What can i expect?

Well as some may know, I am a new student(2 months training) of judo and karate.

Well I apparently joined at the worst time as my dojo just fell apart and is over. Well the judo leader ship is discussing were to go for a training space and will contact us soon so we can continue training.

However, karate is done for.

After I left the Bujinkan, I researched most of the available martial arts in my are and the 3 Korean styles have the best teachers.(imho)

I have my first KKW TKD(mudokwan) with Master Cunningham Monday. I could have gone to Hapkido or Tang So Do under a C.S. Kim affiliate but I wanted to try the same martial art my father did as a young man. Which saved his life many times on the streets.

So, What do you guys think I can expect? I would imagine the basics would be similar to the karate basics I practice now? I was watching the forms and they seem simple compared to karate forms. I wonder what the point of them is?

He teaches both traditional and sportive TKD. If I remember correctly he also has a black belt in judo and some training in a hard style of kung fu whose name I cant remember.

What kind of feeling will tkd have? Does traditional tkd, do the same kind of bone conditioning that karate does?

Im short, will I be screwed in sparring?

Do TKD people actually know how to punch and defend with there hands?

I intend to ask these questions on Monday, but I figured id ask you guys here.

If you have any advice id love to hear it. Thanks guys.

 

Oh ya, im not to worried about the sparring. He seams like a nice guy. Very honest and up front.

I cant seam to find any videos of sparring that isn't Olympic style, even though I have read of a less restrictive style also practiced while I was reading on a TKD forum.

Ill let you guys know how it goes. I am a bit nervous because I don't have good balance or coordination, and some of those kicks look like the require both.

 

Thanks Mitch. I had heard of ITF and seen some of there videos and was impressed. However they don't exist in my half the state.

If I can come to grips with fighting more with my feet, ill be ok. TKD seam to be very good at fighting with there feet.

I had read on another tkd forum that the KKW actually has a more free style of sparring with out the oly rules. Tried searching and came up with nothing. Did find lots of itf videos though and a errant ATA MMA video.

Ill let you guys know his answer after class. Id be surprised if they only do Oly sparring, as that really dosent prepare for self defense, and he claims that is very important to him and his students.

 

where are you located?

In addittion to retail storefront schools check local Park Districts, Community centers, YMCA's JCCs to see what programs they may have.

Many groups may not be formaly associated with the ITF but use the same or similar system.

 

Thanks for the offer Earl. I live in North eastern Indiana, near Fort Wayne.

A friend on another forum looked and there was nothing in my area. There are a few small programs at the ymca but they are all children only.

The rest are ATA which TBH is to avoided. I cant believe the amount of ATA in my area.

 

Quick question guys. A friend of mine said he didn't like TKD because it was to linear. Thinking back to my time at my first mma gym my instructor was a 2nd dan KKW and I remember him being the most evasive hard to catch person to spar with.

I was looking at some of the step sparring on youtube and a lot of them I have seen all seam to just move backwards. I remember in our karate kihon we did a lot of movement off to the side at 45 degree angles forward and backward, but always with a sideways movement.

So whats the truth there guys?

 

It truly doesn't matter, tbh. What matters is if it is good instruction and if I like it. Whats funnier is, the more videos of the traditional side of TKD I watch the more similarities to karate I find.

 

Ok just got back from my first class. This place checks a lot of good box's for me. From the great work out, the good instruction and great atmosphere.

However there is one thing that is on my mind as a concern. They only do Olympic sparring. I asked him, when they practice defending against such strikes and he said in the step sparring. He felt that you didn't need such contact in sparring to drill defenses and attacks to that area. That is what the step sparring is for.

I know that if I stayed here, I would get a hell of a good work out, every class. Plus good stretching and other good body conditioning things. So far the only thing keeping me from jumping in with both feet is the Olympic sparring. Granted I had fun doing it. (the other guy was not allowed to attack, only move to defend, I got to attack him.) I had no trouble remembering to keep my punch's low(which I got more hits with punching then kicks) however I had to fight the urge to kick the lead leg and accidentally did a few times.

I have some thinking to do, and need to decide by Wednesday I im going to keep attending this place. Like I said, this place ticks off a lot of box's in the good category. Its just the one box it dosent tick is one of the most important. Now when these guys go out to compete they come back with a load of medals in sparring so I know they are good.

I still find it odd though. I was on another pure Taekwondo forum and they keep talking about this other style of sparring with more mixed mma style rules and how that is prevalent in the KKW.

I need to talk to my father on this, as he has experience in this style and street defense using it.

If I can ignore this one issue, I know I would other wise be very happy there.

I still don't know how TKD'ers learn to defend strikes to the head if no one strikes them there in sparring. How do you guys get enough training in that aspect?(that question is aimed at those that have ongoing experience in TKD)

 

Stop picking dojos that fail... close down, whatever. That must be a talent on its own. What are you 3 and 0 now? Don't worry about what your friends think or say, hit the ignore button. Figure out what your training for. Look at Van, he does TKD and he's Short! I wouldn't mess with him.

That's better.

Just stick with it man, are you trying to become the ultimate weapon? Sparring is better then no sparring, you can always take what you learn at this club to another club that has sparring more to your liking. You say you enjoy it, good, stick with it for a while. You need to crawl before you can run. If you want to incorporate other things in your sparring later then do it, you will find like minded people who will want to spar within the same parameters as you.

SHUT UP AND TRAIN!

 

Ya im not sure how I managed to get into 3 dojo that failed but meh that's my lucky streak.

I am going to stick with it, they have been around for a while and at this point I just want to find a stable and quality place. Which this is on both accounts.

Im sure I can find ways to get more reps in defending my head against punch's. Even if that means lots of step sparring before and after class.

I thought about it all night and came to the following conclusion. The good outweighs the bad. I stand to gain to many benefits from this class then negatives.

They did mention that they occasionally did something called freestyle self defense. Which sounded like unscripted step sparring. TBH If im honest with my self, I do better with techniques when I have substantial drilling with them. Jumping into head shot sparring probably wont do me any good.

 

I'm learning ITF TKD and strikes to the head are fully encouraged here with kicking techniques rewarding more competition points than punches. Due to the reward incentive of attacks to the head, upper defense is vital... and it's also one of my problems at the moment since when I throw a kick, I often use at least one of my hands to balance, leaving my head open. I'm told this natural though, for my experience, and literally every kicking session I'm told to hold my hands to my head as if they're glued on, just so that I improve my guard and balance whilst kicking.

 

Dropping your hands when kicking is a natural response from a lot of people - first to compensate for lack of balance and flexibility, and then it sticks with them. In karate kata (forms), we focus very early on in a students training on not dropping your hands when kicking, so that they've been practicing not dropping for quite a while before they get to sparring (and we also pick on it in self defense...but we try to have it sink in early on that it's the wrong thing to do).

 

I drop my hand when kicking. All the better to power that leg kick in. :evil::evil::evil::evil:

 

Well guys, I gave it chance and I don't think its for me, at least right now. I just don't know if I can live with Step sparring as the only method of training techniques involving my hands. I had loads of fun but I don't know if its what I need right now.

Im going to be starting class at a JKD/Kali place, seams like a good fit.

I may come back to it later in the future, after I have gained some skill in jkd/kali. By then ill have my own game plan and training methodology for dealing with using the hands for defense/offense and of course the other things TKD doesn't address.

Once im confident in my self, and I am in better shape and more flexible I may return to polish up my kicking ability and ability to use my feet in general. By then it wont matter how they train non competition techniques as ill have another place that deals with that.

 

Thanks sir! I really did want it to be my long term training home. Its just I felt like I was not getting enough repetition on key things. I was fine with the basic practices, as we did lots of air punching and blocking and Kicking.(lots and lots of kicking) Its just i wish their was more time spent with partner drills working more traditional stuff. One steps were ok, its just i never got enough of them. I got like 5 total run through of the 1 we were working on. IMHO that's not enough.

I honestly never thought id say this, but I think Sport TKD has the training methodology correct.

i wish they taught the more traditional techniques(the deflections and defenses, the locks and throws and other combat stuff) the way they taught the more sportive applicable stuff.

I honestly think if the art as a whole got rid of the Japanese training trappings and taught EVERYTHING the same way they teach the techniques that are applicable in sport sparring the art as a whole would be in a far better position. Of course i realize that all the techniques used in the sport sparring are apart of the traditional syllabus.

I see now that if i ever come back to TKD it will be as a supplement to what ever it is im doing and have a base in. I truly didn't want it to be that way, i know my father is disappointed, but i have to do what is right for me.

Of course they have a day for black belts only, and i honestly don't know whats included in that class, other then it is faster speed.

I think a lot of my problems with TKD are likely related to my own lack of confidence. I hope some day i can look at it in a different light.