[Choi Kwang Do] England CKD Seminar

[alister]

So, yesterday was the long-awaited seminar in Harrow with GMC. Who went?

I didn't...so what did I miss? How was it? Did you learn anything new? What new in the world of CKD? Was it worth £25?

Let's hear some rounded viewpoints - could anything have been better...were you disappointed? Perhaps you loved it and it exceeded every expectation.

Let's hear it.

[cairnsckd]

Can I ask, trying not to sound negative, but was the seminar:

a. 1-2 hours of the Concept of CKD

b. Stretching for 45-60 minutes

c. All the kicks to Black Belt

d. All the Punches/Strikes to IL DAN

e. All the Patterns to either IL DAN or EE DAN


Was there anything new introduced???

[morphus]

Yeah - i went. Hardly a long stretch at all physically but a long talk & perhaps defining how the stretch should be done in class & out.
Organisation could have been a little better, as time was short as usual but we should always expect that anyway.
A more indepth talk on breathing whist performing techniques.
Information about muscle receptors & how we should train for health etc, etc.
The info' as usual was top notch for CKD instructors.
GMC was on top demo' form performing all tech's up to Il Dan.
Was it worth £25 - in a way yes, but i would like to have a more personal lesson.
I think for someone who hasn't seen him before it is always sh*t hot.
I personally can't afford to go to the instructor seminar too.
What i would have liked to see would have been for chaired (sit down) conference followed by a practical & physical training seminar.

[BoredNow]

Well it was my first seminar (I haven't been around in Choi for that long) so I'll list my experiences. Firstly I had a great day, but thats because I was with a really good group of people.

I think the day illustrated both the best and worst of CKD.

Positive:
It was great to see such a wide range of people represented, I do like the inclusive nature of CKD.

It was interesting to see GMC perform, as I've not had this oppurtunity before

Watching the demo teams, West Midlands were good. The AI in the improv demo impressed me, and the lead people in the French demo team were impressive. The ladies demo however went on too long and I had started to lose interest.

Negative:
Apparently I'm supposed to clap when someone announces their name and how long they've been doing CKD. Someone should tell them it isn't an AA meeting.

I nearly choked on the 'principles of CKD' when the first is humility, looking at the egos of the people on stage.

Repetition, I was at both sessions. I think a quick stretch and more activity would have been better for both sessions. Plus much of GMC's speech I have heard before in shorter form from my instructor.

Charging 15 quid for a child to have their photo taken with GMC is inexcusable.

Organisation, more care should have been taken given the heat in the hall. Asking everyone to bring their water with them when lining up would have been beneficial, and may have helped prevent the fainting and heat exhaustion.



I left half way through the adult session as otherwise I would have fainted, and I didn't come back in till near the end. From what I heard I didn't miss too much. Additionally the people I was with who have attended a number of these things before said it was pretty much the same as all the ones in the past, whilst I realise GMC has to tailor the sessions for everyone from white belt up, I don't feel I learned a great deal. It is unlikely that I would bother to attend another seminar.

[#1son]

I went to the last seminar and thought it was ok but didn't really learn anything new. I was a bit concerned that it may go the same way on this one so gave it a miss. I'm glad I saved my money cos I've got £25 for when I start my Judo lessons and I trust my CKD CI to pass down anything new he learnt on the instructor seminar.

[black dwarf]

Originally Posted by BoredNow

Watching the demo teams, West Midlands were good. The AI in the improv demo impressed me, and the lead people in the French demo team were impressive. The ladies demo however went on too long and I had started to lose interest.

Out of interest, how many demo teams were there and where were they from? has anyone seen any other CKD demo teams e.g. Argentina, US etc? and if so, how do they compare? Are there different styles etc?

[BoredNow]

There were 5 demos.

West Midlands went first, did some nice combos and patterns, plus some knife defences as I recall.

Next was a improv demo, first up an AI who was joined by two CI's and the guy in the suit that loves himself. Sorry I don't know any names so descriptions will have to do!

Then was the Surrey CKD demo team.

Then the French demo team who have only been training in CKD a year.

Last was the ladies demo team who had by far the funkiest dobok's (purple silk and gold).

[Taffy37]

Mixed feelings.

Positives,
GMC, Master P inspirational as always,
Catching up with old friends making new ones
Midlands Demo

Negatives
£15.00 for a photo, £15.00 too much
Organization, but with so may people tough I guess
Egos

Cairns,
Sure Master P considers himself lucky and privileged, if I can be half as committed, I would be more than happy. Do not remember seeing anyone not applauding, or hearing anyone say a bad word, more then deserved as far as I am concerned.

[BRECKDOG]

"Charging 15 quid for a child to have their photo taken with GMC is inexcusable."

Thats disgusting- but CKD is all ££££ multilevel marketing in disguise- All of you, grab your wallets and do something else.

