My son has been going to TaeKwonDo for about 10 weeks now. He is having his first grading soon. I just wanted to know more about the different styles of the art available in the Uk and the differences (political and otherwise) Can anyone help.
The two main organisations are the ITF (international tae kwon do federation) and the WTF (world tae kwon do federation) the ITF is based in canada i believe, and the WTF in korea. The WTF is known for its association with the olympic games and has image that it regards TKD as a sport. the ITF follows are more traditional approach to the martial art, with competition being more semi contact rather than WTF full contact. There are many differences between the two. The main differences lie in the syllabuses. Both have different terminology for the kicks/punches. They also have different forms/patterns as well as many other differences in syllabus. Leading on from that, there are associations within the actual federations, although they dont change their syllabuses... the generally teach what the respective federations have set in the syllabuses. I'm from an ITF organisation called the AMA (Amateur Martial Association). I have been a member of the BUTF (british united tae kwon do federation) and have friends who are in the TAGB( TKD association of great britain)...all ITF clubs. I dont know any WTF clubs to be honest, im sure someone else can fill you in on that, but just to summarise, there are some major differences between the two styles, but tae kwon do can be fun in any form
phawks: I truly hope you cam avoid most of the political stuff that goes on. I hope that your child's experience in TKD will be about training hard and learning Taekwondo, with a slittle emphasis on political bickering, brainwashing, and propagandizing. The greatest differences in Taekwondo schools is not whther they are ITF or WTF, but on the individual instructors' and schools' philosophies. Check out the link listed at the bottom to see a thread that really talks about much of this stuff. Ara: I will have to respectfully disagree with you here, as in my opinion, the syllabi between the two are not that different. ITF and WTF styles of Taekwondo are not that different from each other aside from some COMPETITION rules, and some forms. I would recommend that you check out a couple of WTF schools (and some other ITF ones) sometime and see what the differences are. Check out the entire WTF vs ITF thread (http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2677) to get some insight on the real and perceived differences between the organizations and how the blind parroting of one or the other's indoctrinating information can make people so rabid against people of the same art, flavored through the lens of two warring countries of different ideological bases...
Ara: Yes, I checked out the site you referred to... it is relatively accurate in a very general way. Yes, ITF uses one set of forms and the WTF uses a different set. SOME schools use both, and some even add the Pal-Gye forms. The real difference between the schools is more individual than Federation level. Here's something I posted in the thread I refered you to: "The umbrella curriculum provided for by the WTF and ITF is very general. Usually for testing, they look for the same basic things such as basic forms, sparring, and poomse (this being the biggest difference). However, the overall curriculum is nearly the same: ¡°As in military training, Taekwon-Do progression follows a certain parallel: 1. Fundamental Movements 2. Dallyon 3. Patterns 4. Sparring 5. Self-defence¡± (http://www.itf-information.com/information17.htm (May 29,2003) WTF Training Table: 1. Attitude 2. Vcital points 3. punching,blocking,stance,kicking 4. one/three step sparring 5. sparring 6. poomse (simplified from: Kim Jeong-Rok, Tae Kwon Do textbook vol. 1 (Seorim Publishing Co.; South Korea 1986 (Korean and English) Now, before anyone gets up in arms and says "My school does blah blah blah...", hold on a second. Individual Taekwondo schools are given great freedom to teach as they choose as long as the core testing curriculum is covered. As long as you have all of the basic techniques relevant to your level, and the correct form (and your master's permission), you may test for the next rank. It is the individual masters who decide what ELSE gets tested and when to promote... not the ITF or WTF. Differences in Taekwondo are not really noticable (excepting forms and some sparring rules) between ITF and WTF. The differences between the INDIVIDUAL schools are very noticable. Again, beware of the politics which will seek to turn Taekwondo practioners against each other over KOREAN political rifts. For a personal example, my original grandmaster was an ITF follower. He left the ITF and joined the WTF because of the South/North Korea situation after the Korean War (he was a South Korean military officer). In his school we learn Taekwondo and do the ITF forms as well as the WTF forms. When I tested for WTF rank in the US, it was no problem... my skills were deemed "WTF worthy". When I trained in South Korea for 2 years in WTF schools, my skills were considered "WTF worthy". Currently our new grandmaster (of the ITA Independent Taekwondo Association) has deemed us worthy of testing for ITF or WTF rank. We are not a school any "better" than any other TKD school. We learn Taekwondo... and the curriculum is nearly the same for ITF or WTF ranking. It doesn't make one better, it just shows that quality lies within your own school, not some umbrella (and fee collecting) organization." (From the WTF vs, ITF thread (see previous post for link) Bottom line: ITF and WTF schools may or may not differ much from eachother, aside from individual differences, political background, forms, and competition rules. When choosing a school, don't worry about the "federation", try it out and see if it fits you. By the way, Ara: I am not trying to butt heads with you or trying to convince you of the superiority of any system. In my experience, I have met many people who had been blatantly programmed against the 'other' federation, usually by their own masters and grandmasters. I find this a diservice to Taekwondo as a whole and it conflicts with my belief that learning Taekwondo should never be limited by the affiliation card you carry. Good training.
