TKD
Guys,
Be aware that there are TWO distinct schools of Tae Kwon Do out there. What almost everyone knows about today is the World TaeKwon-Do Federation (WTF). The other is the Interntional TaeKwon-Do Federation (ITF). The reason for the existance of two major camps is strictly political, but why "most serious martial artists" look down on TKD is because of the changes made to the systems by the WTF in order to gain acceptance as an Olympic "sport".
The ITF was founded and is still led by the man known as the
"father" of TKD: General Choi, Hong Hi. General Choi coined the phrase "Tae Kwon Do' (literally "hand and foot art") to describe a synthesis by five major schools of Korean striking arts in the mid-1950s. General Choi penned the original treatise on the modern art (of which I still have an old tattered copy). General Choi spent severa years in Japan as a young man and studied Shotokan karate. The "official" TKD of the fifties includes "kata" from Okinawan styles. (The first kata I learned from my Shorin-Ryu instructor, naihanchi-shodan, is in the textbook!)
My first three TKD instructors taught ITF-style TaeKwon-Do, and it is brutally effective. We spent a good portion of each night doing conditioning drills blocking full-power kicks and punches. Talk about bruises! BUT... we also spent a signigicant amount of time learning to "slip" punches and using an opponent's momentum against them. I have recently spent some time in a local Kyokushin-kai dojo. My 28 year old TKD is 95% identical to the Kyokshin they are teaching! (At a seminar several years ago, a group of us (ahem) "experienced" yudansha were discussing how similar all styles of "hard" martial arts were once you got past the basics. As Bruce Lee is quoted as having said, (and I paraphrase)
"Before I started in the martial arts, a kick was just a kick and a punch was just a punch. Then I found that a kick was more than just a kick and a punch was more than just a punch. After I really learned the martial arts, I found out that a kick is just a kick and a punch is just a punch."
Bottom line, guys. Find a reputable sensei, sabumnim, or instructor in the type of system you want (hard or soft) and work at it. The system doesn't make you effective, you do. (kinda like it's not the gun, it's how well you use it, right???)
Regards,
Mike Slisher
BTW, I started in Shorin-Ryu in March of 1973, and have been active pretty much since then in MA. Third degree in TKD, experience without Dan rankings in Shorin-Ryu, Aikido, and Ueichi-Ryu, and Kyokushin-kai.
Guys,
Be aware that there are TWO distinct schools of Tae Kwon Do out there. What almost everyone knows about today is the World TaeKwon-Do Federation (WTF). The other is the Interntional TaeKwon-Do Federation (ITF). The reason for the existance of two major camps is strictly political, but why "most serious martial artists" look down on TKD is because of the changes made to the systems by the WTF in order to gain acceptance as an Olympic "sport".
The ITF was founded and is still led by the man known as the
"father" of TKD: General Choi, Hong Hi. General Choi coined the phrase "Tae Kwon Do' (literally "hand and foot art") to describe a synthesis by five major schools of Korean striking arts in the mid-1950s. General Choi penned the original treatise on the modern art (of which I still have an old tattered copy). General Choi spent severa years in Japan as a young man and studied Shotokan karate. The "official" TKD of the fifties includes "kata" from Okinawan styles. (The first kata I learned from my Shorin-Ryu instructor, naihanchi-shodan, is in the textbook!)
My first three TKD instructors taught ITF-style TaeKwon-Do, and it is brutally effective. We spent a good portion of each night doing conditioning drills blocking full-power kicks and punches. Talk about bruises! BUT... we also spent a signigicant amount of time learning to "slip" punches and using an opponent's momentum against them. I have recently spent some time in a local Kyokushin-kai dojo. My 28 year old TKD is 95% identical to the Kyokshin they are teaching! (At a seminar several years ago, a group of us (ahem) "experienced" yudansha were discussing how similar all styles of "hard" martial arts were once you got past the basics. As Bruce Lee is quoted as having said, (and I paraphrase)
"Before I started in the martial arts, a kick was just a kick and a punch was just a punch. Then I found that a kick was more than just a kick and a punch was more than just a punch. After I really learned the martial arts, I found out that a kick is just a kick and a punch is just a punch."
Bottom line, guys. Find a reputable sensei, sabumnim, or instructor in the type of system you want (hard or soft) and work at it. The system doesn't make you effective, you do. (kinda like it's not the gun, it's how well you use it, right???)
Regards,
Mike Slisher
BTW, I started in Shorin-Ryu in March of 1973, and have been active pretty much since then in MA. Third degree in TKD, experience without Dan rankings in Shorin-Ryu, Aikido, and Ueichi-Ryu, and Kyokushin-kai.