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Ima green belt in TKD, and I was just curious if anyone else took TKD too.

I did ITF I got up to red belt until my school lacked finances it had to close down. Other schools close to me are WTF the gradings different. I still trian martial arts though

I was in several different martial arts, but I spent the most time in TKD. I started out in non-contact, and trained until I got my red belt. Then I switched to a different school that was full contact, and went until I got my blackbelt. I was in TKD for about 7 years all together.

I took second in state in a full contact tournament, went to many other tournaments but that was the one I was most proud of.

So how do you like it?

I love it! It's a great form of self- defense and self discipline. I hope to start entering tournaments in the next couple months.

It is a lot of fun, great exercise. My best advice for you is stretch, stretch, stretch. Stretch when you're at home watching tv, and both before and after workouts. I saw more people get hurt due to lack of stretching.

Tournaments are great. It's one thing to spare against people in your class, the only problem with that is you get used to them. But when you go to a tournament you're fighting against someone you know nothing about. Best thing to do there is study your opponents when they fight. Watch for habits, strengths and weaknesses. Ask the people in your corner to watch also, and compare notes before your next match. That way when you have to face one of them you'll have an advantage over your opponent.

How long have you been doing this?

I took karate when I was 7, about 11 years ago...

My brother and sister are in Taekwondo right now, though.

I do tae-bo at bally's but i heard that tae kwan do is much more difficult so i dont plan to try it any time soon...hahah the tae bo 2004 videos kill me!

Well if you're doing Tae-bo then you'd easily make the transition into TKD. I don't know anything about Tae-bo, but in TKD they start you off with the basics, you learn how to stand, how to kick properly, block, strike, etc. You'd be in a lot better shape then most people in TKD, unless they're training for a tournament.

Bella, is that you in your sig?

i have done karate...........i have quite alot of belts....haha jase...might just get to kick that cute arse of yours one day

started TKD at age 5.
and i stopped at 7 or 8

i got until green i think.

I used to be in TKD i got up to double black strip and then i quit

TKD- I was into it for like 4 weeks and then i never really worked on it. I was more into just plain boxing

Umm, hello, we're talking about TKD here, not Karate. And you think you're gonna kick my arse. WHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAAHA! WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
!! WHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
WHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHA

no

You some sometimes, when you're taught something to be a block, it isn't really? Like in the first pattern (if you're doing ITF-TKD) what is taught as "low" block is actually a strike, eg. strike with the right arm, pull back with the left arm: your opponent low punches you, grab the wrist with your left arm, strike down with your right arm.

acknowledgements to my bf and his George Dillman video collection

Moving...

i would have been black belt by now if i stayed (my cousin did so he is)
but then i kept moving from one to another then got lazy so i stopped
my last was shoalin Kung fu a few months ago
my brothers doing Wushu

i started taking it last year, so right now i'm a yellow belt

not that its any of my buisness but do you think we should merge this with my martial arts thread?

I'm no moderator here.. so its just my opinion.

Martial arts is generalising, Maybe some just want to discuss TKD on its own.

i know but i just think that it would be easier to find if we just merged it...thats all...but yeah your right that is a bit generalizing it..

TKD is an uneffective form of self defense. I do think it's a good traditional form of martial art, but I promise if you try to use it against an expirianced fighter you will loose. Personally I take muay thai, escrima, wing chung kung fu, and brazilian jujitsu. Ive also taken cocepts of jeet kun do. Any one of these is better that traditional tkd. I don't want to offend anyone, its just that most people that take TKD or Karate think their gaining practical self defense techniques and thats just not true. 70% of tkd is useless. I know I earned up to brown belt in tkd before I moved on to what i do now.

...care to explain how that 70% is useless?

Thing is, like I said in an earlier post, students aren't taught how to apply the moves which is a disadvantage giving them the mentality that it isn't all that great.

Sometimes what you're taught to be a block is actually a pull and strike.

You can find out more through the teachings of these guys that make videos and books on how to apply the moves you're taught.

Come on, in a real fight, you're not going to pull one fist back to your waist and low-block with the other arm now are you? The pulling back is grabbing your opponent and the thing you're taught as block is striking them.

Back then, a few years ago, my teacher's corrupt son who was on 3rd dan at the time decided to teach a few of us pressure points. Recently, my bf who's a martial arts/comics fanatic decided to teach me pressure points as well.

That guy George Dillman (look him up through Google) covers how to use techniques and pressure points.

...........no offense to anyone but yeah that sounds kinda silly...have you ever heard of any teachers who teach a street version of this art?(after all i want to learn something that i can actually aply to real life situations...not to just mess around...)

