Why TKD?

[Gorilla]

Kong Soo Do....his cardio is impeccable...he runs 30 miles per week..he trains TKD, Shotokan Karate and Judo. Total training 3-6 hours per day depending...he gets up everyday at 5am to rum.

Most of what he does is for sport now...he does train SD probably a couple of hours per month.

He is 15. He is the type achieves his goals. I don't want him to do police work! He on the other hand is determined so I will support him!

Thanks for the great post!

 

[Earl Weiss]

1.Why did you choose TKD as your martial art?
2.What did/do you expect out of the art?
3.What are your goals in the art?
4. Has it met your expectations and/or would you change anything about the art if you could?

1. It was like most, what was convenient at the time. I had previously done Judo, and was in to fitness and strength training. I figured these were ways to optimize my fitness and strength training toward a useful purpose rather than as an end in themselves.
2. I expected what I was lloking for in #1 avbove with the practical application of strength and fitbess which could be used efficiently for self defense.
3. Goals were to overcome the mental and physical challenges associated with learning new things and accomplishing the execution of new physical techniques. As i get older it's about maintaining and refining motions rather than higher, faster and stronger.
4. I am continualy amazed at how General Choi laid out his system. Consistency and rationale for what his system contains. However I view the parameters he created, at least so much as put forth in the written materials and what he taught as the nucleaus to be expanded upon.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

http://abcnews.go.com/news/t/blogEntry?id=17609876

Because TKD works against Shark Attacks. Enough said.

Yes...but was it SD TKD or sport TKD. :wavey:

Sorry, couldn't resist that one

 

[Manny]

Yes...but was it SD TKD or sport TKD. :wavey:

Sorry, couldn't resist that one

Good one!!!!

Manny

 

[Egon]

Actually I was looking for Kyoskoshin Karate. First dojang was nowhere near so I started kickbox/box school and trained for a year, then ITF club opened in my city and I started..

Contact sparring, forms, self defense, breaking..hard, or external, and well rounded martial art is what I were looking for, and founded it in ITF.

After 6 years in it, I meet some people worth admiring, some great man and true martial artists..Taekwondo is beautiful.

I see problem only in fact that it's really not taken serious by many in martial arts world. With reason...watching majority of clubs, there is to many mcdojo's, clumsy black belts, self proclaimed masters, unrealistic self defense, soft training.. it's really watered down now, again not all but majority yes. And yes, too many federations and clans. Far too many for something that should be result of serious people leadership..

I hope that it will change someday.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

I see problem only in fact that it's really not taken serious by many in martial arts world.

This is primarily the reason we changed the name of our art to Kong Soo Do. At least in my area, TKD was not taken seriously as an adult SD venue. Since my students were mainly off-duty L.E., Corrections and military it became necessary to make the change. Secondarily, how we taught TKD just didn't fit the mold of what is 'generally' thought of as TKD. One doesn't normally expect in-depth grappling, ground defense, locks, throws, chokes etc in a TKD school (but it is there in the forms imnsho). At any rate, the percieved persona of TKD did not fit what we taught so it was easier to change the name.

With reason...watching majority of clubs, there is to many mcdojo's, clumsy black belts, self proclaimed masters, unrealistic self defense, soft training.. it's really watered down now, again not all but majority yes. And yes, too many federations and clans.

Agreed. Not all organizations of course, but many do fit the description in your post. The problem I have seen is far too many 'masters' thinking quantity means more than quality. This leads to lax standards, ever-changing guidelines and poor testing standards. So it is a justifiable 'black eye' on the art, but to be fair, there are many good schools and organizations out there. And too be quite honest, in my opinion, a school doesn't need to belong to an organization in order to teach quality martial arts. It all boils down to what the instructor teaches and the heart of the student.

 

[Michael89]

Why did you choose TKD as your martial art?

at the time my town have boxing, wing chun kung fu, one Kukkiwon Taekwondo. I was going to pick wing chun kung fu because I'm big fan of Bruce lee but one night I saw Bren Foster doing Taekwondo on fight science on tv and I was very impressed so i pick Taekwondo.


