Why train Taekwondo?

[RowdyAz]

Hi all I was just wondering why you chose to do taekwondo, and what was your motivating factors? For example what did you like that other martial arts didn't offer.

 

[Balrog]

I train in TKD because I like it. I've done a little judo, a little BJJ, but TKD is where it's at for me. I like the discipline, the structure, the emphasis on the development of the student as a complete person, not just someone who can kick and punch.

 

[RowdyAz]

That's a great reason to stick with it for sure . You like the whole package not just certain bits and pieces. What particular style do you train in if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Earl Weiss]

Like most who know nothing of MA I chose something that was convenient and I knew others who trained there. Fortuneately the instructor encouraged us to learn all we could about everything so when we went away to college or whatever we found other schools to train at or when there was a seminar somewhere we went. This gave us a metric to use against what we were learning. As I became more involved with the system I saw value in what it offered vs other systems and learned to cope with gaps by learning other material. (i.e. Grappling) At the end of the day I tell people MA can be like ice cream. Some people like Vanilla, Some Chocolate, and Some Tutti Fruity. That doesn't mean one is better than the other but you may need to experience several favors to see what you like better.

 

[ks - learning to fly]

I train in TKD because I like it. I've done a little judo, a little BJJ, but TKD is where it's at for me. I like the discipline, the structure, the emphasis on the development of the student as a complete person, not just someone who can kick and punch.

Took the words right out of my mouth - seriously - all of them! Tomorrow will mark my 6th year of training in TKD

 

[TrueJim]

Like a lot of other people, I kinda stumbled into taekwondo. When I was in college, there was a local taekwondo club at my school (but no other martial arts). And then now that I'm older and have started taekwondo again with my son, taekwondo was just convenient (we pass our school on the way to the local grocery store). That having been said:

• I actually like the Hollywood flashiness of taekwondo...the big spinning kicks and acrobatics (I know a lot of people don't like that, but I do)
• I like the sports emphasis at our school (I'm not really interested in having my child study at the Cobra Kai dojo)
• I'm lucky that our school happens to be fairly amazing (three former K-Tigers as instructors, one a Kukkiwon 7th dan) with a huge emphasis on making taekwondo fun (there's a big emphasis on correct technique and doing well at tournaments too of course -- but all within the context of taekwondo as something fun to do)

I understand people who are looking for something more "martial" in their martial art -- it makes sense. For me and my son though, it's mostly just fun exercise.

 

[Gnarlie]

The mental fortitude Taekwondo develops is extremely valuable to me in my life. Not what I came for, but the reason I stayed.

 

[Manny]

I wrote about this some time ago. When I was a teen I want to learn karate because I wanted to know how to defend myself, I went to several dojos but nothing caught me, a classmate (a blue belt in TKD) took me with his sabonim and I really did not get the tae kwon do concept, so the sabonim told me TKD was like karate, the next is history.

El Manny

 

[sfs982000]

The majority of the schools where I live and around the surrounding area are TKD so I just went with what I felt was the best fit for me class/instructor wise.

 

[RowdyAz]

I wrote about this some time ago. When I was a teen I want to learn karate because I wanted to know how to defend myself, I went to several dojos but nothing caught me, a classmate (a blue belt in TKD) took me with his sabonim and I really did not get the tae kwon do concept, so the sabonim told me TKD was like karate, the next is history.

El Manny

Hi, Manny I went and checked out a local club the other night, it's seems to be run quite professionally. Over the past few years I have trained wing chun but I'm at a bit of a cross roads. My back has always been a bit dodgy and I was wondering if that will be a big set back in TKD? How important are the big spinning and jumping kicks to your progression in the art? The reason I ask is there are alot of techniques that I am interested in learning further up the ranks.

 

[Buka]

Billy Blanks moved nearby, opened a dojo, I saw the way he moved and I wanted to train with him. It was a Tae-kwon-do school but we (Billy, I and others) also trained in boxing gyms and any dojos that had open sparring. It was a grand time.

