I love these threads that bash an art based on minimal knowledge of that art. Even by those that have practiced the art for a few years and proclaim to know everything the art entails. Get a clue. Just opening your mouth says you know squat.

Sport TKD is not the same as SD TKD. They're 2 different animals. Stop trying to put a square peg in a round hole. You look foolish. If you're not into it, fine. Then stay away from it. But don't slam it. There are alot of people that do like it, and have every bit as much right as you do to practice what appeals to them. You're no better or worse than anyone else here so get of you high horse.

TimBlack, you're comment about "TKD is inevitably combined with Hapkido somewhere down the road" is pretty close. More accurately, "TKD incorporates a Hapkido like style in itself down the road" would be better, but at least you sound like you're learning from someone who knows the art. Not one of these "I'm a 1st Dan and know everything so I'll open my own school" frauds.

And

"good TKD practitioners are good. Bad practitioners are bad. Just like any martial arts." Good summation.

Last. I wouldn't recommend calling someone like Sanchin31 an idiot. He's well respected on this forum for a reason. He knows what he's talking about. Maybe if you keep your name calling and comments to a minimum and spend a little more time reading, you might actually learn something.

Regards,

"I love these threads that bash an art based on minimal knowledge of that art. Even by those that have practiced the art for a few years and proclaim to know everything the art entails. Get a clue. Just opening your mouth says you know squat. " - Gemini
yup yup i have to agree 100% on that one


late post but, nice win 27-0
just thought it would be important to add though, that sometimes even with your 27/27 Wins against TKD guys doesnt necessarily mean TKD is a bad MA. in fact most ppl dont even consider it a MA because the only time they see it is on Olympics or walk around going to dojang's and see sparring.
because if you faught in a ring or any enclosed area, that is always the advantage for the grappler. you see it all the time in striking vs grappling, strikers need alot of room, for example i cant do a back hook kick when im crammed in a corner, but to the grappler it is more advantageous as they can clinch easier since opponent cant move. and another example is if you are charging up on the TKD guy and obviously lets just say he got "frightened" and started backing away, well he only gets about 2 steps back before he hits outside the matts (so the fight starts in the center again or if u want to be professional, he gets a warning and lets just say 2 warnings = loss) or he hits the ropes and then is just going to get owned as he has not as much, if not none, experience in closed spaces/clinch.
good wins though, 27-0 is never an easy task. i just wanted to add that b/c i lost to wrestlers in enclosed areas, but large areas i was able to rape.


jINhYunG ahN

This seems like the perfect thread to explain what happened to me a few days ago and ask for advice. I've been taking TKD for around 6 months now and i'm fairly certain it isnt a "Mcdojo" that i attend, theres almost no emphasis on the sports aspect, the cost of the class isnt much, we don't learn any jumping or turning kicks or any of that crap, and a little bit of every class is dedicated to practicing real life self defense situations. From what i've read it seems most TKD schools BS their students and the real style has gotten a bad reputation because of this.
Anyway a few days ago i was in a conversation with a cousin of mine who has been taking Juijitsu and Jeet kun do for around a year, when i mentioned i've been taking Tae kwon do he told me in no uncertain terms that he thought it sucked, what bothered me the worst was when he said "Tae kwon do is for girls" which he apparently believes very strongly. He explained to me that from what he had heard from people in his classes, all the TKD students that they had encountered sucked. We got into a little bit of a sparring match, I was afraid of actually hitting him so i threw a weak belt level sidekick which he blocked and he basically ran into me backing me into a wall, i tried to block his hand motions but he was at very close range and i couldnt backup cause of the wall behind me. His hand motions made it hard for me to block and i was hesitant to throw any solid punches cause i didnt want to actually hit him. Any suggestions on what i could do if i ever get into this situation again?

use your knees, elbows and palm strikes to the face. These are all part of the Chang Hon colour belt syllabus (don't know about WTF, but I suspect they are). If he gets you in a waist hold, elbow his spine or neck. Too many people forget about these things. (of course, just hard enough to let him know). Incidentally, I have seen jumping spinning kicks (and that kind of crap) used effectively as a technique for getting away from an advancing opponent while also counter striking. WTF guys use it well when a Chang Hon guy gets too close with the hands.

Of course, your biggest mistake was the one he didn't make... being half-hearted. A weak side kick is an invitation and the kind of thing JJ-er's ask from Santa Claus

Thanks for the advice, sorry if i insulted jumping and turning kicks. Just that i've been taught that anytime both feet leave the ground it becomes easy for the opponent to control my movement, sidestep or throw me or whatever, balance and power are emphasized more than anything else. And anytime i turn my back to an opponent thats an opportunity for him to get free hits on me.

A ground fighter has A LOT better chance of beating a standing fighter. Think of it this way....

1) It's easier for a ground fighter to keep his opponent down (where he's trained at), than for the standing fighter to keep his opponent up (where hes trained at)

2) ground fighters fight better standing up, than most standing fighter fight on the floor

3) ground fighters usually know submissions, standing fighters usually dont

Quite right, they aren't to be used without thinking, or half heartedly. I've generally seen them as effective when having to counter and move at the same time. I don't think I'd ever 'attack' with one.

Yup all you had to do was actually go for him. The problem is that people who do this kind of pointless 'my art is better than your art' babble are usually friends of ours etc.. The best thing to do is just ignore it - after all, "I shall never misuse Taekwon-do"

I took TKD for a few years 24 years ago and have started again just recentlly. From the training I had 24 years ago in TKD as a martial art (not sport) the first thing I would say that was wrong with your altercation was you let it turn into an altercation. All martial arts have good points no one martial art is better then the other they are simply different. All MA that I know teach you to avoid the altercation unless absolutly required. I will admit I have had to defend myself twice and my TKD skills allowed me to end the altercation very quickly without me being hurt and the other person simply having the breath knocked out of them.

My suggestion is next time someone degrades TKD as a whole simply walk away, you are not going to convince them otherwise even if you were to knock thier block off (if for no other reason then they probablly do not use thier head anyway). If they insult you personally ask yourself if you really care what the person insulting you thinks. If the person is an idiot who cares what he thinks. Not responding many times makes that person look more foolish then actually acting against him.