Forced to switch...

[traz]

I'm currently taking Hapkido under the Jin Pal federation, and I love it. However, this fall I'll be moving to university far away, and I'll have no access to a Hapkido school. At the time I move, I'll be quite into the intermediate stages of my training. I'd still love to continue training in martial arts, so I'm looking into the various clubs and courses they have offered at my university. Out of the choices though, I'm not sure what will suit me best and what would best go with my Hapkido training.

I'll be attending Queen's University in Eastern Canada, if that helps any of you. Here are my choices:

Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu

American Kang Duk Won Tae Kwon Do (Traditional, as opposed to sport)

Aikido, as part of the Kingston Ki Society

I'm looking for something that will utilize my skills as a Hapkido student already, so possibly something with a similar curriculum, as well as something that will compliment my training. At the moment, I think I'm leaning towards the Jiu Jitsu club, as by fall I should be very proficient in my kicks and striking, and thus should be able to concentrate on the throws and locks that jiu jitsu offers. So I'll still be learning locks and throws like I would be in Hapkido, I just won't be learning any new kicks, but I should be good enough at the kicks that I have learned that it won't be a big deal.

If you have any experience with any Queens University Clubs, I'd love to hear it, or if you've studied any of the above listed arts (not necessarily at the university), or if you have any comments in general that will aid me in my choice, speak up :)

[Thomas]

I presume that it's in Kingston (Ontario).... nice area!

I don't know of any schools in Kingston, but I will ask around and see. Our school is about 2 hours away (PM me if you ever want to visit) and there are couple of good schools on the NY side:

Tehonica's Taekwondo & (Combat) Hapkido Academy
Master Thomas Tehonica
40 Public Square
Watertown, New York 13601
(315) 786-8296
tehtkd@aol.com

Precision Tae Kwon Do, I.T.U Headquarters (ITF TKD)
Master Tom Merrit
15 West 3rd Street, North
Fulton , NY. 13069
(315) 593-1266
ITUnion@aol.com
www.taekwondo.to

Not too far away in Ottawa (rail links from Kingston as well) is:
Therien Jui-jitsu and Kickboxing (awesome people)
http://www.jiu-jitsu.com/

As for details on my impression of Kang Duk Won, see journal entry #19 (and PM me for additional thoughts)
http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/journal.php?do=view&journalid=1018&perpage=10&page=6


Beyond that, I think you'll be looking at Toronto for Hapkido or even Montreal (GM Serge Baubil)... the Hapkdio flavor in our area is "Combat Hapkido", different from "traditional" but well-worth a checking out!

Good luck and ask me questions you have about the area...

[traz]

Thanks for all that info Thomas. However, I highly doubt I'll have the time or means of transportation to get to New York, or even out of Kingston.

Ideally I'd want to stay in the Kingston area, and not even go to places like Toronto or Ottawa. I just don't think I"ll have the time to get there very often. That's why I"m choosing between the various clubs offered at the University, they'll be the most accessible to me and the cheapest.

But once again, Thanks for the links. I"ll still consider some of the near-by ontario ones if I find that I have the time and tranportation methods to get there.

Any other opinions on the original post are still welcome ;)

[inbuninbu]

Yeah I was in the eact same position last aumtumn. Having reached TKD blue belt I really wanted to continue onto BB while at uni however I see now that probably won't be possible. :cry:

It's been in many ways a frustrating last few months for me MA-wise, the TKD club at my uni is ITF v hardcore and dedicated to the good General which is fine but not what I'm used to. Having made the effort to adjust it didn't work as the style of TKD has more in common with boxing/kickboxing and it was basically too different and yet too similar at the same time.

So in the end I've decided to just go for smth else entirely - SUl Ki Do. Much as I love TKD my main reason for studying MA is fitness (and, to a lesser extent, self-defence) so this will do for now but I haven't lost my dream of a BB it'll happen one day. :p

All I'm saying is be flexible, be prepared to make compromises/adjust if necessary and try not to get frustrated (easier said than done) as it can seem like a waste when you can no longer continue training in what you've been doing for the last few years. But all MA experience goes the same way toward the same goal. :love:

It can also be really hard to squeeze in training with studies you have to manage time well and know your priorities... Good luck!!

[Thomas]

Good luck! Once you get settled in, PM me and we can see about arranging a get together somewhere in the area! I'd love to do some training together!

[bambeer]

judo (http://www.geocities.com/kingstonjudo/)

You are next to CFB kingston and they have a very good judo club on the base. I would consider looking on the base for some good martial arts clubs, the soldiers don't tend to screw around with useless things.

Best of luck,

bambeer

[bambeer]

Buyokan Dojo, Kingston
20 Hermes Drive
Kingston, Ont.
K7K 5T4

I don't know how I forgot about this dojo. Its Yoshinkan aikido (hard style) with very good instructors and students. Kind of the opposite of ki-aikido.

good luck,

bambeer

[traz]

Oh really? I'd be very interested in learning a hard style of aikido. That's what I was looking for when I first started Martial Arts, but I couldn't find anything but ki-aikido, so I went with Hapkido. I'll be sure to check that out when I'm there. Thanks!