ata? Good, bad newbie needs help

atafamily said:
Wow U sure read way to much into what I wrote. My son is in leadership, most of these students in there are kids, they mix kids in with the adults. My son is NOT a 6 year old BB.. The leadership classes that are taught at my school is the most detailed of all the classes they offer so yes I want to learn full forms, full range weapons and have the opportunity to spar. Now my son has been to two classes, where each time the oldest student I saw was 12, I do know there are other adults that participate in this class however I have not seen them. I could always spar with the insturctor..When I say I will be the oldest I am 43 starting a MA.. so yes I am one of the oldest in this school.

I also made a comment about making my son was ready to test, if he wasnt ready or I as his parent felt he was moving to fast I will not let him test.. he is only 6. From what I can tell from my school getting to camo belt sems to go pretty fast, now getting from camo to black is whole different process.

I got the feedback I wanted to hear and most of it has been positive.

Untill your rude comments -

You have a wonderful day -
Click to expand...

I wae not being rude ar any point, what I was doing was going back in asking question drom what you said. I have been in TKD forever it seems and was trying to figure out exactly what you was looking for. Ig the ATA is your cup of tea go for it, nut by all accounts it is not. Remember you said there leadership class os maonly all kids not me r anyone else involved in this thread. I hope your training goes well and you find what it is you are looking for amd remember with the ATA you test when they say to and it is not an option, sorry but that is the truth.

I am sorry if you believe me to be rude at any point.
 
atafamily said:
Wow U sure read way to much into what I wrote. My son is in leadership, most of these students in there are kids, they mix kids in with the adults. My son is NOT a 6 year old BB.. The leadership classes that are taught at my school is the most detailed of all the classes they offer so yes I want to learn full forms, full range weapons and have the opportunity to spar. Now my son has been to two classes, where each time the oldest student I saw was 12, I do know there are other adults that participate in this class however I have not seen them. I could always spar with the insturctor..When I say I will be the oldest I am 43 starting a MA.. so yes I am one of the oldest in this school.

I also made a comment about making my son was ready to test, if he wasnt ready or I as his parent felt he was moving to fast I will not let him test.. he is only 6. From what I can tell from my school getting to camo belt sems to go pretty fast, now getting from camo to black is whole different process.

I got the feedback I wanted to hear and most of it has been positive.

Untill your rude comments -

You have a wonderful day -
Click to expand...

i've noticed terry's writing style can be a bit terse, but i've always found him to mean well & do his best to be helpful. i'm sure he didn't mean to give any offense.

best of luck with your class,

jf
 
My niece is a ATA black belt and my nephew is enrolled in classes there also. It's feel good martial arts. The local school (which unfortunately they don't attend) isn't bad at all, but like all ATA schools they don't exactly teach true self-defense. They do a lot of sports sparring and do their forms (which sadly have no strong applications behind them) and they do a lot of fun activities which keep the students engaged and having a good time.

It is what it is. A lot of people want this type of martial arts, and the ATA is catering to their needs. That's capitalism.
 
dancingalone said:
My niece is a ATA black belt and my nephew is enrolled in classes there also. It's feel good martial arts. The local school (which unfortunately they don't attend) isn't bad at all, but like all ATA schools they don't exactly teach true self-defense. They do a lot of sports sparring and do their forms (which sadly have no strong applications behind them) and they do a lot of fun activities which keep the students engaged and having a good time.

It is what it is. A lot of people want this type of martial arts, and the ATA is catering to their needs. That's capitalism.
Click to expand...

You bring up some great poinrs dancingalone and you are right, they founf a nivhe in the market place and used it the best out of everybody. I tend t believe if you go in with your eyes open and know what you are getting then great. I wish more people would have your ability to see what it is that the want.:asian:
 
jarrod said:
i've noticed terry's writing style can be a bit terse, but i've always found him to mean well & do his best to be helpful. i'm sure he didn't mean to give any offense.

best of luck with your class,

jf
Click to expand...

You are rifgt jarrod I meant to harm to anybody, I believe if you are getting what you are paying for then keep training and moving forward.
 
Although I am in the Chinese arts for a long time, and sparred in the old days with many good TKD artists, I have a good friend here who is a legit 4th degree in TKD the old way and one of his teachers was ATA. He walked out shortly after getting his black belt there. Most TKD schools I see here in Houston are kid mills, with money flowing in and skill levels flowing out. Then again, I do have great objection to giving a full black belt to any one under the age of 18, no matter what the style. The problem with teaching kids today is two fold: first, to satisfy the lack of attention span and long-term goal setting of today's generation, and secondly, to satisfy today's parents with seeing their little Johnny or Joanna is somehow surpassing them in a quick time.

