TMA Fans: Your experiences with Tae Kwon Do?

**Keej613** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 9:00am

Attention fans of traditional martial arts: Please post up your thoughts about and experiences with Tae Kwon Do training.

Did you learn valuable striking techniques or was it just a bunch of LARPing and board-breaking?

Any info would be appreciated!

**munkus** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 9:16am

I've done TKD for about 5 and a half years. I do Moo Duk Kwan TKD, so the style is slightly different than WTF or ITF (in case that's what you were thinking about).

I find the training is generally okay, although not enough is done against pads, the majority of combos are done in the air. I also think the sparring needs to be more realistic, no head punching is stupid. We only break boards for the dan gradings and the instructor keeps it to a minimum, as he recognises it's minimal importance (purely a demonstration of correct technique). the self-defence training is fairly realistic, with partners offering resistance, although the drills aren't practiced random enough (i.e. the attack is always expected). No flashy, pointless techniques are taught in self defence, although some of the basic techniques taught are ineffective (but that is the nature of most TMAs).
Valuable striking techniques are taught, though. The instructor is also a boxer, so unlike with a lot of TKD, he ensure that our punches are decent, not just our kicks.
If you choose to do WTF TKD then chances are you will work less on punching, and more on light, fast kicks (for point sparring).

Overall, it comes down to the instructor, though. A lot of TKD is bullshit, mine contains elements of bullshit but the quality is maintained and a lot of valuable stuff is learned.

**Draven** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 10:50am

I did TKD for 3 years. I learned to kick high, thats it, that was the only thing tha was useful once I got into real martial arts. After 2 years of Muay Thai I sparred with my former TKD instructor who is a 5th Dan black belt and clowned him.

Taekwondo sucks.

**Odacon** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 11:30am

Wrong forum.

**Ronin.74** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 1:46pm

Better off going to this thread for discussion regarding personal experiences with TKD.

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64222

**maofas** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 4:13pm

I took it for two semesters under S. Henry Cho because I needed the extra cardio to prepare for my black belt test at my real school. I didn't learn anything that I wanted to incorporate into what I did, but I didn't think the class was terrible either. He didn't neglect punches like I expected and looked sharp for a 60-something year-old man.

The students couldn't spar for crap (they were nice guys though), but I always gave him the benifit of the doubt that it was just a dinky college course and he had much better students at his actual school.

**kristin** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 5:31pm

I have been doing taekwondo for 3 years now. First I started at a club that all they did was sparring but then I moved and joind another club and there I have learned alot my instructor there dosent just have sparring, we learn how to punch and also fight in the ground thoug it is not tkd. My instructor somtimes invites box or bjj instructors to teach us what they do. But i think it is just so diffrent from schools to schools.