WTF is this

crushing

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Looks like a Black Belt Academy. I'll tell you what about that second video. It took an incredible amount of endurance and discpline for the crowd to continue their applause for twice as long as the little kicking drill lasted.
 

dancingalone

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I believe these folks are from GM Duk Sung Son's lineage. They acquired a habit of performing patterns as quickly as possible which makes them abrupt and un-unified with their bodily movement.

<shrugs> Not my cup of tea, but why make fun of them? They seem to be sincere in their training, even if it isn't what most taekwondoin strive for.
 

Gnarlie

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I sort of agree. I don't want to be too judgemental, but a few observations:

That doesn't look very effective based on my experiences.

Oh my there are a lot of black belts there.

Those combinations are very fast. No, not fast. Hasty. Muscular. Not in a good way, but muscle against muscle at the cost of composure. Falling over looks to be a real and present danger most of the time, as does hernia, or even punching one's own limbs.

Even the single isolated movements show a paucity of mechanical understanding commensurate with always practicing at maximum haste from day one i.e. very little

I would never train there.

Gnarlie
 

eliteguardian

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Their sparring is... odd? It looks like they were just trading kicks really. Their patterns are very quick and strangely un-unified for what appears to be a demonstration.
 

Takai

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I sort of agree. I don't want to be too judgemental, but a few observations:

That doesn't look very effective based on my experiences.

I think that says it all. On the upside they are actually getting off the couch and doing....something.
 

arnisador

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They spar as Pokemon fight--my turn, your turn, my turn...

I wondered if the head instructor is showing the effects of age.
 

MAist25

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Yes, we have a group that trains under this organization at my college. They are Chung Do Kwan I believe. To be honest, I was not at all impressed by them. They practice their poomse extremely fast just like the video and they spar completely non-contact. To me they look like an extremely soft style of TKD, more of a fun activity type of thing. Not exactly my cup of tea when it comes to training.
 

granfire

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Naked gun 44 1/4th?

No two people had the same stance staring...the form within the form was huh?

And I am not commenting on the speed, though I remember when I had the wee ones I used to tell them that forms are not a race....

What a hot mess.
 

Haakon

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I had my laptop on mute when watching those, and for some reason the Benny Hill theme kept running through my mind watching the second one.
 

Earl Weiss

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Disclosure: I know nothing of these people or what they are supposed to be doing.

Now, look at the second vid from another perspective. (Yes, I know it's labeled "Freestyle") 2 People one perhaps late 50's or better and the other perhaps near age 70. They are going to do a demonstration of exchanging / alternating / taking turns (Not sparring) with roundhouse kicks waist level and below.

Now, I am sure many of us have seen exceptional physical specimens due technique. Consider the average specimen of this age. Check out the speed of movement for the drill considering their age. Thoughts?
 
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Gnarlie

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I did think about their age, until I noticed there are videos of much younger guys doing exactly the same things in the same way on the same channel.

I think these older guys are doing it the way it's meant to be done for that school.

That said, the 'headmaster' has run the NY marathon 27 times, which is more than I have done. I concede that maybe these older fellows know something I don't....but I don't like the way it looks when they do Taekwondo.

Gnarlie
 

Gwai Lo Dan

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To me, it is a statement that people are wrong to think "black belt = good martial artist". It shows that a black belt is someone who has been around for X years, paid his money, and tested. It says absolutely NOTHING about ability. Frankly, I think I was more skilled at kicking when I was a white belt.

I'll give some leniency for age, but not enough to call the guy in the video 4th dan.
 

Gnarlie

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To me, it is a statement that people are wrong to think "black belt = good martial artist". It shows that a black belt is someone who has been around for X years, paid his money, and tested. It says absolutely NOTHING about ability. Frankly, I think I was more skilled at kicking when I was a white belt.

I'll give some leniency for age, but not enough to call the guy in the video 4th dan.

According to the website, the main guy in these vids seems to be a 9th dan...

Gnarlie
 
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Kinghercules

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To me, it is a statement that people are wrong to think "black belt = good martial artist". It shows that a black belt is someone who has been around for X years, paid his money, and tested. It says absolutely NOTHING about ability. Frankly, I think I was more skilled at kicking when I was a white belt.

I'll give some leniency for age, but not enough to call the guy in the video 4th dan.

I agree.
 
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Kinghercules

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Yes, we have a group that trains under this organization at my college. They are Chung Do Kwan I believe. To be honest, I was not at all impressed by them. They practice their poomse extremely fast just like the video and they spar completely non-contact. To me they look like an extremely soft style of TKD, more of a fun activity type of thing. Not exactly my cup of tea when it comes to training.


Soft?
More like wack.
 

outsider0506

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Can anyone identify the forms they are doing in their videos?

I saw one video on that YouTube channel that looked like a Pyong-An/Pinan/Heian form, but I have never seen the rest of the ones they identify as black belt forms. I tried looking up the names of those forms on Google, but didn't have any luck.
 

sopraisso

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Well, I'm impressed with the movements of the guys in their ages. I appreciate that. As other people said, at least they're training in something, although I don't think this kind of training is best suited for their ages.

But what also catched my attention was to see, in the second vid, that the guys did receive some round kicks with down blocks directly against the kicks movement (I mean, against the shin bone). I think this should be very dangerous if attempted for real. It's interesting, too, that I've heard of many discussions here about the application of down block (even that it was not meant to be a block). Some people sustained that it should defend a kick, but never a round kick -- instead, for example, it would receive a front kick -- what means the hand or forearm wouldn't directly receive full impact of the kick movement. So we have to agree that, if down block was never meant to be used like that (directly against the shin bone), it doesn't mean some people never teach it -- that's just what they did in some parts of the video. Honestly, I hardly believe this is an isolate case.
 

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