Soo Bahk Do?

**Riyach** · Posted On: 11/03/2009 4:08pm

Recently, I went into a pretty friendly school. What impressed me was the owner took over an hour to speak with me and wasn't high pressure. like some places I have been too. There are some signs that I question. One they have a 2 1/2 month contract, but they offer a one month trial to be sure. The belt tests were normal, $25. It seemed like a good place to get some movement and excersise. I am looking into a tradtitional art and this seems to have it. My question is, what are your experiences, opinions, and input of Soo Bahk do.

**DSL** · Posted On: 11/03/2009 11:05pm

Precursor of Taekwondo, or 'rename' I'd say. Should be decent, sounds like his prices and such aren't bad. 2 1/2 month is an odd contract length, generally it's 1/3/6/12 month contracts in many martial arts places. I'd try the one month trial and make my own decision.

**awkm** · Posted On: 12/30/2009 12:31am

Soo Bahk Do is my base style and I use a lot of techniques from it while I'm learning MMA now to cross-train. It has been very helpful to me on a lot of different levels but as far as in MMA, it does have its shortcomings but can be easily circumvented with the right mindset and understanding with your instructor.

Tell me who the master is at that particular studio and I'll tell you what I know about him/her. The low-key talk is pretty normal for a SBD school. Testing costs for under black-belt should be around that much (standardized by federation).

Also, what are your intentions? You can get movement and exercise from a lot of different things, can you be a little more specific?

**raylawley** · Posted On: 2/13/2010 12:06am

Sorry about the thread necro. I didn't really want to start another thread; my brother has been talking about starting this art with a friend of his who's highly ranked in this art. What little research I've done has turned up zero sparring and a claim of a "traceable 2000 year history."

Am I just looking at the wrong schools, or is this more or less what he can expect?

**Riyach** · Posted On: 2/13/2010 12:24am

The fact that they do not spar kind of turned me off a little. It seemed that they did drills without any touching and considered this light sparring. The people at the school, including the instructors, were very welcoming. It seemed little bit too commercial, a little, I've seen way worst. I mean, Hell is it wrong to try to make a modest living in martial arts? I still may join, but currently Im still undecided. I found a Kook Sul Won school and Im thinking about checking that one out soon. On a side note, I checked out a Kung Fu school and OMFG talk about the high pressure and a Mcdojo atmosphere. To compare both schools would be offensive...to the Soo Bahk Do school.