When I have taught kids, and their parents, I tell them upfront that if they joined to get a high rank quickly, I am not the teacher for them. ATA schools that I have observed are basically belt mills, and are fine for competition, but there is no street protection value that I can ascertain.
 
I would just like to add my own input to the original poster, ATAfamily.

Hello ATAfam, and welcome to Martial Talk! I can tell you, that I am a 2nd Degree Blackbelt within the ATA org, and my experience was a good one. My Sabomnim was actually a breakaway instructor from the WTF Federation. Through him, I got a broader understanding of Taekwondo, and the different types that exist today. As with any organization, there are good schools and bad ones as it all depends on your instructor. Its all in knowing what you are looking for, and keeping a watchful eye of what else is around you. I recommend trying the school out (as i see you've already joined), and seeing how you like it. As well as sitting in on a few other schools/styles to see what else is available to you.
 
Terry couldnt be rude if he was being paid to be.

it isnt a part of his character


ATAFamily,
trust me, you are misjudging terry

you may very well be in a GOOD ata school, they do exist.

but by and large, the ata is a belt factory, they exist to make money, and they do NOT give a good product in return.
 
Avoid ATA like you would a hungry wounded female Grizzly on her period with a severe tooth ache and a splinter in every paw.
 
I know one day there will be 50 belts and each one will be worth so much depending on the given pattern that the belt has, like if it was green with pink dots the belt test would be worth $200.00 and brown witha little light blue $250.00 and finally the best for lost a little yellow dot belt a whopping $10000.00.
 
Choi Kwang Do has 18 colored belt ranks, divided by the regular and 'senior' grades. And yes, my friend who studied the system said he paid a full $60 test fee for each rank, even when the color did not change. He did get a new belt with a black stripe running through the middle to indicate he was a 'senior' green belt (for example).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choi_Kwang_Do
 
Ok so an update regarding what I have learned in my first month of classes...

I am in a basic class, its a half hour and there are adults in it.. Once you get to Camo then you move to a different class and start sparring.

There are 12 and under leadership classes, 13 to adult leadership class..and a blackbelt only class.. There are also separate classes for age groups in the masters program.

I am testing for orange in about a week.. We need to have songham 3 down with basic self defense.. also we will be doing real basic moves with the kama.. I can say as far as the form goes it looks easier than it is..but hey I got it down... I can say with all honestly in a 30 minute class its easy to see who takes time to actually practice this at home.

My son is the youngest in the leadership class he is almost 7 .. they are teaching him purple belt form In Wah 1 .. hard for him to remember the whole form they have him taking it half way..

I have heard that some dont think the ata does a lot of sparring.. my sons class is an hour and after their warm up they spar for about 30 minutes. i guess the ata is going to start to allow punches to the head.. not sure when this will start.

I wanted to participate in classes before I opened my mouth and said anything else stupid.. :whip1:

I do see the ata does fit a niche..

Oh well thanks all and I will continue at our school and if and when my abilities improve and I am ready to learn something new I will ad another style ..

Best !
 
Do they handout the black belt when you buy your first gi, or do you have to SUPERSIZE it? Oh, and can I get something to drink?:erg:
 
I haven't seen a good ATA school ever. I've seen quite a few.

Here's the short run of what they consist of.. at least here..

1. expensive usually has family plans, because they want to suck as much money out of you as possible.
2. fees for EVERYTHING.
3. LOTS of belts, usually non standard belt colors to attract kids (camo, pink, red white and blue)
4. plastic weapon training (some of them even light up)
5. light gymnastics training (not sure what a cartwheel does in self defense)
6. patches out the wazoo (your uniform will make you look similar to a clown with all the patches they have)
8. everybody is a black belt. (If they aren't they will be in a few months)
9. Sloppy technique
10. "Kid friendly" is usually written right on the front window.

ATA is a good thing for "kids" its an after school program at best. I couldn't take myself serious if I went to an ATA school. Not to say that the stuff they "could" teach isn't good stuff. The song ahm patterns are fine, the fundamentals are definitely there. Its just how its taughts.. I'd dare say boy scouts/girl scouts is more of a challenge. Daycare fits ATA perfectly.
 
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