Differences between styles?

[CatNap]

I study Chung Do Kwan Taekwondo. Can anyone tell me about the ATA schools and what their style is all about. I hear about them often enough that I'm curious now. How is it different from what I study?

Thank you!

 

[terryl965]

The American Tae Kwon Do Association, what can anybody say.

 

[Jai]

I trained with the ATA for about 8 years, I would not recommend them to anyone. They are a "belt factory" group, you show up, you pay your money, they will make sure you advance in rank. You can earn a black belt in as little as a year in some of the ATA schools. They are a decent sparring group, as it is required from the 4th belt on. They do not require breaking until you become a brown belt. The breaking aspect is actually very very easy. If you are looking for what is considered advanced TKD, the ATA is not for you. There are WTF students that are doing things the ATA doesn't teach you until 3 or 4 dan, and some things not at all. I have a lot of personal problems with the ATA but everything I have said is proven facts about them. If you want to know more feel free to pm me and we can talk.

 

[Dave Leverich]

I started in the ATA in 85.
I won't debate Jai, there are many schools that are belt factories, I think the term McDojahng started with some of those etc. Some aren't such, and are very good schools, some are and avoid at all costs.
The ATA started in 69 and became the USA arm of the ITF. The original president was GM Kang (8th in CDK, now is the senior most TKDoin alive), then GM HU Lee, now SH Lee.

There is a lot of good, a lot of bad, there is simply a LOT. It's not a small organization and you have many people doing it.

From what I've seen, many people badmouth the organization, some with good reason, many just because they hear others do so etc. I put my value in the person though and not which patch they wear.

Btw, minimum time to BB on paper is about 18-20 months (though some do shady crap). The easy pass thing has been hammered against from the top down, but unfortunately the schools are all unique businesses, not franchises, so there is much less control on those issues.

I guess to play devils advocate, change the name for the WTF or ITF. Then realize that each school, each instructor etc... well it's not all the same.

So back to the original question... the roots of ATA are in CDK, but there have been many cooks in the kitchen. If that makes sense. Hell, my own roots are more MDK, with all of my lines tracing back there. But the organization I've been in for the last 22+ years, started with people from the CDK.

 

[Kacey]

I started in the ATA in 85.
I won't debate Jai, there are many schools that are belt factories, I think the term McDojahng started with some of those etc. Some aren't such, and are very good schools, some are and avoid at all costs.

I agree. There are good and bad schools and individuals in all organizations.

The ATA started in 69 and became the USA arm of the ITF. The original president was GM Kang (8th in CDK, now is the senior most TKDoin alive), then GM HU Lee, now SH Lee.

Uh... which ITF are you talking about? Because the ITF I am familiar with - the International Taekwon-Do Federation, founded by Gen. Choi - had the USTF (United States Taekwon-Do Federation) as its US arm.

As far as the differences between organizations - the WTF and the ITF (the one I referred to above) have much in common, but also some significant differences. The WTF, to my understanding, is a sanctioning organization - member organizations/schools determine much of what they teach for themselves. The ITF I referred to above was founded to promote a particular TKD kwan, and is much more involved in determining the technical requirements of its members than the WTF is, at least the way I understand it - those who know more about the WTF please chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.

As has already been said, you can find good and bad schools in any organization, and good and bad instructors in nearly any school with more than one instructor. Generalization is what people do best - but generalizing about groups can often lead you to miss good opportunities. I would rather investigate a class myself and then make a decision, than dismiss it entirely because the class is a member of a certain group, and the group has a particular reputation.

 

[Jai]

As far as the differences between organizations - the WTF and the ITF (the one I referred to above) have much in common, but also some significant differences. The WTF, to my understanding, is a sanctioning organization - member organizations/schools determine much of what they teach for themselves. The ITF I referred to above was founded to promote a particular TKD kwan, and is much more involved in determining the technical requirements of its members than the WTF is, at least the way I understand it - those who know more about the WTF please chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.

I am currently with a WTF school and this is the way it is for us, but it may be different from school to school and organization to organization.

 

[terryl965]

The WTF (World Tae Kwon Do Federation) governs the sport aspect of TKD they have no say in promotion or certificates and just makes the rules as far as Olympic TKD. The Kukkiwon is the governing body of TKD, now this does not mean anything to those that are ATA or ITF or even soem of the other orgs. You can basically be an ITF practitionor and still have a Kukkiwon certificate at the same time...... There are to many organizations to really understand them all.

And yes Kacey and Dave are right there are good and bad in all organization, the main thing is find an instructor that you can relate and trust and keep training with them for as long as you can.

 

[tellner]

The fact that there is a range of schools within an organization does not negate the fact that you can identify trends within it. And respect for other practitioners should not keep you from recognizing problems. If a group such as the ATA has these tendencies it's not a bad thing to note the fact so that students who are looking for something else will not waste their time and money and get a negative impression of TKD overall.