So I found this nice little Tae Kwon Do school around the corner from me. Completely "old-school" and is run by a 7th dan Grandmaster that learned the art in Korea when he was posted over there in the military.
I informed him that I was completely content on starting as a white belt, but he insisted that he see what I could do. All of the Gi Cho and Pyung Ahn forms are exactly the same as they were in my former Tang Soo Do schol, so he realized that he would not have to teach me any of them. Also Bassai (passai, whatever) is the same.
So he said to me "I am not putting you out there as a white belt. You will keep your current rank that you had in Tang Soo Do." I told him that I didn't want to step on anyone's toes or make anyone angry by starting me off as a red belt, but he said his students do not act or think like that.
This place has been around for 46 years. The black belts I met yesterday have been there for decades....most were older than me, it was a refreshing sight! It's a tiny little place that you could drive right by, if you weren't looking for it. It's a house converted into a dojang.
Anyway, because the forms that I learned from Tang Soo Do are the same, I can get right to work on the curriculum that I need to learn for black belt. I have a lot of one step sparring to learn and three step sparring to be introduced to (we didn't have that in Tang Soo Do) and something called the Palgwe forms (spelling? Never heard of them) and the crazy, spectacular kicks that Tae Kwon Do is famous for.
So I will have a lot to learn, which is GREAT!!!! Things seem to have worked out great......for some reason.......
I informed him that I was completely content on starting as a white belt, but he insisted that he see what I could do. All of the Gi Cho and Pyung Ahn forms are exactly the same as they were in my former Tang Soo Do schol, so he realized that he would not have to teach me any of them. Also Bassai (passai, whatever) is the same.
So he said to me "I am not putting you out there as a white belt. You will keep your current rank that you had in Tang Soo Do." I told him that I didn't want to step on anyone's toes or make anyone angry by starting me off as a red belt, but he said his students do not act or think like that.
This place has been around for 46 years. The black belts I met yesterday have been there for decades....most were older than me, it was a refreshing sight! It's a tiny little place that you could drive right by, if you weren't looking for it. It's a house converted into a dojang.
Anyway, because the forms that I learned from Tang Soo Do are the same, I can get right to work on the curriculum that I need to learn for black belt. I have a lot of one step sparring to learn and three step sparring to be introduced to (we didn't have that in Tang Soo Do) and something called the Palgwe forms (spelling? Never heard of them) and the crazy, spectacular kicks that Tae Kwon Do is famous for.
So I will have a lot to learn, which is GREAT!!!! Things seem to have worked out great......for some reason.......
