Dae Sung Brothers

[Drunx]

With recommendation from a close friend, I was informed of a 1 week trial period for $20, with free uniform included upon sign up.

First thing I noticed about this dojang is the physical health and the number of black belts in this dojang. Majority of the class is composed of overweight adults, with all of them except two, being in the rank of a black belt.

The gym feels alive during the children's class, as kids can naturally be loud. The adult class is not suprisingly dull, with repetitive drills, incorrect stretches (students are encouraged to bounce while doing stretches), and lack of motivation from the students.

Equipments were abundant. Enough pads to go around and punching bags to practice on. The pads are used during certain parts of training, but the punching bags are never used, as they were meant for use during solo trainings outside of class schedules. The punching bags seemed like a waste of money, as there is no time in between class, or after class to use them.

The size of the gym was reasonable, considering the number of students in the class. The only complaint I had were the extremely large pillars that are positioned in the middle of the room, which can get in the way often.

So far, I have only seen the dojang owner instruct the class, but have been told that during his absence, a 3 dan black belt, or above, will teach the class. I am not sure which of the countless black belts were past 3 dan, but the ratio was good enough with only one instructor per class.

The student's attitudes showed respect for the instructors, but due to their weak physical state, majority of the student were not very motivated during drills. This was more obvious during sparring, where I, as a white belt, was superior in strength and speed, to a black belt that was of the same age as me.

From just two visits to this school, I was quickly convinced that $90 was way too high, considering their standard. When the students began separating in multiple groups, I was pulled out with two other black belts, so that I can learn the first basic forms of TKD. Of course, logically, anyone would assume that the other two black belts will be my instructor through the forms, but that was not the case. The two black belts were learning the form WITH me.

The school seems to participate in a tournament every month. I did find it suspicious at the number of golds that the school brings in, considering I have actually sparred their two main "poster boys" in a WTF sparring, to come out as the victor (won by punching them into giving up).

If you are looking for a hardcore training school for WTF style, this is not for you. If you have a weak physical condition and looking for a less rigorous cardio-workout gym, and have a lot of money in your wallet, you should consider joining.

[KhanomTom]

Any relation to Olympic gold medallist Dae Sung Moon?

[Ming Loyalist]

i think you misunderstand what is meant by the term "aliveness" if you gave this school a 5

aliveness refers to the use of progressive resistance in training, and the practice of having the sparring be as realistic as possible within reason (i.e. hard contact sparring with full range of fighting - standup, clinch and ground - being done at least on a somewhat regular basis.)

based on what you have described, this school deserves a "2" in aliveness at the most.