Or does it? I don’t know a whole lot about it except that they got a lot of crap from TMA and of course MMA guys Is this art really that bad? I sthere good TKD?
Oddly I have only had three experiences with it, the first a korean freind of mine beat a guy about 80lbs heavier and about 3 feet taller. The second, a woman freind of mine used it to good effect defending herself at a party from some unwanted attention. The third I sparred a girl who was a blackbelt, but she had never seen wing hcun and had a hard time dealing with what I was giving her, although she got in some good shots.
Im a 1st Dan blackbelt in ITF TKD… I dunno dude… Its pretty crap. I dont remember a lot of it, I hated the forms, and it feels like there is no point to them. Its very rigid, doesnt flow very well. I sparred a 2nd dan blackbelt chick I know who just got back from military, and played w/her like a toy. Its better than knowing nothing, to an extent, but in the same perspective it could f*ck you by thinking you are a bad ass. But its been covered before, more than the style its the training and the person. Some people are just natural bad asses, no matter what style they know.
Toying with the 2nd dan, was yes, mostly because Im quite a bit bigger,stronger quicker, ect.
TKD just… I dunno. Its very rigid, instead of redirection of momentum, most the time they seek to stop it. I learned from a man named Stan Singleton, was like 3rd in nation for heavy weight ITF TKD…
Im sure there are people who are good at fighting in TKD, but it wasnt TKD that made them a good fighter.
Thanks FC I will go through and read the thread now.
Shaolin-do - do you think the rigidity disappears, or is supposed to anyway, later on? I found that in my old karate class, although students were taught rigid and exaggerated movements, the instrcutors always said and showed, that karate is as smooth and as graceful as anything else, but you have to train your body first.
I actually got my start in tae kwon do (ugh). I was in it for about 2 years and here is what i got from it. Great flexibility and decent kicking. I say decent and not great because the type of kicks they use and the targets they shoot for are unrealistic. Also it was sport oriented and not very street smart.
In sparring, i could hold my own if not defeat the highest ranking black belts in the class by the first or second month that i was there. The only one that ever game me trouble even in the slightest was the teacher's son who has fought in tournaments all over the world, particularly in Israel of all places. I left because i got tired of getting yelled at by the teacher for kicking his students in the legs even though it was very effective. Tae kwon do is fine for what is in this country, a sport that resembles, and can in some ways be applied as, a martial art. In korea where it finds its origins it may be different but not in the U.S.
Back when i studied TKD… it wasn’t bad… looking back it was very similar to the KF i studied… in terms of the way it was taught to me… we had forms… 2-man drills and sparring… we worked on our hands… def and off… we worked the he\ out of our kicks (big surprise)… granted this was not Olympic style slap-happy TKD… i still pull some of the old tricks out of the bag every now and again… the hiding of footwork that they pushed comes in handy more time than not…
but… i haven’t stuck my head in a TKD school since than… so i’m sure things have changed…
Originally posted by red5angel she had never seen wing hcun
…She still never seen Wing Chun!.. Anyway, I don’t know what is the problem with TKD in the USA. It is not bad at all here in Quebec. I have a few friends who are various degrees of Black Belt and they all kick hard enough to break an arm if the guy tries to block.They move fast and they never stop attacking.I have also seen a TKD guy break about 8 inches of wood with a punch,so…Maybe the mac dojang syndrome asn’t reach my region yet?..
Stupid English teacher. I was typing up in class today and she told me to stop. Was typing a reply here.
I know a guy that goes to my college. Don’t know him, know him, but spoken to him etc. He has been doing TKD for 14 years. I was in the weight room one day and saw him do something, while talking to his friends. Had no idea what it was, it was a hand technique and I thought “Tai Chi?” cause how he moved his body while doing it. I asked him and he said “Tae Kwon Do.” We got talking, never sparred with him though. In fact hardly spoken to him since then. Im sure he can woops my butt though, unless I kick him in the knee caps.
The only thing I give credit to TKD for, is kicks. They do have good fast kicks, but after watching a couple of MMA fights w/TKD involved… I need not go further into explanation.
No, even there kicks suck. Not as bad as there hands, footwork or blocks though. When I was in my Kung Fu class, I through a roundhouse TKD style at a classmate as fast as I could. He easily deflected it and with a simple move could have messed up my ankle.
I see [i]ONE[/i] good thing with TKD. It can help people get into shape. Thats about the only thing I find good with it. And it gives little kids self confidence, after all, 4th graders who bully other kids tend not to do leg sweeps or rear chokes and arm bars or triangle chokes. Except a Gracie kid. A kid with TKD can have the confidence to confront and woop that bully’s ass and make him his bitch.
I used to know of a good traditional TKD place, but last time I saw them the quality seemed to have taken a major hit(sold out I guess). My dad’s school used to spar full contact, no pads, regularly and gasp were taught to keep their hands up! They also were strongly discouraged from participating in sport, though my dad did win fairly easily the one time he tried it.
TKD itself is ok, but it seems quality TKD schools are increasingly hard to find. Part of the problem is probably the limitations of their sparring format. It’s like if the rules for competitive jujitsu fights were limited to only two or three holds…
ive seen good and bad tkd… i used to compete knockdown/full contact and point stuff with other styles and regularly got smacked by some tkd guys. My gf is a 2nd dan tkd and can kick real hard and has fast footwork… she drops her hands though But more often than not her footwork is fast enough to stop me getting close. She is also real accurate with her kicks.
I train too much hard qigong though i think? - my parries/blocks hurt her :( and shes not used to my wing chun as well so its kinda fun to spar…
It depends where you learn. There are some TKD places that teach throws and all kindsof good stuff. Maybe not very many though. I recall a woman in my TKD class asking once “What happens if I get in this position? (under the mount)” The instructor ummed and ahhed and just told her not to get there in the first place! He was only a stand in for the real teacher, but still, that’s pretty bad. Bear in mind this guy probably knew ten variations of the back jumping hook kick!
I took Tkd for two and a half years. it’s a good MA for little kids, or someone not familiar with MA. It taught me good felxibilty, and some cool kicks that will never be usefull for actual real life comabt. I do, however, remember a couple hand techs that I will always remember, because I know for sure they can inflict some major damage, and bring someoen down in a desperate situation. But the place I studied at, was 80% Olympic, 20% traditional.
Traditional probably has as much use as a non commercialized Karate style. But to find one, is rare. I know of a lot of Tkd places that blend in hapkido,don’t know how good they are. And don’t know how well they blend, since TKD is rigid, and hapkido is very flowy.
Is this art really that bad? I sthere good TKD?
and shes not used to my wing chun as well so its kinda fun to spar…