ATA anyone?

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do' started by azn tiger, Nov 22, 2004.

  1. azn tiger

    azn tiger New Member

    sup everyone. does anyone in here study ATA(american taekwondo association) or any branches of it? I am just wondering because I seem to notice that almost everyone studys either ITF or WTF. I study ITF as well but ATA is my main focuss.
     
  2. Xue Fang

    Xue Fang Bluebelt

    Nope. TAGB (part of the TI) here. My friend trains with the WTF.
     
  3. Hybrid_Killer

    Hybrid_Killer New Member

    Stay AWAY from ATA schools.
     
  4. Lanakin

    Lanakin It's all about discipline

    I'm guessing American TKD can't be good for your health :bang:

    :woo:
     
  5. whitematt

    whitematt Valued Member

    I train ATA as well.
     
  6. whitematt

    whitematt Valued Member

    Nice reply - that's almost as good as the general "TKD SUCKS!"
     
  7. azn tiger

    azn tiger New Member

    I find that usually(not always) most people that bash on ata do so because they charge you for everything. All these extra cost etc. But I will bet I pay less than most of you or at least no more than you do. We do not have contracts. And I can asure you it is good training. I didn't think that I was all that good, still don't, but if I compare myself(or our students in general) to some of the students I have seen recently from other schools, I must say we are better. Now, I am not saying we are better then any or every school, but I do believe we are better than any of the schools that I have seen around here.
     
  8. Hybrid_Killer

    Hybrid_Killer New Member


    Ahh but I never said that :rolleyes: ...

    If any of you opened your eyes for a second you would realise that ATA is THE definition of a mcdojo.

    1.Contracts
    2.Pay for everything
    3.7 year old blackbelts
    4.No contact sparring
    5.No punching
    6. Point sparring
    7. Havne't you all seen the photos of the 10 year old *buying* his black belt and the flowers and certificate that come with it

    If you do find a good TKD school (good luck) then go for gold...but like I said before stay away from ATA. :rolleyes:
     
  9. neryo_tkd

    neryo_tkd Valued Member

    whitematt, feel free to use the EDIT button to avoid double posting :)
     
  10. Cudgel

    Cudgel The name says it all

    I WAS ATA and my opinion of ATA is.....not good. My cousin, brother and Aunt all studied at ATA THD Dojangs. My cousin is somethign like a recomended black belt and yet cant even point spar with an orange belt who actaully failed his testing and got his belt anyways, the would be me. It is due to the big presence that teh ATA Dojang in my hometown had that many of my friends and peers have very low veiws of TKD in general.
    Also the few ATA Dojangs i know of also have karate for kids.......once again reinforcing the stereotype that all martial arts are eitehr karate or kungfu.

    Tehre is punching in ATA point saprring, just not any to the head while they aloow kicks to the head.

    I would ignore my bad experince with the one Dojang I trained at for 3 months and pass it of as poor instructors and bad staff but when my cousin who trained in a Dojang several hundred miles away is worse than I am and yet still says she can take me down, I really question the validity of ATA TKD especially with the 5 year old Black Belts, I am not kidding I saw several 5 years olds that had black belts.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2004
  11. Hybrid_Killer

    Hybrid_Killer New Member

    Cudgel has just told the almost the exact some account of the ATA that my friend from america did:)
     
  12. azn tiger

    azn tiger New Member

    I attend an ATA school. Altough there are definently some schools out there that are like that, this is how mine is.

    1. We don't have contracts.
    2. We don't pay for everthing, a solid monthly fee($45), We can use any sparring gear we want as long as it meets requirments. I got a free uniform. We don't pay for stripe testing, it is only $25 a belt test. Those are the only charges.
    3. We don't have any 7 year old blackbelts.
    4. We do have lots of contact sparring in class.
    5. No punching to the head while sparring.
    6. We do do point sparring at tournaments.
    7. No I haven't.

