I think that you guys have very interesting opinions and comments...but in my own view i think it is all the same .The competitions or rules may be off a bit but that is no reason to dismissed either ones as an MA.It all comes down to which styles is more suitable for you .What i have seen is alot of bias remarks from both camps.. there are flaws to both styles of TKD, so sitting here arguing about it is pretty much pointless.
Petty politics. Petty bureaucracy, Both Sides need reform. The acceptance of others is not a guarantee. Away with the hogu would be my resolve. Save it for the Olympics. Back to its martial beginnings, would be the wisest ideal, and there will be a chance for silence amongst the two sides. Bickering will only tarnish Tae Kwon Do’s name.
ok forget the sport, realistically... Hi, Hi I am a Black belt in ITF TKD and was wondering if WTF is the better of the two. Forget the sporting side, as a martial art, which is more practical?
They are just not different enough from what I've seen to make a judgement as to which is more street efficient.
Id say ITF style is better for self defence just because ITF are allowed to punch to the head and watchin WTF i noticed in the sparring there are no guards that plus ive done tkd most of my life and i have been able to defend myself on several occasions unfourtunatly and ive always come out better than the other guys
I dont honestly think you could say one is better than the other. I think it depends on what the student wants to gain from training i.e if they enjoy competition they maybe more suited for WTF training. I have trained ITF for about 8 years and will be the 1st to admit it has flaws as does most things in life. But i truly believe its what the student is like rather than which one is best. And I would like to say it is a real shame that so many politics shroud a martial art. Happy training...
i'm just a green belt (in WTF) but i guess it really just has to do with your trainer. in my case, my master began his MA experience with what was called Tang Soo Do at the time, so basically, he has a traditional tkd education. however, he still managed to be on the national tkd team for 13 years (which is WTF of course). he really favors punches, having been a boxer prior to getting into TSD. he really emphasizes the use of punches in close quarters situations during sparring, even if we're not allowed to punch in the face. i think this matter is just something about being civil. when you think about it, you can make a person bleed/impair their ability to compete without punching them in the face very hard, and punching someone in the face isn't something you need much instruction for, so not allwoing it in a sport competition makes sense IMHO. should i tell my master i want to spar with him with no holds barred, he will happily beat the living excrement out of me, punches to the face allowed, as well as allow me to spar in this way with any other willing classmate. in a sport situation however, we don't want to injure eachother, rather, show eachother our stuff, so i think sparring with protection for sport purposes is a good thing. so, basically, train hard, learn your stuff well, and get a teacher you can trust. you'll be fine no matter which federation you end up choosing.
"The dispute between WTF and ITF about who represents the original Taekwondo system has been going on for decades but WTF has succeeded in internationally being recognized as the one Taekwondo Sports Federation receiving Olympic consecretion. Therefore there is no doubt that WTF holds the unchallenged throne of representing the world's majority of Taekwondo competitors. Nevertheless, ITF still exists and even if there are ongoing troubles about having splitted up into three factions, everyone of those claiming to be the 'real' ITF, still there are many Taekwondo players in the world who feel close to ITF when exercising their sport or martial art. Knowing this, there have been a number of trials to incorporate ITF or at least reach some kind of merger where all Taekwondo people - traditional or modern - can feel really at home. This is no easy task and WTF President Dr. Chungwon Choue has finally met ITF President Chang Ung, the North Korean member of the International Olympic Committee on December 2nd 2006 in Doha/Quatar to sign an agreement for the establishment of a coordination committee to discuss integration matters of the two taekwondo bodies. Under the pact, the two parties will set up the Coordination Committee for Taekwondo Integration, which will start on simultaneous discussions regarding the integration of technical and administrative aspects of the two taekwondo bodies. Both parties, however, agreed to first reach an agreement on the integration of technical matters before any decision can be taken on administrative integration, in respect of their initial agreement on June 28, 2005. The two sides met on four occasions in Beijing, China for the formation of the coordination committee. The first round of working-level talks took place on June 28, 2005, with the second and third rounds of talks on Aug. 30, 2005 and Feb. 24, 2006, respectively. The fourth and final meeting was held on Nov. 24-25, 2006. The integration talks between the two taekwondo organizations restarted after the meeting among the presidents of the IOC, the WTF and the ITF, at the IOC headquarters on June 3, 2005. On Sept. 20, 2006, the three met again at the headquarters of the IOC, where the IOC president coordinated the ongoing WTF-ITF talks. The IOC President proposed that the coordination committee start simultaneously discussions on technical and administrative aspects of the two bodies “under the condition that an agreement should first be reached on the subject of integration of technical rules before any decision can be taken on administrative merger integration.” A unification of WTF and ITF for sure would be a major step for even more popularization of Taekwondo and it would guarantee a firm root in the Olympic movement for the future. Lets see what the talks will bring and how fast this ambitious goal can be reached."
This will be interesting to follow as I have been following it on another forum. Thanks for the update neryo_tkd!
to be honest i don't really know what the outcome of all this will be. the thing is that the technical and the administrative sides have to be unified. one organisation wants to unify the administrative side first, the other organisation the technical side. so they're not going anywhere.
they have to agree on few things first, that's logical. all this might have as a result the change of technique, forms.....????
who knows. it'll take a while till everything is decided on, that's for sure, but i don't know if we'll like it. who was the first to initiate such a merger? ITF? to be able to take part in major competitions?
No doubt! I can't see that any sort of merge would leave poomse unchanged. They would have to "standardize" (I hate the thought of that) the new organization. I am relatively new to TKD but just learning my first form I was amazed how closely it resembled my first Shotokan Kata. Not exact copy but close enough for me to say "Hey, I remember this".
i'm not sure if i'll be thrilled with all that. fact is that things are done differently in different clubs in different cities in different countries and continents, and all that within one taekwondo organisation. now to merger two different styles?!
I know how you feel but just think of all the new stuff you may be able to learn from other practictioners. Think of it as cross training but within the same organisation. I am not a big fan of "standardization" as I fear it will water things down quite a bit. Do we need 2 organizations? Maybe. Will we be better served under one tent? Doubtful in the long run. But change is inevitable so... we shall see.
