Choices...

**Ben836** · Posted On: 4/13/2012 4:57pm

Hey I have reached a tough decision.. I am thinking about beginning to learn Jidokwan Taekwondo instead of what the ATA teaches..I have been in the ATA for about half a year now but the payment plans got messed up. My folks don't want to me to go there anymore. But at the Jidokwan place we have to buy an all new uniform, membership, and sparring gear.. Should we take the risk of the ATA ripping us off? or should we go to the Jidokwan place knowing we have to start over?

I haven't gotten to terribly far in Taekwondo at the ATA seeing as how I'm only yellow belt. Karate is the art I specialize most in.

**hungryjoe** · Posted On: 4/13/2012 5:50pm

Originally Posted by Ben836

Hey I have reached a tough decision.. I am thinking about beginning to learn Jidokwan Taekwondo instead of what the ATA teaches..I have been in the ATA for about half a year now but the payment plans got messed up. My folks don't want to me to go there anymore. But at the Jidokwan place we have to buy an all new uniform, membership, and sparring gear.. Should we take the risk of the ATA ripping us off? or should we go to the Jidokwan place knowing we have to start over?

I haven't gotten to terribly far in Taekwondo at the ATA seeing as how I'm only yellow belt. Karate is the art I specialize most in.

You've been in the ATA for around a year and have only reached yellow belt?

You're not serious.

**kitkatninja** · Posted On: 4/14/2012 3:08pm

Originally Posted by Ben836

Hey I have reached a tough decision.. I am thinking about beginning to learn Jidokwan Taekwondo instead of what the ATA teaches..I have been in the ATA for about half a year now but the payment plans got messed up. My folks don't want to me to go there anymore. But at the Jidokwan place we have to buy an all new uniform, membership, and sparring gear.. Should we take the risk of the ATA ripping us off? or should we go to the Jidokwan place knowing we have to start over?

I'm not a Taekwondo practitioner and not up to date with which are the best TKD schools (especially in the US), so I'm just going to throw my 2 cents in as a general comment (not specific to Taekwondo).
Is the cost and hassle (overall) of moving to the Jidokwan Taekwondo place more or less than if you stay at ATA? What is the ROI (return of investment for you) if you stay with ATA vs Jidokwan?
For example: You moved over to Jidokwan, yes have to spend out on new equipment, but the overall cost (insurance, classes, grading, etc) is more ecomonical (upfront cost is high, but running costs are low) and the "style" & sparring is better for you, then moving over would be the better option.
That is just one example, in the end it is really down to you and how you/your parents weight things.

Originally Posted by Ben836

I haven't gotten to terribly far in Taekwondo at the ATA seeing as how I'm only yellow belt. Karate is the art I specialize most in.

As for this, if you do move, will Jidokwan Taekwondo accept your current rank or will you have to start all over again (note: there is nothing wrong with starting from fresh).
If karate is the art that you specialise in, why not return to karate or try a different style of karate (eg Shotokan, kyokushin, wado, etc)?

**MaverickZ** · Posted On: 4/17/2012 9:40am

What I want to know is where the hell did you find an actual Jidokwan school?

**alcole** · Posted On: 4/17/2012 10:16pm

Jidokwan evolved into Kukkiwon Taekwondo. Today Jidokwan functions as a sort of fraternal order. Where is this school, I might know who they are. I am a Jidokwan member.

**MaverickZ** · Posted On: 4/18/2012 8:28am

Originally Posted by alcole

Jidokwan evolved into Kukkiwon Taekwondo. Today Jidokwan functions as a sort of fraternal order. Where is this school, I might know who they are. I am a Jidokwan member.

Thank you, I looked it up on wikipedia too.

**1armedwonder** · Posted On: 4/18/2012 8:53pm

From what I understand, the ATA is not very favorably looked upon by other martial artists. Whether this is due to how they teach or something else, I don't know personally. But in my opinion, if many people don't think too highly of the ATA, then there's probably something wrong with it. Mind you, these are all based on if you actually want to learn how to defend yourself (basically they say a vast majority of ATA schools are McDojos).

**brihno360** · Posted On: 4/18/2012 9:06pm

@hungry joe:
he said yellow belt after around half a year. which is pretty quick IMHO

**Petter** · Posted On: 4/19/2012 1:02am

Originally Posted by brihno360

@hungry joe:
he said yellow belt after around half a year. which is pretty quick IMHO

ATA is infamous for promoting people rather…well, here:

Originally Posted by some ATA school

At our ATA Black Belt Academy a student can earn a 1st Degree Black Belt in approximately 1.5 to 2 years of training. Every student progresses at their own pace, and all students are encourged to test for higher rank every few months.

**MaverickZ** · Posted On: 4/24/2012 7:47am

Originally Posted by brihno360

@hungry joe:
he said yellow belt after around half a year. which is pretty quick IMHO

Are you kidding? The normal MO of most commercial TKD schools is a test every three months. The idea is to get through about ten to twelve belts in about 3 to 4 years. Then you can sell them on degrees and black belt clubs. A yellow belt around half a year is pretty much par for the course if not longer than usual. Generally, you start with no belt, it'll take about a month or two to get a white belt. Then three to get yellow.