What's testing like in your school/organization?

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do' started by SPX, Aug 1, 2010.

  1. Smokemare

    Smokemare ITF TKD 2nd Dan

    It's not hard to work out the figures, yes if you run a load of schools and you teach it five nights a week, and you get a good steady intake and lots of 'stayers' you can make it your day job - but it's not stable and it's not easy. The people who run big organisations make it their day jobs - like PUMA and TAGB and whatnot, but again they probably don't have an easy life.

    It's probably more sensible to aim to teach two nights a week, keep working, do a couple of squads or black belt sessions a month at the weekend and see it as contributing to the art and getting paid.

    I'd like to run a school one day, if I can ever get back to training consistently again :( I don't think I'll ever aspire to more than 1 club, two nights though...
     
  2. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x

    Leisure centre clubs across an area. Couple of nights in each centre is the best I've seen. He was making good money working a couple of hour a night as a full time job.
     
  3. YoungMan68

    YoungMan68 Valued Member

    Bottom line: if you're looking to make good money, teaching martial arts ain't the way to do it.
     
  4. TKDstudent

    TKDstudent Valued Member

    I am sorry that you don't see the deeper side, maybe that is not what you are looking for or maybe you didn't need or have a better mentor. TMAs have more benefits to offer, if that is what people seek & they will get things things imparted if they work towards them, as that is what is required & they have a good teacher, mentor who can guide them along the way
     
  5. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    The shared charactoristic between tempering spirit and tempering metal, is that contact with the Fire is required to change the base materials into something new.

    Having said that having a good role model will always be on benifit, but the greatest change, can only be from living through adversity.
     
  6. Killa_Gorillas

    Killa_Gorillas Banned Banned

    That's not what I said.

    I said this...

    "I don't see the deeper or more eosoteric nature of the martial arts as being something that can be prescribed."


    Massive difference.
     
  7. TKDstudent

    TKDstudent Valued Member

    I am sorry, but what do you mean then by "be prescribed"
    Forgive my ignorance
     
  8. TKDstudent

    TKDstudent Valued Member

    I think that this is brilliant!
    Life's or G-d's greatest lesson is adversity, no doubt about that. However adversity can & does break many, many people. often having a good guide or mentor can be the difference in making it through adverse experiences
     
  9. Killa_Gorillas

    Killa_Gorillas Banned Banned

    I basically mean everything I said in my previous posts. I can't really be arsed to go through it again.

    Essentially I feel (as you appear to and as Fusen said) that true internal growth is engendered through the adversity of training and not 'prescribed' by a doctrine/set of tenets etc

    I believe in something akin to the 'higher conciousness through harder contact' mantra of the dog brothers, in that the particular spiritual/philosophical nature of the martial arts as a practice is found in the pain and sweat of training and nowhere else.
     
  10. TKDstudent

    TKDstudent Valued Member

    I do agree for the most part. However I think it helps if your guide is a ethical teacher who is a good mentor & seeks to make the non-physical part of the training as well.
    thanks
     
  11. Killa_Gorillas

    Killa_Gorillas Banned Banned

    It can't hurt. A good mentor is not something that is martial arts specific though and is something which also exists outside of the framework of 'traditional' martial arts.
     
  12. TKDstudent

    TKDstudent Valued Member

    There is no doubt about that. However it is the perfect match in the MAs, as it follows all the hard work & sweat which helps the student to realize that through hard work & concentration, they CAN DO! So a good mentor will verbally guide & assure those under their charge as well, to help them make the connection to the traits & accomplishments outside of the Dojang as well. One can never have enough good mentors, IMO
     
  13. Killa_Gorillas

    Killa_Gorillas Banned Banned

    Totally agree. But if we are going to make that statement then we need to apply it to all martial arts (which I'm sure you are doing). The bone of contention I had was people implying that there was something inherently spiritual/philosophical/esoteric within the asian martial arts that is not found elsewhere. I don't believe this to be the case. The things you have stated are all true but can be found in the best examples of any martial art from any place of origin.
     
  14. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    And can also be found in non-combative pursuits too.
    Anything that requires a person to try, persevere and overcome.
     
