Oklahoma Taekwondo....aka: USA TKD Center

[MAOakley]

First, I would like to state that I am not fully questioning this dojang or the instructor's creditintials.

While, I certainly do questions how quickly this gentleman may have ascended to "Grandmaster-10th Dan", this is not the focus of my thread.

I know we have all spent time in offices with very "motivated" businessmen/instructors who can not wait to bash their local competition. Often when speaking with these instructors we find ourselves being regailled with stories about their competition and how evil these people are.

I am currently looking for the right school to return to MA with.....and this past weekend I was able to meet with Grandmaster Sexton from US TKD Center/Oklahoma Taekwondo.

First the positives:
-he is a fire cheif, which instantly gains major points in my book
-he is a fabulously charismatic and generously nice man
-he really, really, really supports his students in obtaining their goals and the local community
-He and his students have some truly impressive creditintials
-he has some fabulous stories and some great experiences

The negatives:
-He talked down about many local instructors who he considers to be friends
-He spread rumors and lied about some very recognized, succesful and ethical instructors who I know personally
-he has adopted some very interesting billing/curriculum structures which are very similar to McDojo-ish type schools.
-His basic TKD classes are only 30 minutes long! You have to join the black belt club to get the other half.
-His prices are considerably higher than his competition

I wanted to call Bullshido on this gentleman, not to question his legitimacy, but his practices. While, I think it is okay to compare certain competitive advantages that your school may have over another....I do not think it is okay to lie about other schools. He stated that Jason and Guy Poos of Poos TKD often tell their students that their opponent killed that student's parents, or other more belocose comments to fire up the students in the ring. I have met Jason and Guy, and I know more than a couple of their students, and The indication that I get from them is that nothing could be further from the truth. Poos students are highly motivated through training and a strong desire to maintain a winning tradition....not "brainwashing" as Grandmaster Sexton described it.

Basically, if you are in the OKC area....I would think twice before affiliating with this gentleman. Your technique may gain, but I feel that this gentleman's competitive nature and questionably flexible ethics may lead to interesting situations that we know can happen. Consider who you represent and what that says about you. Their signature ends up on your certificates, and possible your uniform. Their actions reflect on you, just as yours do on them.

[stinglikeabee]

Seeing as this was posted in 2007. I'd like to respond to it anyway. First I can understand you have concerns about this instructor. However, I think your statement is far fetched and should be considered defamation of this mans charactor and his business. He's not here to defend himself and why didn't you express this to Grandmaster Sexton himself? It wouldn't surprise me if this was the poos posting instead of someone whose searching for a dojo to restart his training. I've never heard of any instructor bad-mouthing another school or it's peers, much less to say something deragatory about another dojo to a student when he barely knows you. As you stated, you were looking for a school to attend. How long did you go to Grandmaster Sexton's school? A day? A week? I doubt Grandmaster Sexton would have made such comments.

Secondly, you posting judgemental comments about someones profession and statue is no different than what you claim Grandmaster Sexton said about anothers charactor.

I've known all instructors for over 20 years. I would advise anyone from taking your comments seriously or any advice from you!

As for POO...they are good instructors and has taught many students who've gone far in tkd. By the same token, I do know firsthand they don't seem to have too much confidence in their younger students to allow them to compete at their own level.
Instead they have sandbagged in competitions for years. They've done this with me and my three boys. It gave my boys a false sense of confidence which ultimately one lost interest in competing and I moved my other two boys to another dojo. Although we wish them well and continue to have a good repore with POO, we pride ourselves in not only technique but competing in tournaments at our own level. I refuse to allow my boys to compete against anyone below their belt color. If your on the floor preparing for competition, wear your own true belt color, not someone else's! (be prepared and be on time) Fight a fair competition and know that you are there to improve your skills. It's not about winning. Those first place medals won't do anything for you except collect dust. Like this gentleman MAOakley quoted "Consider who you represent and what that says about you. Their signature ends up on your certificates, and possible your uniform. Their actions reflect on you, just as yours do on them"

[huge]

If you're trying to make Sexton look good, you've failed. Way to handle *ahem* conflict from 6 years ago.

I have to stop typing now, as my eyes have rolled out of my head and I have to find them before the cat does.

[Omega Supreme]

As per the OP: McDojo maybe but not Bullshido.

For our new member: Sounds to me like you're fairly inept about how to handle personalities. I would probably question your motives before the original poster. In other words I wouldn't believe you as far as I can throw the internet.

[Spetsnaz13]

The "Black Belt Club" is a dead giveaway. I mean c'mon

In response to Stinglikeabee: You resurrected a thread from 2007 just to troll with that crap? How much did they pay you for this?