[WC_Lun]

Originally Posted by XDEATHGOD

i think it is your school is the problem, but also you have to take your fighting and skill level, and detemination into accwhen taekwondo was my only martial art i never had a problem with defense, and been in many situations, and my tkd training never failed me. while there are some in my dojo who get beat up at school, and mugged on the stret etc. i think you have to take these things int consideration.

1.The School
2.your skill level(overall)
3.your desire to learn
4.how practical you train

there are many adult black belts that cant defend them selves becasue they spent their entire tkd time practicing spinning kicks and so on. instead of defense, and they cant even do those good.
as for hook kicks i was able to do a hook kick when i was a yellow belt. but there are some black belts that cant do it at all.
if you remember why your taking tkd, and practice oitside the dojo(which many dont do), i dont mean kicking the bag for 10 minutes but really practicing and try to be the best you can be then youll be fine.

as for the green belt girl who got beat up she was probably one of those ones that come to training 5 times every 3 weeks and wonder why they suck. which gives tkd a bad name.

the reason why people think tkd has no use is because of the people you get in the dojo. allow me to explain.

1.the first type you get in a tkd dojo is the student that wants to learn a martial for his well being that works hard to develop his skills. whether its in forms,sparring, or 1 steps, or doing spinning kicks.this student wants to acheive what almost everyone wants to be good at a martial art, not just take one. this student goes home practices his forms, works on power, and control!!!!in hopes to master the art. at most you may find about 3 of these in your class.

2. the next type you find is the student that has been taking tkd as a sport not self defense. you can tell who it is. hes the cocky black belt that exxagerates evrything and acts bored or as if he knows evrything. he can do the kicks perfectly with beauty but no power. he can beat the lower ranked ones at sparring exect for the lower ranked student that i mentioned above who whoop on him while sparring. this one has been taking tkd for about 9 years but stiil cant defend himself ot really even spar good.but loves the art. when you put him next to the student i mebtioned above he/she is nothing in comparison. IN reality they cant fight, and whats worse when they get older theyll probably end up being a instructor becasue they know how to do the forms.

3. the next type of student you get is the soccor mom/dad , or yoga/ freak that wants to learn how to defend herself/himself agains a openent. but only comes to class twice a week and is behind for their rank. they get into a confromtation think theyre tuff nad get beat up.(THE MOST COMMON INCIDENT) THEN THEY BLAME THE SCHOOL OR THE ART ITSELF WHICH PISSES ME OFF!!

4. then you sometimes get the kid that wants to be able to tell his friends he studies a martial art so he takes tkd for about 3 months then quits. thinks hes bad,gets beat up, AND AGAIN THEY BLAME THE ART. not putting in account that they only went to about 40 tkd classes before they quit. and that they couldn't do a roundhouse kick(BELIEVE ME SOUNDS DUMD BUT IT HAPPENS), AND ON TOP OF THAT THEY GO AROUND TELLING EVERYONE THAT THEYRE A BLACK BELT IN TKD. THEN THEY GET SMASHED(YET ANOTHER COMMON Incident)

over half the people in a tkd class are behind in class not doing the extra stuff reqired to become a good martial artist, and hardly ever come, and cant fight for crap. which i hate to say MAKES TAEKWONDO LOOK BAD WHEN THEY GET THEIR BUTTS HANDED TO THEM

Sometimes it isn't the student at all. Sometimes its the instructor that only has one or two years martial arts experience, but told they are ready to teach. Sometimes its a teacher that should not be a teacher. I have seen some really bad students. Any person who has taught for any length of time can tell you horror stories, but most students do not fall into this category. I see teachers in all arts, but unfortunately mostly in TKD, that should not be teaching. They haven't the knowledge or experience to be teaching and the students suffer for this lack. Unfortunately, since McDojo black belts are so quick to produce they are like rabbits. A person has no business teaching others unsupervised with less than four to five years solid experience, in my opinion.