Old but intresting research.

[Galaktia]

Hey everyone, I know allot of you Tae Kwon Do people like it when your art gets big props, as do we all with our own arts. So during my most recent career advancement courses with university authorities I found this paper knocking about in the library, and thought you'd enjoy hereing the basics of it.

Martial Arts Training: A Novel "Cure" for Juvenile Delinquency
Michael E. Trulson
Texas A & M University

Human Relations, Vol. 39, No. 12, 1131-1140 (1986)

Juvenile delinquents, identified by their scores on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) received training under one of three different protocols for 1 hour three times weekly for a period of 6 months. Group I students received training in the traditional Korean Martial Art of Tae Kwon Do, Group II students received training in a "modern" version of the martial art which did not emphasize the psychological/philosophical aspects of the sport as the Korean version did, and group III students served as a control group for contact with the instructor and physical activity. Group I students showed decreased aggressiveness, lowered anxiety, increased selfesteem, increased social adroitness, and an increase in value orthodoxy, as indicated by before-and-after scores on the Jackson Personality Inventory (JPI), in addition to normal MMPI scores at the completion of the study. Group II students showed an even greater tendency toward delinquency on the MMPI than they did at the beginning of the study, a large increase in aggressiveness, and generally opposite effects of Group I on the JPL Group Ill students showed no notable differences on any of the personality measures. These data suggest that training in the traditional martial art of Tae Kwon Do is effective in reducing juvenile delinquent tendencies.





So to put it simply in 1986 someone attempted to proove imperically that Tae Kwon Do reduced delinquency in children, and didn't do a bad study of it.

[souldrum71]

Seems I've heard of this study before. Interesting stuff, and, personally, I believe it to be true. I've seen kids with severe behavior disorders and discipline problems come into the TKD and karate schools that I've trained at and, within a few months, turn into different children. Does it work for all kids? No. But I think it can be life-changing for some.

[complete]

There are so many benefits for children taking martial arts, such as TKD, that most people don't know about. And there are thousands of different stories of people who's life has been changed for the better.

One recent news paper even had one about helping with children with autism.

[Joemoplata]

Of course it did, I am sure that's true. Which is exactly why most TKD schools have taken on the role of "parenting" kids because the parents of today are too busy working 60 hour weeks to pay for their house.

[souldrum71]

Originally Posted by Joemoplata

Of course it did, I am sure that's true. Which is exactly why most TKD schools have taken on the role of "parenting" kids because the parents of today are too busy working 60 hour weeks to pay for their house.

Very, very true. Which, I believe, is also one of the biggest flaws and root of many problems in our society. You can't expect teachers, martial arts instructors, or anyone else but parents to make the full impact of actually parenting a child. I believe our country was better off when we had one parent who just parented full time.

[Joemoplata]

Originally Posted by souldrum71

Very, very true. Which, I believe, is also one of the biggest flaws and root of many problems in our society. You can't expect teachers, martial arts instructors, or anyone else but parents to make the full impact of actually parenting a child. I believe our country was better off when you we had one parent who just parented full time.

I agree 100%.

[complete]

That's part of the reason why my wife stays home with our son but living in CA with such high cost of living, it's a bit hard on us sometimes in the pocket book but can't complain. We get by with one kid. I don't know how people with multiple kids do it. They are better parents than us for sure.

[Basho]

Most, Joe? Sigh... You can't be converted, can you?

[Joemoplata]

Originally Posted by Basho

Most, Joe? Sigh... You can't be converted, can you?

Would you disagree with most? I think even most TKD guys would agree that it's most.

Let me give you my experience:

I have worked with four TKD schools in my area. The one I work with in Woodbridge has a student population that is 95% kids. The other one in Woodbridge that I tried to set up classes for doesn't even have an adult program. Then there's Kims Karate in Springfield which is a HUGE school. The adult programs are kickboxing and Muay Thai, the TKD program is 90% kids. Then the place I used to work with in Fairfax which had a good adult program but was still AT LEAST 50% kids. So from my experience, the only school that even had adults doing TKD was the place in Fairfax. So for me, it is most...not some.

[Dannyboy]

Originally Posted by souldrum71

Very, very true. Which, I believe, is also one of the biggest flaws and root of many problems in our society. You can't expect teachers, martial arts instructors, or anyone else but parents to make the full impact of actually parenting a child. I believe our country was better off when we had one parent who just parented full time.

I agree. One of my favorite quotes is "No other success can compensate for failure in the home". Parenting seems to be a lost art. Oh, and just to give numbers I would say that in our program over 85% of the students come from the kids classes.

[Joemoplata]

Absolutely.

When people ask me what kind of martial art should they enroll their kids in I tell them TKD or Karate. Look, whether it makes you happy or not the absolute truth is that most Martial Arts schools in this country make their money from the kids programs. And those kids programs are more about teaching children things they SHOULD be learning at home like discipline, respect, etc. than they are about learning to fight. And since the majority of the money is coming from that, then you are going to market your school to that audience. As an adult, are you going to feel confident learning self defense from a place that is more interested in having posters on the wall telling you how many stars you receive for doing your homework for the week?

I think not.

I'm not saying there aren't schools that CAN do both, I'm just saying that it's easier and more lucrative to stick to the kids market so many people do just that.

[complete]

Originally Posted by Joemoplata

Would you disagree with most? I think even most TKD guys would agree that it's most.

Let me give you my experience:

I have worked with four TKD schools in my area. The one I work with in Woodbridge has a student population that is 95% kids. The other one in Woodbridge that I tried to set up classes for doesn't even have an adult program. Then there's Kims Karate in Springfield which is a HUGE school. The adult programs are kickboxing and Muay Thai, the TKD program is 90% kids. Then the place I used to work with in Fairfax which had a good adult program but was still AT LEAST 50% kids. So from my experience, the only school that even had adults doing TKD was the place in Fairfax. So for me, it is most...not some.

I'm not arguing with your points about lot of kids programs taught in TKD. I had some mixed feelings about my friends' kids and even my own nephews under the age of 9 and 10 wearing the blackbelt in TKD. However, of the thousands and thousands of TKD schools in US, you can't really say MOST based on 4 schools.......

And yes, it is possible to have both adult program and the kids programs, but probably rare to do well on both.

[Joemoplata]

Originally Posted by complete

I'm not arguing with your points about lot of kids programs taught in TKD. I had some mixed feelings about my friends' kids and even my own nephews under the age of 9 and 10 wearing the blackbelt in TKD. However, of the thousands and thousands of TKD schools in US, you can't really say MOST based on 4 schools.......

And yes, it is possible to have both adult program and the kids programs, but probably rare to do well on both.

I am using the percentages based on my own personal experience, combined with what I see in the other schools around me that I have not had personal experience with but do peek into the windows as I pass by. AND the fact that most people on this forum even seem to agree with me for the most part. So all of these things makes me believe that I am not in an anomolous situation. Know what I mean?

[complete]

Again, I'm not saying you are wrong this matter. I would probably agree with you. I'm just pointing out that even though this particular case was based on your personal experience with other experience added, you have to admit that the sample size is still quite small compared to the all the schools in the US, who may or may not all be the same.

I'm not trying to nick pick here. I'm noticing that sometimes you use the same logic to make a point about TMA or other topics in general that seem too strong, to the point of not being open to someone who may have more exposure in that area.

Take my HRD master for example. He was born into the family of martial arts as his father was the founder, and constantly been surrounded by other top grandmasters of his generations. He's been studying martial arts for over 40 years in a single style from the person of highest authority. (He did study other arts on side for his own knowledge) And yet, he still tells his students he does not know everything and he's still learning new things from his father everyday.

So you understand why I sometime take exception when someone says they know all about this and that because of this and that.

[Joemoplata]

Originally Posted by complete

Again, I'm not saying you are wrong this matter. I would probably agree with you. I'm just pointing out that even though this particular case was based on your personal experience with other experience added, you have to admit that the sample size is still quite small compared to the all the schools in the US, who may or may not all be the same.

I'm not trying to nick pick here. I'm noticing that sometimes you use the same logic to make a point about TMA or other topics in general that seem too strong, to the point of not being open to someone who may have more exposure in that area.

Take my HRD master for example. He was born into the family of martial arts as his father was the founder, and constantly been surrounded by other top grandmasters of his generations. He's been studying martial arts for over 40 years in a single style from the person of highest authority. (He did study other arts on side for his own knowledge) And yet, he still tells his students he does not know everything and he's still learning new things from his father everyday.

So you understand why I sometime take exception when someone says they know all about this and that because of this and that.

I get what you're driving at, and I would agree with you that I also get irritated with armchair experts telling everyone their perceived versions of things without truly knowing.

So let me phrase it in a different way.

My theory, one being based upon my own personal experiences from what I can see around me in my given area, is that most TKD schools in America are more focused on their kids programs than they are on their adult programs.

The second part of that theory is that, also based upon my own personal experience, most of these kids programs are big on teaching kids things like discipline and respect and other esoteric concepts. This is one of the reasons parents like to sign their kids up for programs like this.

Given that this my own personal theory, I will continue to assume this theory is correct until proven otherwise with empirical data taken by polling a majority of TKS and Karate schools across the United States. Should me theory prove incorrect then I will obviously change my theory.