Should I bother?

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do' started by TonyMc, Apr 22, 2012.

  1. TonyMc

    TonyMc Valued Member

    Hello

    I used to practice TKD under the UKTA and the TAGB and got to a reasonable standard.

    I haven't trained for years now (maybe 4 to be precise), moved to another area and I am now 44. I am however recently considering going back to martial arts to improve my fitness and flexibility as well as study the self defence aspect. Although Taekwondo can get a bad press I have always been drawn to it, and I am thinking of giving it another go.

    After some searching I have found that the nearest and only school near me is actually a WTF style school. I have spoken to the instructor and he says he is very keen on the martial side of his style and treats sport as a seperate element.

    3 questions really;

    Does WTF style have the tools for self defence.

    As WTF seems to have more kicks in its syllabus, am I too old to consider this style?

    Or should I look for another style altogether?

    Any advice would be appreciated..
     
  2. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    I guess you have to decide whether what you are looking and what is available really match up.

    If there is nothing around that fits exactly what you want, you may have to compromise and go with what's available. If the TKD school has a good atmosphere and good instructor who tries to fit most people's needs pretty well, I'd say "go for it".

    I personally like TKD (although I supplement the self defense side with Combat Hapkido). By itself, a good TKD school should keep you pretty fit and help you develop a good standup style with lots of practice hitting and being hit (WTF = full contact sparring with limited targets, safer but allows for power).

    What kind of "self defense" are you looking for?

    Do you expect to be confronted by young muscular thugs in 'Tapout' shirts with well-rounded striking and grappling games? If so, move to a new area and/or invest in a gun.

    Are you living in a relatively safe area with low crime and have never found yourself in a confrontation? TKD will probably give you enough tools to recognize the situation, avoid it or deliver a quick strike, and get out of there.

    It's all relative - what are you looking for and why? Is what's available good enough for your lifestyle and is the instructor good to work with?

    You may wish to go around the various schools in the area and express what you are looking for, ask for sample classes, and then decide. You may be surprised - the closest one (regardless of style), may be enough for you.
     
  3. Allers

    Allers tricking, kicking

    Fitness and flexibility are two things you are guaranteed to improve should you put the work in. Try hard and you will have a rapid increase in ability. You are never too old to do high kicks; my instructor is 40ish and he can do incredible kicks! it is all down to you as an individual.

    As for self defence, I think it is a common misconception that TKD teaches only kicks. In our classes, we do joint locks, throws, knees, etc, maybe not to the standard of throwing of Judo, but we do enough that the average Joe would have an issue mugging us!
    Even so, a quick roundhouse kick to the face would easily end the fight, either by knocking out your assailant or by stunning your opponent for long enough to allow you to make a quick getaway.

    TKD is a great martial art and a fantastic way of getting fit, you should definitely sign up!
     
  4. caveman

    caveman Threadkiller

    Why not just give it six months and see how you feel about it?
     
  5. marco

    marco Valued Member

    Tony,

    I spent several years with UKTA (Rhee's Academy in Glasgow) gaining 2nd Degree BB then moved into HM Forces for quite a while. Being based in Poole I joined a TKD outfit there which was WTF and the only available organisation there at the time.

    I found, and this is just my opinion only mind, that progression was too fast through the lower grades without enough time being spent on basics. Very sport oriented since it's the Olympic style and lots of white/yellow belts all trying to learn free sparring way before they're ready.

    You'll have fun learning all the different patterns. If you come in high up then that'll be about 12 or so to be done relatively quickly. They're about as useful as the ITF versions I'm afraid. Good for the beginners, so I'd keep maybe half a dozen but thats it.

    The guys there were amazed and impressed by the range of ITF/TAGB jumping and spinning kicks, and strict grounding in basic technique which allows you to perform the advanced stuff in the first place. Not that you could perform any of this in the suits of armour you'll be expected to wear for "full contact" sparring.

    Didn't suit me really, although I was there for some time and graded to 3rd degree BB in WTF. Easiest exam I've ever taken with TKD. No multiple sparring, no destruction tests.

    On the plus side, great bunch of blokes so a good social club side which shouldn't be overlooked. Very well organised and all instructors follow a common syllabus from what I can see although just as many separate entities within WTF. Depends if you can make the transition work for you really, though this club sounds a bit different from the one above.
     
  6. TonyMc

    TonyMc Valued Member

    What did they let you transfer your grade to WTF?
     
  7. marco

    marco Valued Member

    I had to submit my ITF BB certs to the Kukkiwon with a hefty fee to get them ratified. Took about 4 weeks if I remember with no problems. I guess the same sort of thing would be required for other ranks.

    The problem was I couldn't change my style to that of WTF. I had the ITF basics ingrained and I have stuck with that. To be fair the guys at the club never tried to change my style, or that of a TAGB BB who was also training there.

    I couldn't get to grips with the body armour/head guard stuff either. Too restrictive, and all that "full contact" requirement is baloney. Technique goes out the window and it becomes as scrappy as hell.

    This club actually sparred without the equipment a lot to encourage technique rather than sport which worked well. No 3-step sparring or 1-step sparring so distance gauging, blocking and footwork were a problem for a lot of the junior grades(Yellow-Green).

    I've been out of TKD for a few years now and thinking of going back as it's a wonderful art, but for me it would have to be an ITF style this time. If you're looking to practice an "art" with all that it entails....patterns,fitness,sparring etc then TKD contains everything you need.

    If you're looking for straight, realistic self-defence then you need to either heavily modify your TKD or try something like Kickboxing,MT or MMA.
     
  8. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    Marco, if you want to go back you have one of the TAGB's best Instructor's available in Poole. Multiple world sparring champion and patterns expert too, Gordon Fearn. He's also a really nice guy:)

    TonyMc, give it a go, what have you got to lose? Alternatively, if you post up your rough location on here someone might be able to point you at a club.

    Mitch
     
  9. micmacimus

    micmacimus Valued Member

    haha, I think you overestimate people who wear tapout gear. I was with until 'well-rounded striking and grappling games'. As someone who trains at an MMA gym, we get so many guys who come in bedecked in their tapout branded gear, or their Jon jones fight shorts, with hayabusa gloves. They rarely last a month. Their egos can't hack the 'tap early, tap often' attitude that jits requires, and so they go back to pumping iron near a mirror.
    Otherwise, I agree with you. Regardless of how well rounded your game is, don't get into things with people who know what they're doing. It's not worth the trip to the hospital you'll almost inevitably end up taking.
     
  10. micmacimus

    micmacimus Valued Member

    Oh, and OP, you should definitely give it a try. I've done a fair few arts now, and I love tkd. I'm actually about to get back into it myself. If you're after a traditional art, itf style tkd is great. A lot of fun. As someone else stated, wtf seem to be less well grounded in the lower ranks, although that could just be the school I spent some time at. An absolute belt factory.
    I'm guessing, seeing the date, you already went. How's it going?
     
  11. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Sorry - I try not to under-estimate anyone. Those guys with the 'Tapout' shirts might have just enough knowledge to be very dangerous. If they watch UFC or are an MMA fan, they probably have a basic idea of striking and grappling and can giuve you a great deal of trouble if you aren't ready for it. If you expect to encounter these kind of guys, you should look for a good "self defense" school to prepare.

    The context was to look for a school that meets your needs.
     
  12. Instructor_Jon

    Instructor_Jon Effectiveness First

    About 99% of the people wearing tapout gear are just fans and or they want to look cool. The 1% that are left you really don't want to fight if you can help it. Tae Kwon Do is great if the teacher is great, give it a try.
     

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