Hello.I'm glad for finding you I'm doing Tae-Kwon-Do.Well what I do suposs to be TKD.After doing classes for 7 months i realised 100% that i have an incompetent coach.So beside the classes I want to improve my self,alone... I have 2 books about Tae-Kwon-Do ,techniques,poomsae a lot of things.But I want to know where to start.What to do first. My idea is to past all the grades but without passing them at an exam.I know it sounds very ... unconcious but another martial art in my town does not exist,small town.I really like TKD so I want to study it. My question is : what I have to do teorithically to pass al the grades, of course passing for the white belt.You know,physic exercises,techniques,history,anything.I want to know the exactly rules that are for each belt,strict,conforming to WTF laws. Im verry sorry for my bad english but I hope you understood what I wanted to say. Thank you very much for the forum activity keepers.Thanks!
Welcome to MAP, G.Razvan. Since you're not starting a formal class, I would spend a few months practicing the basic kicks and punches (with a huge focus on form) and working on getting strong and enduring. Regarding strength and conditioning, the 5x5 program mixed with a form of interval training (Tabata would be good) is good for a start. Starting Strength is another fine program. Ross Enamait (just google his name) is a superb resource for an all-around athletic training program. Read the threads around here and on routine crit board. There are tons of them and the answers are there for you. You probably know this, but I'll say it anyway. To LEARN, you need a TEACHER of some sort. A book can be a fine teacher for some things, but remember, you will never get as good results with a book as you would with a real instructor. Make all efforts to find an instructor, even if it's just one class a week or every two weeks. In the meantime, feel free to film yourself doing the techniques you learn in the book and post them here in your journal or personal training thread (you could make one in the TKD board). I'm sure that the TKD people here wouldn't mind giving you their insight and critiques. Patrick Smith
Welcome to MAP G.Razvan You're English is very good, don't worry What makes you think your coach is incompetent? I'm afraid you simply can't pass all the grades or perform at that level without an Instructor, but you can hugely improve your standard by working on things outside class. At the end of the day though, you need someone to work with you and help you who is experienced. Mitch
Croeso/Failte/Welcome to MAP. Sorry to hear your only class is bad, but to be honest, you can't do it from books. Sorry. If you give us more of an idea of where you are (town) maybe someone here can point you in the right direction? Your english is very good. Good luck.
Thank you for the response.About the coach.I'm a "freky" in the TKD club.During the class the coach often get out of the Dojo talking on the phone and still when he get inside the loud noises,non-discipline is still on,and the coach dont say nothing... In the past summer I went to a national semminar.That experience was very beautiful,great!There I realised that all my TKD technique and forms were terrible.A 4 dan coach helped me there,explaining all stept by step and that was after half ear of training,the coach never corrected me And the list can continue I'm kind of a freaky in my classImagine that a blue belt and a black too cant do the ... I dont know it's name...(lying on the ground at 180 grades) and me a non-belt student I canBecause I found this forum I really want to make myself an exercise program.Thank you for your all support! Im living in Romania,region Harghita , city Gheorgheni Thank you!
I have to second Mitch's advice. You need an instructor or skilled training partner to learn a martial art properly. Someone has to point out to you when you're doing it wrong even though you may think it's right. You just can't learn from books alone.
We can definitely help you with an exercise routine, G.Razvan! And you're welcome. That class does sound bad, and if the coach is as bad as he sounds (i.e. not instructing but still taking your money), I would definitely leave the class... BUT If it's your only option to train with other people (and that's only worthwhile if they're god enough to challenge you seriously), it's probably worth the money (depending on the price) despite the lack of instruction. If you train hard at home and just go to class to spar, you should be fine until you find a better school to train at.
I'm only a passive observer here, my kids being the ones who do the martial arts; however, from what I've seen, books won't be able to help at all. Thomas had recommended some DVDs to me and you'll find them in the TKD Resources section in the DVD section. I'd think having videos to be much better than books, anyroad.
Even DVD's are no good as primary source material. You need an experienced training partner. DVD's don't give you feed back. And feedback is critical in any learning process.
G, Are there any other schools in your area that maybe do a different style of martial art that you could learn? Sometimes it is very hard if you live a long distance from any, let alone a good martial arts school. If there are any other martial arts schools in your area, I would go check them out - even though it may be a different discipline, it will still help you advance in some sort of MA, rather than struggle on your own. Books and DVD's lack peers to push you and teachers to correct you (althogh so do some schools it seems Sometimes one of the things that pushes me to train harder is seeing what my peers are able to accomplish - I train harder to do more "guys" push ups rather than the "ladies" push ups because I see how strong the guys are; I try to put more height and power into my kicks because I can compare myself to the other students. Good luck
Very much so. Given that being in a place like Transylvania, it might take 'im 6 months to find a decent trainer, or experienced partner to work with, in the interim he could find something to help keep his interests up, rather than wilt through lassitude. I suppose the danger being, having to unlearn 6 months of incorrect techniques...
If he has no one to train with then he could always work on general fitness. Being fit is more important than knowing a dozen techniques he will only ever use in the dojo.
That happens often when you have an incompetent coach. As for the books, I really don't think they help much, except reading you out the weak and strong points. But, I would really prefer video tutorials!
