TAE KWON DO Question?

Question

I am a low yellow belt. And I should be testing next month for my High yellow belt. I do have a notebook just for my taekwondo stuff.
I also have a tournament next month. What can I do now to be able to be ready for my next belt test and tournament? I do want to try for the US TAEKWONDO team. But I have to be a black belt for that. What can I do to prepare for the US taekwondo team?

Answer 1

If you are in a good school you should be a few years away from reaching black belt and becoming eligible to try out for the US Tae Kwon Do team. That is one heck of a goal you have set for yourself; the competitionm will be fierce, and if you ARE able to earn a spot, you should rightly be proud of your accomplishment.

As for your next testing: I am assuming you are studying at a WTF affiliated school; Olympic style TKD is WTF, so you should be testing for your 7 geup. I cannot speak specifically to what your requirements are (I study ITF), but I would advise you to study your notebook and ensure that you are solid on the knowledge requirements (pattern names/meanings, signifigance of your belt color, etc.). Ensure you know your required poomsae, and make sure your stances and techniques are correct. Most of all, relax and enjoy the experience. I can tell you from experience that each level attained has special meaning, as it outwardly signifies your progress in your art.

For your tournament, speak with your Sabunhim; ask for any advice he or she may have on how you can be successful; you will do well to have practice sparring sessions, and have them critiqued; are you telegraphing? Do you have more success offensively or defensively? Everyone has a style they are more comfortable with, so play to your strengths. As a 7 geup, you will be matched against practitioners of similar grade, so your skill sets, if you have been paying attention, should be equally matched.

Most of all, for both events, RELAX. Go in with a positive attitude, and win or lose, you will learn something from both. If you are successful in your tournament and win your division, build on what made you successful. If you do not win, learn from what caused you to lose, and build from there.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

There are so many answers to this question. I started in Tae Kwon Do and it is my base art and I love it even though I no longer practice it. But even I have some qualms with how it is taught for the most part now. I think one of the hugest problems people see with it is the hands are always down. I was taught from a young age and even in TKD to always keep my hands up. They wear a lot of pads. Look at the Kyokoshin fighting. They have practically the same rule set yet the Kyokoshin use no pad, at all. This can lead people to think it is a "weaker" art.It is littered with McDojo's. I live in a small town with very little martial arts being taught. There are five TKD dojangs and three of them are bad. This is not a good way to show the public what a great art TKD is. I think the over all practicality of what is seen in the Olympics is quite poor for actual self defense and has lead people to believe that that is what TKD is all about. Which is not the case. There is not two reasons TKD has gotten its bad rap but rather a plethora of them that could take pages up on pages to write. It is still a great art and I believe will find favor in the eyes of the public again one day

Answer 3

My best advice would be relax, enjoy yourself, and listen to the advice and direction of your instructor/s. At you point in the journey, you are merely obtaining an understanding of what the art is, what the traditions of your school are, and what your place and role in the club is.

Study earnestly, communicate honestly, train fervently, and attend classes frequently. If you do this, you will be doing all you possibly can to adavance and prepare for any experiences or challenges you instructor/s offer to you, such as promotion advancement or tournament.

The US TaeKwon-Do team is certainly quite a distance off for you at the moment, but everyhting you do from now until your Dan test will help you build toward that goal in the long run, if it truly remains your goal at that time. You will have plenty of opportunity in the intervening time to explore tournaments, competitiors, tournament strategy, and so on with local, state wide, national events.

Good luck with your up-coming test, and as I said, relax and enjoy. You'll be surprised how quicky time and advancement will fly by. It's not so much the goal that is important in this sense, but the journey to the goal - as you learn so much on that journey.

Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do

Answer 4

haha well your goal shouldnt be to do good in some tournament but just practice,take notes,review your notes,watch every little thing like foot position in your stances and the exact target your hitting. Critique yourself really hard work on even the sound of your kia and lots of eye contact with the judges. And remember to show your confidence through your forms

Answer 5

i admire you for your commitment-looking forward to your dan simsa (grading test) can only be a positive move-however distant it may seem. for your next test my advice is to listen to your sabomnim work hard and remember your tenets one of which is -"perseverence". if you adhere to this advice i am sure you will acheive your goals. also practice your poomsae/palgwe as this can mean the difference between passing and failing in some dojang.