How many different Orgs are there???

[TKDTony2179]

With all these different orginazations, how many arethere and how many practice traditional sparring and how many practice the WTFsparring?

Also, just to through this in there how many of you guys and girls havepractice all three of these form? chang hon, Tae Guk, and Songahm? Explainthose three different kinds from a personal experience if you can.

These are the ones I know of.
ITF
Kukikwon
ATA
ITA
USTA
TA (TKD AMERICA)
TU (TKD UNITED)
AIMAA (ACTION INTERNATIONAL MARTIAL ARTS ASSOCIATION)

 

[ralphmcpherson]

There would be literally thousands. I live in Australia and train at a club with several thousand students and are affiliated with none of the larger orgs. We have our own competitions, curriculum etc, and so I suppose we would be considered our own organisation. We are one of many I know of over here just in Australia, so I imagine on a world wide scale there would be many many clubs that are self governed with no affiliation to anyone. So I guess it depends exactly how you define an "organisation".

 

[Metal]

There are too many!


Regarding ITF there's 3 ITFs nowadays:

The ITF under Choi Jung Hwa (General Choi Hong Hi's son), HQ in London, UK:
http://www.itf-administration.com/

Pablo Trajtenberg's ITF with HQ in Spain:
http://www.tkd-itf.org/

The 'North Korean' ITF (president Prof. Dr. Chang Ung) with HQ in Vienna:
http://www.itftkd.org/

Hope I'm right. ^^ I'm not that familiar with ITF Taekwondo, but I guess that split after Choi Hong Hi's death was the worst thing to ever happen to them. In Taekwondo you already have lots of "champions" and "world champions" with all the small associations and organizations anyway, plus there's also a lot of champions due to all the weight categories anyway. Now there's three worldwide organizations that claim to be the true ITF. Oh well...

Maybe if there's anybody a member in any of those three ITFs it would be great to get to know how the current status on those orgs is.

 

[Earl Weiss]

..... how many practice traditional sparring and how many practice the WTFsparring?

Please define "Traditional Sparring"

 

[Earl Weiss]

Maybe if there's anybody a member in any of those three ITFs it would be great to get to know how the current status on those orgs is.

Info from orgs is notoriously unreliabele.

One measure that was somewhat reliable was the numbering of ITF Dan certs. before the split. The USA pretty much had only the USTF under the ITF for a long time (KATU came later and there were some independants but they were small by comparison) and first Dan Certs exceeded 10,000 before the split but this was not the active number, just the numbers issued from inception thru split.

I remember when various factions left an org and each faction claimed to have 5000 + members because they were seeking recognition. I was like "Holy Cow" if each of these factions had that many members the org they split from had 25000 members befrore the split which I knew wasn't true.

ITF NK had as it's biggest asset that the 3 original Korean GMS were active members (what were they thinking?) but they all left. I am pretty sure all of GM Hwangs students left with him. Can't say for GN Rhee and Park. Not sure how many students or what the active roll of the TKD Times guy has with the org so i did not include him as one of the 3.

 

[TKDTony2179]

Please define "Traditional Sparring"

Well I am not talking about one steps or the choreography fights. Either the one point sparring or continuous sparring? Both hand and feet combos

 

[ralphmcpherson]

Well I am not talking about one steps or the choreography fights. Either the one point sparring or continuous sparring? Both hand and feet combos

I just assumed all tkd students do either point or continuos sparring as part of their curriculum. I have never considered one steps or choreographed fighting as "sparring". They can be valuable training tools but not "sparring". I suppose what we do I would call knock down sparring as the prime objective is to knock your opponent down as quickly as possible. We do combinations etc, but usually if we throw a kick or punch we give it all, unless its a set up for a knock down move. I have found it taught me a lot about what "not" to do, if you get in the range of a black belt you would want to do something good and do it quick, or you go home sore, as they wont try and rack up points on your hogu, they will just line you up and knock you down. It has certainly improved my evasive skills

 

[terryl965]

Too many to even count in America let a lone every other country

 

[Earl Weiss]

Well I am not talking about one steps or the choreography fights. Either the one point sparring or continuous sparring? Both hand and feet combos

ITF does continuous Free sparring with hands and feet being able to score above the belt. So, orgs closely related to the ITF will follow that format. There are other formal exercises called "Sparring" but not Free Sparring that allow targets and techniques that would be illegal in free sparring, but these are touch or no contact.

 

[TKDTony2179]

Too many to even count in America let a lone every other country

Yep

 

[TKDTony2179]

ITF does continuous Free sparring with hands and feet being able to score above the belt. So, orgs closely related to the ITF will follow that format. There are other formal exercises called "Sparring" but not Free Sparring that allow targets and techniques that would be illegal in free sparring, but these are touch or no contact.

We or my org actually do continous free sparring for testing and tournaments. Only thing that changes are no hand tech to head at the tournaments. Kinda of a waste of a skill if you can't use it. We use to be able to do leg checks for testing but people started to wine and now we don't.