I used to do it when i was about 8 years old, but then stopped doing it a couple of years later

I was with a very formal teaching, it was almost treated as a sport like tennis or something, as it was semi contact.

I mentioned my teacher's son who sometimes took the class whilst his old man was off, the guy was around 23-24, probably a rough youth in his time he decided to show us how to apply the techniques in a real fight, I don't know if that's allowed in the federation but i really don't see why not. If we're going to be taught something, might as well be taught properly

The way TKD is taught nowadays, it's good for exercise and tournaments, nothing more. If you use certain techniques right they can be effective, but for the most part it's not a good art to learn if you want to know how to defend yourself on the street.

The problem I have with the traditional martial arts, is they are rehearsed rhythms until someone comes along with something different thus you have a broken rhythm. If you train to one certain rhythm, then you can't adapt when something different comes along. It's like Bruce Lee's philosophy about being like water, how it's shapeless and formless, you put it in a cup it becomes the cup, but it in a pot it becomes the pot. He demonstrated this idea in his unfinished movie called the Game of Death. He fights his way up this building that has five different levels, and at each level there is this person he has to fight that each have their own discipline. The two guys he has with him only know how to fight in their 'traditional' martial art, thus they can't adapt to fighting the person of a different discipline and get beat up badly. So then Bruce has to fight and defeat each level because his style is no style, thus he can adapt.

So I'd suggest either finding an instructor who teaches practical street techniques, or learn some Muy Tai Kickboxing and some forms of Kung Fu are good, keep what works and forget what doesn't. And also get as much training in BJJ (Brazilian Jujistu) as you can. That's my advice for anyone looking to get some practical street defense training.

Most things your learn in reality you wont be able to us
it is most unlikely that you would be able to use it for real life combat
Bruce Lee knew this and try to teach this to others, and thats why his such a great martial artist. He closed hi dojos because most of the students he taught didnt understand it and so he only would let a few learn from him
Things you learn are one thing applying to real life is another
but these days things are pretty much what you see in Asami's sig

I agree with BakaXero, in these days is Kung Fu vs. Gun Fu

It's one thing to fight someone in a ring or in a square with a referee and judges to make sure the fight stays clean and systematic. People train for that and think they can be just as effective on the street. For example, in boxing everytime you get into a clinch, the ref either breaks it up or tells you to fight out of it. But on the street, there is no referee, and no one there keeping points. They're gonna do groin shots, eye pokes, biting, knee shots, hold your arm while punching you, headbutts, grab and take you down, anything and everything to win the fight. That's my experience with martial arts vs. street fighter.

My goal in posting my opinions and experiences is for those who are reading this that are looking for something practical for self defense to at least have some ideas to think about. I hope this helps.

I look forward to reading other's experiences and wisdom. Keep em comin'.

I'm interested in learning TKD...

I live in New Zealand and Taekwondo is my life. I train like every day and if i had the choice i would quit school and carry out my training. i've been all over new zealand, australia, korea, canada and america for tkd. im loving it. im second dan black belt. wat bots you guys????

yea you have a point tazman bt it depends wat you do Taekwondo or any martial arts for that matters. at training you can train for tournaments, self defence or jst for fittness and the fun of it. if you take it serice you can learn street fighting. you won't practice it full out but you can learn it. i have a police officer who is an instructor at our tkd club and he is awsome. he brings along sticks and his gear and helps us learn the street way, as he has experienced this himself.

it does depend on who is teaching you and if you reali want to learn it or jst cnt be botherd or doing it for fun. tkd is a complex martial art and in mi opion one of the best around but then i guess i would say that because i love it. i've been to other karate etc clubs but nothing reali add's up to tkd. its full of different aspects and for me never gets boring

Originally posted by berserk
TKD is an uneffective form of self defense. I do think it's a good traditional form of martial art, but I promise if you try to use it against an expirianced fighter you will loose. Personally I take muay thai, escrima, wing chung kung fu, and brazilian jujitsu. Ive also taken cocepts of jeet kun do. Any one of these is better that traditional tkd. I don't want to offend anyone, its just that most people that take TKD or Karate think their gaining practical self defense techniques and thats just not true. 70% of tkd is useless. I know I earned up to brown belt in tkd before I moved on to what i do now.

70% percent? More than likely, you got that random number out of your head. It is not about the percentage of effectiveness its the level of perfection... It all depends on the person and how much the individual apply themselves. And last I checked, TKD is a Olympic Sport, not a form of self defense.