Tae Kwon Doers?

Question

Why do you tae kwon do practicioners keep insisting tae kwon do is even marginally useful in a real fight>? In 99.99999 percent of tae kwon do schools in the US (mc dojos i think they are called) all they teach you is how to point spar and to do flashy kicks. And even in the sparring, it is nothing like a real fight, in my school i went to, (it was supposedly founded by a super famous master, and had a rack full of trophies and showed the master with olympic medals) we werent allow to kick below the waist, even though we had cups, no using hands, no blocking kicks with our legs, and you couldnt even kick more than once after yuo score a point. Do you practitioners study the art you take before signing up?

the whole kicking as fast as you kick thing is sorta crap...youd have to be a super uman guy like bruce lee to make those skills useful, and that is sorta hard to reach...maybe only .000001 people get there?

i guess my new question would be do traditional schools (good ones not mcdojangs like my old one) teach those spinny kicks? If so, Why?

IF they dont then i think even though there are only a few worthwhile classes to take, the art itself taught in the hands of a real teacher wouold be quite good

Answer 1

Do you even have the slightest clue as to what you are talking about? If this was the type of school that you were in, maybe you should have done some studying up before signing the contract. It sounds like you were in a McDojo. Did you get your black belt in 2 years?

Are these kicks useful in a real fight? Did you do your research at all? Stephan Bonner uses a step into a turn hook kick and I have NEVER seen anyone try to catch his leg. I have seen George St. Pierre use a step back kick and almost break ribs. I have seen David Loaseau (sp) use a counter back kick and stop his opponent IN HIS TRACKS. On just these examples ALONE, it seems to me that tkd kicks are extremely effective in a fight.

Let me turn a light on for you. There are rules in sparring, there are rules in the UFC, there are rules in COMPETITION to limit the chance for competitors to get hurt. There aren't any rules in a street fight.

So, now knowing this, what makes you think that if a person can control a kick well enough to take care of his opponent in the ring, they can't kick through a knee joint? Are you that naive?

We practice full contact every time, all the time. We punch to the body and kick to the head. We don't punch to the face because that it too easy. In our competitions we go the full round without stopping. We don't point spar. If you did, I can see why you are pissed off. But, don't group all of us in with your wussy school.

And WHY are you blocking with your legs? Do you have ANY clue how much abuse you are absorbing by choice? MOVE out of the way, sucker them in for a planned attack. Use your brains not your body.

I have 12 years in Tae Kwon Do. It is posted on my profile. You don't have any information up. Is this because you don't have any experience worth talking about? If you want to continue this discussion, e mail me. If not, shut up. You really don't know what you are talking about.



PS I answered your email. Why won't you answer mine??


Edit - New attitude, very nice. Why teach the spinning kicks? Agility. If you can do those kicks, you have pretty good control over what your body can do. Is EVERY kick good for defense? NO. To use a spinning kick in a street defense situation, the attacker would REALLY have to be sleeping standing up. And yes, a good teacher can make or break a martial art.

Answer 2

It all depends on the teacher of the school. My school is basically TKD for tournaments, so we barely do self-defense techniques. Some other schools focus more on self-defense than tournaments. But the best thing I can tell you is that Tae Kwon Do will train you to fight; kicks, punches, blocks, jump kicks, open-hand and knee and elbow strikes, advanced blocks. You will learn forms and might need to do breaking techniques for promotion tests. Some schools require sparring for promotion as well. Some people love sparring, if that's you then look for a traditional tae kwon do school that specializes in tournament training. Watch out of schools that are all about money, and don't go to a school if the people in charge don't even know what style of Tae Kwon Do they teach. Flips and Aerobics are not really useful in fighting, but they look nice and are flashy. Some schools have teams for demonstrations, or maybe you could join a tae kwon do club that does this somewhere around where you live. Normally this is just in Gymnastics, not TKD. I suggest you research other types of martial arts just in case like Ving Tsun, Brazilian Jiu jutsu, or Ninjutsu. WHat I would do is Learn TKD, then watch flashy martial arts movies, and then try to put them together by practicing at home. But ask the school if they do demonstrations or shows, like I said, it all depends on the teacher.

Answer 3

MTTKD said it perfectly.
While McDojo's outnumber real schools 10-1, there are still some really good schools out there. One of my instructors had a conversation with me tonight on this very subject. One of the first questions someone new asks is "How long until I reach Black Belt?" My instructor says "That's up to you. But expect 4-5 years." People ask why so long, and talk about the school down the street that will give it to you in two years, and the one with semi-private lessons that will give it to you in as little as 9 months. All my instructor can do is sigh. He simply explains to them that they should try out our school, free of charge, for a few weeks. No contracts. No $1200 black belt test. Just try and see if our school is what your looking for.

What you end up getting is a good knowledge of martial arts, with an explaination on how to use your kicks effectively in a real fight. Would I consider a 540 hook kick in a street fight? Hell no! Would I kick a guy in the knee, and boot him in the face if he bent over? Absolutely. Is my daughter not going to kick the school yard bully in the nuts because tournament rules say she shouldn't? He found out no, she will.

I am sorry you ended up in such an obviously $hitty school. If I were wrong, you probably wouldn't be so bitter. I have even met point style sparrers (Hit and stop) that have the potential to really hurt someone if necessary. Because they are taught the difference between school rules, and real world rules. Perhaps if you had found a school like that, you would not feel as though you wasted your time and money.