[BoredNow]

Originally Posted by BRECKDOG

"Charging 15 quid for a child to have their photo taken with GMC is inexcusable."

Thats disgusting- but CKD is all ££££ multilevel marketing in disguise- All of you, grab your wallets and do something else.

In particular I really didn't like the hyping of the opportunity without mentioning the cost and then getting the kids to use pester power on the parents once they finally said how much it would be.

[alister]

I think it would have been interesting to see some of the Demo teams, especially the "bling boks" that some of them wear and I'd have liked to have seen GMC, but it appears that my reservations which stopped me going may have been correct:

Originally Posted by BoredNow

Apparently I'm supposed to clap when someone announces their name and how long they've been doing CKD. Someone should tell them it isn't an AA meeting.

LOL!

Originally Posted by BoredNow

I nearly choked on the 'principles of CKD' when the first is humility, looking at the egos of the people on stage.

Seriously dude, Stop!

Originally Posted by BoredNow

Charging 15 quid for a child to have their photo taken with GMC is inexcusable.

Sounds just like other CKD seminars I've been to. I did wonder about charging for photos with GMC - I'd hoped CKD may have listened to some of the "money grabbing" accusations and dropped this, but it seems not

As for all the whooping and back slapping...sorry, the cultish egocentric antics of a good number of belt-chasing CKD senior Dans just makes me nauseaous.

I worked out that at £25 a ticket, CKD took anywhere in the region of £10-15K for just the England Seminar alone if the numbers on the CKD website are correct....not bad for a few hours' work eh...even if you take into account costs?

Add to that the Instructor workshops - £85 a throw..... Nuff said.

I spent £8 on Saturday for my BJJ class and feel infinitely more satisfied than if I'd spent £17 more and a whole day out of my life. I got a great workout and learned a whole lot of new stuff, despite getting my butt kicked most of the night!!!!

[eckythump]

Scottish Seminar coming up soon
I think that is worth going at least once to a seminar but not sure really what I actually learned from last one I attended
I think the comments on egos is sadly true( in some part )but to be honest this can be true at gradings when differing Schools get together.....
Whatever happened to "Courtesy Integrity Perseverance Self Control Indomitable Spirit.

The fifteen spenduliks for a photo is a rip off plain and simple, another part of my "Love/Hate" relationship with CHOI.
I think in UK students are probably more protected from the Financial "business" side of things due to nature of CKD Schools in UK.
Its when the excesses of money making overwhelms the love of training that I worry about and when Prices were noted for certain events around the Seminar the main view in the changing room afterwards was "NO WAY" ,,in a slightly more Anglo Saxon form

[mjb]

Originally Posted by eckythump

Scottish Seminar coming up soon
I think that is worth going at least once to a seminar but not sure really what I actually learned from last one I attended
:

I totally agree, I went a few years back and all the comments on this thread about not learning anything, big egos and rip offs etc were pretty true of that event. GMC was very impressive technically and as a person (which is more than can be said for a few of the mouthy CIs), as was one of the display teams. -Chose to give it a miss this time.

Maybe a new thread is required to discuss the inflated CKD ego issue. Could it be that the lack of competitive sparring allows you to believe you’re a fantastic martial artist without ever having to prove it to anyone? (and sorry guys hitting a focus mitt quite hard doesn’t count.) The seminars that I have attended have had a very high ‘YES SIR’, ‘PIL SUNG’, clapping, shouting and high five (I kid you not) content and very little technical instruction. WHY!

[Taffy37]

[QUOTE=mjb]

Maybe a new thread is required to discuss the inflated CKD ego issue. Could it be that the lack of competitive sparring allows you to believe you’re a fantastic martial artist without ever having to prove it to anyone? (and sorry guys hitting a focus mitt quite hard doesn’t count.)

Not sure if competitive sparring has a lot to do with it, but agree that some attending give the impression of very inflated egos. Can you imagine the size of some peoples egos if their record went 1-0.

[cairnsckd]

Originally Posted by mjb

The seminars that I have attended have had a very high ‘YES SIR’, ‘PIL SUNG’, clapping, shouting and high five (I kid you not) content and very little technical instruction. WHY!

The level of actual technical expertise and knowledge amongst the higher ranking CKD Instructors around the world is very low. I know this is a bit general, but is true.

Most CKD Instructors seem more concerned about their belt rank or stripe colour than the level of learning that they are achieving. Let me put it this way, a certain "Kwanjangnim" here in Australia, has absolutely no clue about the IL DAN blocks. One he calls "Oh Sh*t", which is actually called a double downward block. He teaches it nothing like the HQ school does. He seems more concerned elsewhere, rather than getting the basics correct.

Build strong foundations, and the house will be solid. Keep looking out for the next story to be put on the house, neglect the bottom (foundations), and the termites set in.