classes taught in my city, make it out to be the most worthless martial art. However people talk of a "real" TKD somewere out there...

 

[Klondike93]

I don't think it's a worthless art, I got my black belt in it, and it took longer than 6 months I can tell ya. It's just when you get out of the TKD school and start to experience other arts, you find that some of them can be more effective, at least I did.
The instuctor quote is true, but I did have some pretty good ones there. After going out on my own I was taught how to kick correctly with out messing my knees any further and it's totaly different than you'll learn in TKD (It's called "open hip" kicking).
Give it try once and you'll never go back!!

:asian:

 

[Bagatha]

Originally posted by Battousai

My own experience with TKD, training in it, and watching all of the classes taught in my city, make it out to be the most worthless martial art. However people talk of a "real" TKD somewere out there...

There sure is alot of garbage you have to sift through for sure.

 

[Drunken Master]

In the defense of Taekwon-Do (Well ITF Taekwon-Do at least)

:asian: I have been training in ITF Taekwon-Do for over a year now and have just passed my third grading (7th kup) receiving my green tag.

Grading every 3 months and allowing for 6 month gaps for black tag and black belt I should achieve my black belt in another 3 years.

So I don't our school can be accused of being a McDojo.

Our instructer always spends time telling us the practical applications of the techniques we perform in a real life situation.

Taekwon

 

[Klondike93]

I once had the chance to work out with a black belt from England and he was a pretty good fighter and nice guy too, I just can't remember his name at all. He's probably a high ranking official by now.


:asian:

 

[Pyrael]

dude tkd isnt worthless...i've taken it for half my life and found even some of the simplest techniques most useful even in combat; roundhouses thrusting sidekicks etc. the quickness i gained and the flexibility can dominate.

but on the lesser side yes i understand why tkd seems 'waterd down' my opinion, there are simply a lot of kids/ juniors that needed some special attention...iono

 

[Danny]

People say TKD sucks, because unfortunately most schools do. When taught properly, however, TKD (ITF at least, I cannot speak for WTF) is a very effective art. The open tournments I've been to have been a joke so far as fighting Karate, and Kung Fu practitioners. They weren't even in the same league. Heck we have some beatiful video of our guys beating some poor Mexican Karate guys senseless. (Literally.) Can I assume from this that all forms of Karate, and Kung Fu are worthless? No. So please don't paint all forms and schools of TKD with the same brush.

 

[Klondike93]

About the only problem I ever had with TKD was you had to go some where else to learn how to use your hands. I could kick
ok, much better now that I know how to kick correctly, but had no hands. You spend 80% of your time learning some really cool kicks but you don't work on hand stuff like if you were a kickboxer or some other art where the hands are stressed more than the feet.


:asian:

 

[Kirk]

I don't know what federation olympic rules follow, but when they
were fighting, they had their hands down at their sides. Which
is just suicide in a street fight. Why were OLYMPIANS fighting
like that??!?!?!

 

[Klondike93]

That's my point too, they can only hit to the body with the hands and most of those guys don't do anything with their hands.
Example: I got the chance to some sparring with some Olympic TKD guys and we were sparring like point sparring, hands and feet are padded and punches to the face are allowed. They got killed, and all because they don't practice their hands. Now if we were fighting under olympic rules, they might not have done so bad, but you have to learn to use your hands or I'm sorry your only half a fighter.

:asian:

 

[Danny]

Your painting all of TKD with one brush again. It's only the WTF guys that fight like that. Read ITF rules here: ITF Sparring Rules

Head shots are perfectly legal. Hands, and feet.

 

[Klondike93]

I know ITF rules, fought them many times, would rather fight with those rules than WTF stuff.

:asian:

 

[white dragon]

Please bear in mind that the no punching to the face rule only applies in competition IT IS NOT TAUGHT THAT WAY IN A PROPER WTF CLASS. Nor is point sparring. I don't lie point sparring, and prefer the continuous sparring and full contact of WTF, I think point sparring can get you into a bad habbit. Going up against some TAGB friends everytime I'd score with a kick off them they would just stop because that's what they're used to, which means I'd always land a kick or extra punch in there.

I wonder while you're dogging WTF as a whole, just how many of your ITF classes or other martial arts for that matter ever train outside of your Dojang? On an uneven surface? Not always in a Dobock? I'm very happy to say that my school does, we're taught more than just "flashy kicks", we DO actually learn hand techniques, if we didn't why would we put so many hand techniques in our patterns?

I feel very sorry for those people that think they have gone into a real TKD class when they step into a mcdojo and then have that forever in their mind as to how ALL tkd is. I could easily step into a shitty Kempo class and then believe that all Kempo classes must be worthless, I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't like that.

 

[ThuNder_FoOt]

Very true words from white dragon.

I'm a practitioner of TKD, and I've had the pleasure of participating in both WTF and ITF. The only thing I don't like about WTF, is how a big distinction between sparring techniques and self-defense techniques must be made. There has been many times where I see a school split into 2 parts... and sparring is separated. I think its very much needed in self-defense practice as well. But then again, this goes for any art. Techniques must be watered down to prevent injuries.

As far as the low arms guard, that is a sparring tactic created, based on the olympic rules.

I dunno, maybe some WTF instructors get too caught up in the rules of TKD sparring, which handicappes the art. Um, nah... it all depends on your particular instructor and student, as white dragon previously stated. :asian: