tang soo do

banjo · 06-04-2007, 11:07 AM

hey everybody,

i was wanting to start a martial art and there is a tang soo do school near my house. can anybody give me an explanation of the style? is it similar to tae kwon do? how strict of a discipline is it?

it would be great if i could go to this school since i can ride my bike there. otherwise there is a jeet kune do school that i veiw as an alternative, but ill have to get a ride there.

thanks

**disgruntled** · 06-04-2007, 11:55 AM

welcome to the forum, i know we have members that do tang soo do so someone should be able to help you

***complete*** · 06-04-2007, 12:07 PM

I've taken Tang Soo Do for about 6 months (after having a blackbelt in TKD) and yes, I certainly do similarity with Tae Kwon Do.

I don't know how strict the discpline is since it will depend on the instructor but it is a traditional Korean martial arts so I would say some what discpline. This was the style that Chuck Norris had studied, just to give you some idea.

You can also find additional information at - www.completemartialarts.com and look under Korean Styles.

**N.B** · 06-04-2007, 05:52 PM

I guess we've got to find somebody who does Tang Soo Do on the forum...oh wait, that's me.
I've only done Tang Soo Do for about 3-4 weeks now (twice a week). I really like it, I mean, it ain't no Capoeira but it's very nice.
It's basically like Taekwondo but as far as I know, in Tang Soo Do, if you were to watch Tang Soo Do sparring you would see people piling in to fight, with hands and fists going at it, rather than keeping their distance with the long range speedy kick.
I think there's just a lot more hand stikes. So in that respect it could be seen as kickboxing with forms.
I won't say anymore, partly because I don't know that much, and partly because I'm really drunk.

Wheeeeyyyyyy.

**Shinobi_Kokujin** · 06-04-2007, 08:11 PM

i took tang soo do for bout a year and got to BB. its very similar to tae kwon do because

Tang Soo Do was one of the original Kwans or traditional Korean martial schools before the tae kwon do boom.

it went under different names depending on the Master such as Mu Duk Kwan or Kwon Bup

When most of the other Kwans were adopted or absorbed into the fledgeling Unified Tae Kwon Do

Tang Soo Do came a separate art form. its very rare in Korea now because alot of the Korean Tang Soo Do masters either migrated to other countries or they crossed over to Tae Kwon Do an other arts full time.

since its available in your area. its a pretty good style to take up. its gonna have just about an equal balance of Hand and Feet techniques and goes more in depth on hand strikes

self defense, joint locks, take downs etc. than the typical TKD school stateside. if youve got really cool instructors

theyll also go more in depth in the Forms an show u the coded meaning behind the movements in the forms an how to apply them in Self Defense.

**RiveraRa** · 06-05-2007, 09:00 AM

Not much more to be said. You'll learn forms, wrist grabs escapes, blocks/punches/kicks, etc. And while TSD relies more on punches than TKD they still like to use their feet.

**Shirindo** · 06-05-2007, 09:13 AM

Hi and welcome to the forums.

I was lucky enough to train under Grandmaster Lee in the UK and also one of his students Master Steve Carder.

I noticed that the discipline varied quite considerably from one instructor to another even within our own association. Masters Lee and Carder were both quite strict but I loved it!

As others have said a good blend between hands and feet, you can do competition if you so wish but it is really a traditional art.

As wih most if not all arts, it wont give you everything you might need so be prepared to cross train at some point in other styles. As to which styles, only you can decide that.

Best of luck and keep us posted

Agent-D · 06-23-2007, 03:11 PM

Hi all, well this would be my first proper post, and it just so happens to be on my own stlye. What are the odds?

Everything you've been told so far, the relationship between TKD and TSD, blend of kicking, punching and locks and take downs is very true. We also utlise various weapons, such as knife, staff and sword, though some instructors inlcude other weapons such as Askrima sticks, and nunchucks.

We also deal in spining kicks and aerial techniques jump spinning back kicks 360 rounhouses and hooks and so on, but these later are often seen as suicide technqiues, as once initiated, youre commited, and if your opponent is on the ball, they could get around your attack and knock you out of the air.

Because of this, and due to the take downs we also employ, we teach brake falls to minise any potential injury. This has came in handy for me during some accidents when mountatin biking where I was flung over my handle bars when I lost control of my bike. No broken bones, just a few scratches.

Famous martial artists/film actors of TSD include Steve McQueen and Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris is also trained in TKD as well as at least two stlyes of Japanese karate. Bruce Lee is rumoured to have been trained in TKD and TSD by Chuck Norris.