    BTW: I guess if you want to be technical than I don't go to an ata school, it is an ata club. All ata schools are required to have karate for kids, clubs are not. The problem lies in that too many of the ata schools/clubs are buisnesses. They are more interested in making money than they are at teaching which is sad. At my school, you will not get promoted if you do not know your stuff, I have seen people fail.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2004
  13. whitematt

    whitematt Valued Member

    [If any of you opened your eyes for a second you would realise that ATA is THE definition of a mcdojo.]

    Some of the larger schools certainly don't do much to shake that image, but not every ATA or WTF or ITF school is the same - they should be judged on their own merits. Here's mine...

    [1.Contracts]

    No contracts required, though if you like you can sign up for EFT billing. Otherwise, pay as you go.

    [2. Pay for everything]

    My rule on that is if it costs me something, it costs you something. I keep my prices reasonable, but I can't afford to give things away.

    [3.7 year old blackbelts]

    I've seen it, and I certainly don't like it. I don't train any kids under the age of seven.

    [4.No contact sparring]

    Yes and no. I don't encourage kids to make contact, but teens and adults make light to moderate contact. You won't find alot of MA schools these days that go true full contact.

    [5.No punching]

    No punching to head - a rule for tournaments.

    [6. Point sparring]

    Point sparring is used for scoring matches in tournaments.

    [7. Havne't you all seen the photos of the 10 year old *buying* his black belt and the flowers and certificate that come with it]


    We could back and forth on this all day, but suffice it to say I run a good program and do my best to drive my students to be the best they can be.
     
  14. Lefty

    Lefty Yummy!

    The only generalization I can think of that's any good is: All generalizations are bad.
    Not all schools have the same teachers. You CAN'T say absolutely that all ATA schools are McDojos. Whitematt has repeatedly dispelled this notion. Judge each individual and each dojo on it's own merits.
     
  15. Hybrid_Killer

    Hybrid_Killer New Member

    Why take a risk?
     
  16. Cudgel

    Cudgel The name says it all

    that is actually a very good point. Dont imediatly discount one Dojo simply because itis part of an organization that is mostly, or soit seems, full of McDojos, and dont imediatly think that since another Dojo is part of an organization that iy is very good or that since one dojo is unafialted that is good or bad. Go to the Dojo itself and watch the peopl practicing and look over the dojo. Several times I almost went back to my old TKD Dojang but left after watching red and brown bels consistantly do things with poor form, that and the useless and poorly designed weapon katas.
     
  17. gumby

    gumby New Member

    Azn tiger and whitematt, it sounds like your schools are quite good and reasonable. I used to go to an ATA school that used to be quite like yours affordable prices with intregty in promoting students and I watched it go right in the hole. My instructor started attending "business seminars" offered by the organization. After attending these he
    1. Offered anything that was reserved for black belts to learn to any rank that would pay for it.
    2. Turned his classes that were meant to teach people how to be instructors basically into a training corps for free employees as I called it. People that had signed contracts to be in the leadership program and learn leadership skills were now paying to learn scripts to answer the phone and hand out guest passes.
    3. There were always contracts, but now people who have been there only a month are having to paying for three years or more into the future.
    4. Testing fees were raised to pay off his own personal expencises. (a farm, his daughters wedding, a new car)
    5. Testing requirements were pretty much lowered to where it was impossible to fail. As my instructor told me, the number 1 reason people quit was because of a failed testing and he wanted to stop it. And kids as young as 6 were getting black belts. Not just one, but many.
    6. The instructor would not go and learn from other instructors (including higher ranks in the system)

    What I am saying it that you want to be cautious about any martial arts school. I've heard of similar things happening to non-ata and non-tkd schools. A decent one can be turned into a "mcdojo." The sad thing with my ata school is the things the instuctor did to make it a poor school is what the seminars were teaching him to do.
     
  18. Lefty

    Lefty Yummy!

    Boy that's nasty, Gumby.
    Is integrity not a tenant for the instructors?
     
  19. sean

    sean THOR!

    I never realised there were that many associations of TKD.

    Its becoming money, plain money.
     
  20. neryo_tkd

    neryo_tkd Valued Member


    some of them, fortunately not all of them.
     

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