What did/do you expect out of the art?

well, I tell you what I didn't expect is to learn poomses lol at the time. I wanted to get fit


What are your goals in the art?

I just restarted last month and so my goal is to get 2nd dan black belt, I have 7 test left (every 2 month)


Has it met your expectations and/or would you change anything about the art if you could?

If I can I would get rid of all gears and focus on semi-contact. add more punching. add analysis and use more Bunkai aka "Boomse."

 

[Kong Soo Do]

Why did you choose TKD as your martial art?

at the time my town have boxing, wing chun kung fu, one Kukkiwon Taekwondo. I was going to pick wing chun kung fu because I'm big fan of Bruce lee but one night I saw Bren Foster doing Taekwondo on fight science on tv and I was very impressed so i pick Taekwondo.


What did/do you expect out of the art?

well, I tell you what I didn't expect is to learn poomses lol at the time. I wanted to get fit


What are your goals in the art?

I just restarted last month and so my goal is to get 2nd dan black belt, I have 7 test left (every 2 month)


Has it met your expectations and/or would you change anything about the art if you could?

If I can I would get rid of all gears and focus on semi-contact. add more punching. add analysis and use more Bunkai aka "Boomse."

I missed this thread being brought back up to the main page. Glad to see that your training is working out for you. There are many ways to take a look at Bunkai for TKD if interested. Stuart Anslow and Simon O'Neill are great starting points for TKD-specific material. Iain Abernethy is a great source for Karate in general.

 

[skribs]

Why did you choose TKD as your martial art?

I did a search in my area for martial art schools. The first one I looked at was the TKD school, and I liked it so I figured I'd go with it. It's just like when I'm shopping for anything else. If I've found something I like, why keep looking?

What did/do you expect out of the art?

I expected and still expect self defense, coordination, flexibility, and conditioning. What I did not expect is that the class that is the most fun has more kids than anything else, because I am not a kid person.

What are your goals in the art?

Get Outstanding on every belt test.
Get my Black Belt within the next 2-3 years.
Stick with TKD until I get 3rd Degree, maybe 4th, even if I'm doing other arts on the side.

Has it met your expectations and/or would you change anything about the art if you could?

The one thing I would change is that we've pretty much done no ground fighting, and while I disagree with ground fighting being the focus, I would like to learn some skills on the ground (which is why I really want to try BJJ as well, it would be the greatest supplement to my current choices IMHO).

 

[Michael89]

I missed this thread being brought back up to the main page. Glad to see that your training is working out for you. There are many ways to take a look at Bunkai for TKD if interested. Stuart Anslow and Simon O'Neill are great starting points for TKD-specific material. Iain Abernethy is a great source for Karate in general.

Thanks, I am interested in Bunkai/Boonhae for TKD. my fav master always teach me about boonhae of poomse few time but not always so I want to learn more about it. I alway felt that is something missing from Taekwondo.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Thanks, I am interested in Bunkai/Boonhae for TKD. my fav master always teach me about boonhae of poomse few time but not always so I want to learn more about it. I alway felt that is something missing from Taekwondo.

There is no "official" bunkai in poomsae.

That doesn't mean there isn't a wealth of application to be learned from poomsae. It just means you get to puzzle it out for yourself.
The things you're shown as bunkai may well be valid applications of the forms, but don't make the mistake of thinking they're the only ones.


Sent from an old fashioned 300 baud acoustic modem by whistling into the handset. Really.

 

[oftheherd1]

...

The one thing I would change is that we've pretty much done no ground fighting, and while I disagree with ground fighting being the focus, I would like to learn some skills on the ground (which is why I really want to try BJJ as well, it would be the greatest supplement to my current choices IMHO).

1st, imho, one should always avoid going to the ground if possible. If there, one should get back up as soon as possible. If you can hurt your opponent as you do, so much the better, but get back up.

You might ask your teacher. Many TKD instructors of high rank have also taken Hapkido or Moo Duk Kwon where they may have learned ground techniques, but as I described them above. He may or may not wish to teach it to you, preferring to wait until you are at a higher rank and experience.