Don't listen to people who say tae kwon-do is crap.

[Noey]

Tae kwon-do is not crap!

Although it did get a lot of bad attention from people saying that you couldn't do a flying side kick in a small room if you where attacked in one or something like that. Well, a person in tae kwon-do would use they're elbow or knee just like anyone else if they where in that situation. And, the reason for such kicks like a flying side kick is for kicking people off horses. Which is deffiently bad-ass.

Anybody else who says tae kwon-do is crap just doesn't realize that tae kwon-do is pretty diffiicult to use on the street. You'd probably end up on you're ass. Not unless you're really serious about tae kwon-do, it won't work on the street.

[Tom Yum]

Tae kwon do

Noey, the reason why TKD gets a bad rap is that many, many schools emphasize point sparring. Yeah its fun, but its not going to help you when the proverbial rubber hits the road.

Alot of TKD practitioners try to bring down boxing and muay thai, sayings they are just sports. Yeah, but lets not forget that they are full-contact sports where one person is left standing.... Head down to your nearest boxing gym and see for yourself, that's probably the best way of doing it.

TKD has some great aspects, when trained as a combat martial art. TKD guys like yourself develop lightning fast, hard kicks that most people don't expect. The result is someone bringing their hands down to block or grab a kick and getting axe kicked in the collar bone or hook kicked on the face.

Sadly, most TKD schools don't train hands for punching or infighting. They can suppliment the hand work with boxing or if they're more Tang Soo based, they do some great open-hand type strikes to soft targets.

In addition, TKD doesn't train in either grappling nor weapons, unless its cirriculum includes Hapkido or other Traditional Korean arts.

Thanks for the post.

[Noey]

True about point sparring although I have heard of some people claiming to have done contact point sparring. I imagine that wouldn't work out well, but I guess it may actually exist.

[Tom Yum]

True about point sparring although I have heard of some people claiming to have done contact point sparring. I imagine that wouldn't work out well, but I guess it may actually exist.

Yeah, even in other combat sports you get points for landing solid blows. Same in Karate/TKD. Yeah, the WTF state and national comps are full contact. Some dudes get KO'd by kicks to the head.

[Maxx]

I would like to add my 2 cents worth. I don't speak for all TKD stylists when I say this but if you get the chance to look though General Choi's Encyclopedea of TKD, you'll find techniques for every range including grappling. I say this with some considerable experience in BJJ and Shooto. Granted, it wasn't extensive, but the range was recognized.

My personal feeling is that most TKD stylists don't train for anything but competition against other TKD stylists. The technique is there. If you take a TKD stylist and have him fight a muay thai stylist day in and day out for a year, he'll adapt and become a greater and greater challenge for his opponents. It's all about learning to apply it against a variety of different opponents and to educate our students to be prepared to face what might be out there.

[kuk sool won]

point sparring does have its +'s, for one some people don't like to train hardcore and get headlocked by stelios whos armpits sweat rivers. You can also use it to try out new tactics and techniques, you can't always do that in contact sparring, ya try a back spin kick and you get clobbered by some fat bloke in camos.

[Thai Bri]

Looking in an encyclopedia isn't the same as employing effective techniques and training methods over a consistent and long period of time.

The common practice methods of many TKD schools is crap for self protection. Though there will be some effective TKD about. Like Karate and Kung Fu.

[Piston]

I would like to add my 2 cents worth. I don't speak for all TKD stylists when I say this but if you get the chance to look though General Choi's Encyclopedea of TKD, you'll find techniques for every range including grappling. I say this with some considerable experience in BJJ and Shooto. Granted, it wasn't extensive, but the range was recognized.

My personal feeling is that most TKD stylists don't train for anything but competition against other TKD stylists. The technique is there. If you take a TKD stylist and have him fight a muay thai stylist day in and day out for a year, he'll adapt and become a greater and greater challenge for his opponents. It's all about learning to apply it against a variety of different opponents and to educate our students to be prepared to face what might be out there.

Thats very true, however I think its very difficult for a student of any single school of any MA to fight outside of it. Its quite hard for individual dojangs to organise cross-dojang competitions because of insurance plan differences. THe only way to get that knowledge of application of one's techniques outside of one's MA, I feel is to cross-train, but for some people that isn't feasable financially or time-wise.

[Troll Virus]

Trolling trolling trolling,
keep dose axes grinding rawhiiiiiiide.


Trust me!

[Broadsword2004]

Well I hate point sparring, I like continuous sparring; also, TKD versus TKD is only good for that; TKD has to modify itself for competition agaisnt other arts. There was a Tae Kwon Do Olympic Gold Medalist from Korea who got knocked out in the second round of a K-1 fight (REASON: he didn't keep his hands up to protect himself!)

[>:)]

And, the reason for such kicks like a flying side kick is for kicking people off horses. Which is deffiently bad-ass.

And when exactly are you gonna find yourself needing to do that?

This is exactly why it gets ripped. It's impractical for this day and age, just like rigid shotokan

[GQchris]

Someone said TKD was typical strip mall chop sockey

[jubaji]

jackass

the reason for such kicks like a flying side kick is for kicking people off horses. Which is deffiently bad-ass.

Nonsense like that is why some people dismiss tkd...

[totaltwatdeano]

The thing I don't like about Tae Kwon Do is how it's very competition based.

[Shaolin Bushido]

Someone said TKD was typical strip mall chop sockey

Well ....