  15. TKDstudent

    TKDstudent Valued Member

    Yes, but I would add that Asia, Oriental or Eastern Way of Life may be somewhat different than the West or other cultures. While they may all lead to the saem place eventually, at times they take different paths & go at different speeds. This difference may be an appeal to some & the cause of some confusion, IMO
     
  16. TKDstudent

    TKDstudent Valued Member

    No doubt about that, But for me, if one engages in model ship building, one doesn't have the mentor that speaks about & hopefully emulates the tenets of TKD.
    To me, the MAs have numerous physical activities that all build great skills that can also impart mental discipline & toughness. What I believe is a bit different with the MAs is the ethos, moral culture, respect, integrity, peaceful nature that is actually demanded & mentored, along with the physical demands & requirements.
    For instance, youth organized sports all impart great things. But far too often "winning is the only thing", the less talented get left out, even parents yell at the officials etc. Yes of course a good coach or manager can & often do become a good mentor or role model. But that is more IMO a result of that coach's high character. They are not usually following a list of character building traits & they are not usually part of the formal sports program
     
  17. FiReSTaRT

    FiReSTaRT Caffeine Junkie

    I had to chime in on this thread.. I'm 2nd Gup at an ICTF Do-Jang in Canada. For starters, I'll reply to the original question:
    1) Patterns (sometimes, the GM will throw you a curve-ball and have you do a couple of the higher grade patterns in addition to the ones that you are required to learn to go down a grade), in order to make sure you're covering all of the material you should be familiar with.
    2) Step-sparring (it really depends on your level, but let's say for 1-step sparring, you're required to know at least 5 hand techniques, 5 foot techniques and 4 jumping techniques as this is great prep for real world situations)
    3) Free sparring
    4) Power demonstrations (board-breaking), usually hand, foot and jumping techniques, appropriate to your level
    5) Theory (and you get a MAJOR grilling) as everything stems from it.

    Note to the OP: If one hint didn't have an effect on your instructor, your next step should have been talking to like-minded fellow students and either coming in early or staying after the class (with the instructor's permission) for additional practice. Instruction at my do-jang is very comprehensive, so at times I train independently, to improve on some of my weaknesses that I didn't get a chance on to work at in class. Of course, you need at least a Busabum (approved by the Head) to supervise. If the instructor doesn't agree and doesn't incorporate more sparring into regular classes, that's the perfect time to look for another school.

    Note to those who ridicule proper technique: Nothing in our system is accidental. Every aspect of your technique is developed to deliver maximum power, where you want it as quickly as you can, with a lot of anatomical and physical knowledge taken into account. Cleaning up poor technique takes a lot more work than learning it properly from the beginning. So while some McDojangs do their students the disservice of neglecting to teach them proper technique, they are hindering their progress in the long run. If you want to become ready to survive a street-fight in the shortest amount of time, you're better off taking a non-affiliated self-defense class. Within 6 months you'd be able to defend yourself against a common punk better than a martial arts student would. Within a year, the martial arts student would become able to defend him/herself from you and it only goes downhill from there.

    Note to those who ridicule tuls (patterns): For starters, read my note on proper technique. Tuls help you focus on learning proper technique and give you a good basis for proper transition between techniques and opponents. I've been in a few scraps in the past (never picked one, but I lived in some bad neighborhoods) and I've only been attacked once by a single opponent. Usually, it's been between 2 and 7 attackers. Something to take into consideration.

    Note to those of you ridiculing uniforms: I agree with you to an extent. I can understand the significance of belts as they help the instructor organize the class properly. However, having to have different uniform trim for students/black belts/instructors/masters/grand-masters in addition to having to wear federation shirts even under the uniforms is going a bit overboard IMO, especially due to wastefulness. I guess it's a sacrifice we have to make due to the military background of our art.

    Note to those crying for full-contact sparring: Just about every technique, properly executed, will cause serious injuries even through padding. In our do-jang, they will use targets to have you practice delivering your techniques on target and with power, but you will have to control yourself when sparring. You do not wanna hurt the people you train with (even though I do go for more contact when sparring with some bigger, more fit guys, especially since they'll tolerate more contact with male heavyweights in tournaments). Continuous sparring is definitely the best way to go about it as it forces you to maintain your balance and control throughout the bout, which will be of immense use if you're ever forced to defend yourself outside the do-jang.
    I know that there have been some experiments with full contact sparring. I don't see much of a benefit to it, other than making preparations for sporting events easier. It's not like the WTF sport will switch to the ITF competition rules so you still have to adjust to the no high section techniques to the head style.

    Some things I like about my do-jang:
    1) Sparring doesn't happen in every class, but it's frequent enough that you won't be missing out on it as long as you show up once or twice a week and then you'll get solid 30-40min. Most of the time we are matched up by size/level, but people generally get to spar against a variety of opponents.
    2) While they will help you do well in tournament competition, the main focus is on practical, non-flashy techniques (quick, linear attack, delivered with lots of power and little predictability, a lot of which stems from proper technique)
    3) We are taught grappling moves, low attacks, defense from weapons and ways to quickly incapacitate your opponent on a regular basis. As I said, one of the main focuses is practicality.
     

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