Answer 4

I am in my second Tae kwon do class, in my life time. I would say that what I have learned would defiantly help me in a fight and in fact has helped me in fights. Whatever school you went to sounds freakin GAY! My schools have been nothing like that. First school was TKD/ Hapkido so that was very useful. This one is TKD/Karate so we use hands and feet alot its pretty sweet I love kicking people in the head plus we have learned many useful hand and blocking techniques. Go find a school that isn't all about winning tournaments and more about teaching the proper techniques and values. To be honest the two instructers I had refused to get their own dojos because they did not want to become like all the other schools. The two I have gone to were through rec. centers. My advice would be to look into the place before signing up. I mean my brother in law teaching a class and I won't go there because his class is fake and dosen't teach properly.

Answer 5

Tae kwon do like all martial arts is useful in a fight....tkd isnt all kicking and jumping kicks and movements such as those. i guess it really depends on where you train as to what type of style you will be introduced to.

taekwondo has an emphasis in kicking. point sparring is a differnt component to a different style of taekwondo. just like full contact sparring is another style. in full contact competitors wear protective equipment and hit one another. point sparring is more so a measure of controlling ones attack (even though this doesnt always happen and smeone gets hurt!!!)

as ive stated, taekwondo is useful. sure our kicking techniques are body to head height. but remember, its ur school that u train at that will introduce u to different things. just because u cant hit on certain areas, doesnt mean that the same techniques u are learning arent adaptable to different areas of the body.

the basic blocks you learn are useful also. u may not perform them the way u do in class, but the method and reasoning behind why u perform them is still there.

u do have some valid points, but u are coming from one side of the coin. remember, not all schools are the same. everything is adaptable.....

oh and to the person who said they have been doing tkd for 16 years and it has it on his profile. thats awesome. but also remember that not everyone cares to divulge that information. not everyone feels the need to show off how long they have been doing martial arts for....but i, as others, are very happy for u

Answer 6

Hell yeah brothers. Finally somebody in here that think like me. Tae Kwon do kicks are by far more powerfull than Muay Thai. Just because of the technique. We actually put it to the test using a force meter in bags and using rounhouse kicks, both style practitioners tried out the different way of kicking nad TKD kicks where by far more powerful and harder to catch. Of course like my fellows siad here, tournament is tournament, self defense is self defense. Like I tell my students, in a real self defense situation the first rule is.... there is no rules, never fight fair. The first technique of self defense is..... run. We do olimpyc style TKD and I also teach them the self defense aspects of the art. Nobody will ever have a black belt in under 5 years in my school. I take a lot of pride in what I do, besides I also have a Black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo. I am a federal agent and a defensive tactics instructor. I have used my TKD skills as much as my other skills in real life situations where my life has been endangered. Tounament comes nothing close to facing death my friend. To all the real Tae Kwon Do instructors out there that are teaching the art the way it should be I salute you and thank you. For all the MCdojos out there, you are ruining the reputation of great martial arts.

Answer 7

Well "Street effective TKD" IS an oxymoron after all.
like most cults, people agree even when they shouldnt. dogma propels its students alone a tunnel that reflects only themselves.

for that matter, anyone who hasnt trained in more than one system is kidding themselves. not because of the experience, but because of the comparisons you do when you cross train. just like cars, if you only drive one type, how can you judge other cars. you need to shop around before anyone has any credibility.

when you reach the top, you should climb a new mountain, not keep jumping up at the clouds. I find TKD to be full of these cloud jumpers. but then many others have them too.

the sad reality is that no one wants to admit for a second that they wasted years doing something less than effective. but because they know they dont know any better, they just stay where they are. safer to think you are awesome, than to find out you arent.

when I first went through traditional arts, I aimed for the Black belt, and when I got nearer I realised that the belt was all I wanted. i was ashamed at my lust for the belt, and my initial reason to join had been replaced. we should be aiming to achieve our maximum potential, and the belts are just the bonus. I had stopped doing things because I needed them or wanted them, I did things because I wanted the belt. didnt change my skill, just my perspective was wrong.

so I move on when I start to take my abilities for granted, or start feeling smug about my position in relation to others.

I see most of the TKD schools market the black belt as the goal for turning up. sad. even giving time frames to achieve it. how the hell? it must be easy to learn then, if TKD can make a statement that says in X tears you WILL have one. damn, some people in my first martial art of Kempo had been there 6 years and still failed the black belt assessments. some people just arent destined for greatness. and thats ok.

now I no longer follow traditional syllabus at all. too much dogma. but yes, I do still preach! amen.

Answer 8

I love your statement and couldn't have agreed more, if I had more then two thumbs they all be pointing up! right now.

It seems that most school have gone Hollywierd, flashy, with no practical street value what so ever.

I have studied traditional Korean Arts for about 15 years, made it to brown in TKD and 2nd in TSD and quit in 1992. In 1997 I started learning & teaching the Art of Kenpo Karate and now hold a 2nd dan Black Belt. Soon I'll be testing for 3rd dan...

Answer 9

I have seen bad and good tae kwon do dojangs. It really is the instructors who have been destroying the art. There are good tae kwon do schools out there that teach some useful skills. Its much easier to find a bad school that teaches crap though.

Answer 10

k have you ever been to a tkd dojang thats not a mcdojo? itf is one of the best taekwondo schools. you don't do point sparring but you can't kick to between the legs. i think your definition of sparring is different than mine. in sparring you're not trying to beat the cr@p out of your opponent, you're developing and testing your own skills. and actually i didn't research martial arts before going into my tkd school. after doing some tkd i researched and got more sucked into martial arts. i still love tkd and i probably would have chosen something else like tai chi or okinawan karate but wtv. it's awesome and it got me into the korean culture.