 

[TrueJim]

My back has always been a bit dodgy and I was wondering if that will be a big set back in TKD? How important are the big spinning and jumping kicks to your progression in the art? The reason I ask is there are alot of techniques that I am interested in learning further up the ranks.

I have a bad back too, but in my case it's an unusual bad back: Since age 30 I have a lot of arthritis in the upper spine and neck, meaning that I have essentially no ability to rotate or bend the upper spine. For me, this limits my spinning kicks immensely, mostly due to the fact that I can't look at the target very well during the spin (because my neck doesn't turn with a full range of potion). Most people with bad backs tend to have lower back problems instead of upper back problems, so their experience will be very different from mine.

Upshot: I can't perform a lot of the fancier kicks well, if at all. That having been said, that doesn't seem to be limiting my progression too much. In the school I attend, promotion tests generally don't involve anything fancier than a jump back-hook kick. (At higher ranks, the kicking portion of the tests generally involves longer and more elaborate kicking combinations, not fancier and fancier kicks.) So to answer your question: I don't think a dodgy back will prevent you from getting promoted in rank, but it will probably prevent you from performing fancy kicks, which to be honest, can be a little frustrating as I look on enviously at what some of the other students are able to do.

 

[Flatfish]

Hi, Manny I went and checked out a local club the other night, it's seems to be run quite professionally. Over the past few years I have trained wing chun but I'm at a bit of a cross roads. My back has always been a bit dodgy and I was wondering if that will be a big set back in TKD? How important are the big spinning and jumping kicks to your progression in the art? The reason I ask is there are alot of techniques that I am interested in learning further up the ranks.

I think it will really depend on what you are after. If you are after learning the fancy kicks because they are cool and you want to be able to do them, then I could see how having problems with your back could be an issue. But as Jim said above I don't think it would keep you from progressing through the ranks. I think the fanciest kick that we need to get to First Dan is a Tornado (360 roundhouse). Other schools may vary.

If you're interested in becoming good at sparring, I would think that getting good at turning hooks, turning side kick plus the basics, roundhouse, side kick, front kick and axe kick, maybe hook kicks will see you through most.

My perspective may be different, since I'm not a spring chicken anymore and I know I will never be able to do the really impressive acrobatics stuff but that's ok with me.

 

[Gnarlie]

Agree with the previous two posts, flash kicks are for demos, and are not considered necessary for grading progression. Technical knowledge, understanding, and the ability to demonstrate proficiency in basics are more important.

The fact that the poomsae contain mostly front kicks is telling, as is the fact that kicking height for poomsae is rarely prescribed outside of competition. It reveals what is viewed as important.

 

[Oldbear343]

I started with TKD in the 70's and into the 80's, then a modern karate hybrid in the 90's, but was drawn to cross-train in TKD, and then did Seigokan Goju up to this year. But have always loved TKD. Perhaps because that is where I started, despite progressing to higher rank in the others....
Now at nearly 60, with medical conditions that make club attendance impractical, plus being a full-time carer, I am looking at home-based training. In, you've guessed it, TKD....

 

[RowdyAz]

Thanks for your feedback everybody after reading your replies I am definitely going to give TKD a shot. I'm only 36 so I feel it's now or never. I had a look this week and I haven't been this keen to start training in a while. Thanks again.

 

[Buka]

Go gettum', bro. Have fun!

 

[Flatfish]

Thanks for your feedback everybody after reading your replies I am definitely going to give TKD a shot. I'm only 36 so I feel it's now or never. I had a look this week and I haven't been this keen to start training in a while. Thanks again.

Go for it, it'll be fun

 

[Oldbear343]

You'll love it ☺

 

[Balrog]

That's a great reason to stick with it for sure . You like the whole package not just certain bits and pieces. What particular style do you train in if you don't mind me asking?

I'm assuming that was for me. I train in Songahm Taekwondo with the ATA.