I'd like to get some advice

[Daniel Sullivan]

Every ones needs are being met, including my own.

Good to hear!

Personally for me, the main concern was the non contact sparring. Something about this just didnt sit well with me. I mean if you PRACTICE martial arts, at some point in your training I would figure you might actually put your skills to use, and not just pretend. I mean I wouldnt go to a restaurant, order a steak, then PRETEND to eat it, then walk away satisfied.

Is 'no contact' correct? I have always heard that ATA was light contact, and they do pad up with the same gear that I do in WTF sparring. From what I have read and heard, 'light' contact amounts to pulling all of your blows prior to contact, which does require control, but does not translate into anything practical outside of a training setting.

There is nothing wrong with this in and of itself, so long as it is not being billed as applicable self defense and is presented as what it is; a family friendly martial arts activity.

One thing that it will do, assuming good diet and regular practice, is keep you in shape. While simply being in shape will not make you a super fighter, it will present a less appealing target to a potential attacker, enable you to effect escape more readilly, and help you to defend against the one enemy that attacks us all: Father Time. Yes, his manager eventually blindsides us with folding chair if you refuse to yield, but staying in shape will keep your quality of life higher until that time.

On the other hand I am aware of the fact that full contact might not be for me either. I know I am new, not a young man anymore, and I might participate probably get my butt handed to me and decide "You know what, I liked it better when people only pretended to kick me in the head"

What was the MDK club that you attended like? And did you personally train there or just your kids?

I'm over forty and do not a problem with the full contact, though I am also not a novice. On the other hand, many older people, much older than myself might I add, take up KKW/WTF and ITF taekwondo and enjoy it; most (as well as myself at this point), train mainly for lifestyle and fitness benefits. But I see pictures of grannies busting roofing tiles and grandpas kicking at head level.

From what you've said, it sounds like there really aren't any other TKD training options in your area (though you haven't mentioned other arts), so to a certain extent, the biggest dictating factor is simply availability.

Based on what you're saying, I would be inclined to stick with your ATA club. You may find that you outgrow it, at which point maybe another style TKD club will have come to town or you may decide to try another art. Regardless, it sounds like a good training environment and a place where you can get solid basics in a low stress and accomodating environment.

 

[Themsah]

Good to hear!


Is 'no contact' correct? I have always heard that ATA was light contact, and they do pad up with the same gear that I do in WTF sparring.

Not sure how anyone else might qualify it. I qualify it as NON-contact because you do not actually have to make contact to score a point. On the contrary if you do make contact you may be penalized for excessive contact. here are a few quotes from the rule book.

"POINTS
How a Competitor Scores a Point
Scoring points will be done by performing legal hand or foot techniques to or near the legal targets, with
varying criteria depending on the rank and division of the competitors. "

Example:
If Competitor A does a spin kick just over the head of Competitor B, and it is obvious to the judges that Competitor A did so in order to not hurt Competitor B (competitor B did not evade, attempt a block, or otherwise demonstrate that the kick was seen and dealt with), the judges should award 2 points to Competitor A just as though the kick had actually hit the head of Competitor B.

these are straight from the ATA rule book

I believe the pads are there for non intentional contact and to avoid lawsuits to the ATA..

 

[granfire]

Well, I used to be a member of an ATA spinoff... along with the 'you can only spar with co branded macho gear' limitation.....bullpuckey.

In the school the instructor didn't give a rip what we wore for sparing, as long as we had all the required pieces. That included a cup for boys (which I replaced with something from Walmart, because the one from the set was crap)
However, my instructor was cheap, on average 10 bucks cheaper than the other school from the same club, not to mention than the macho online shop.

Do talk to your instructor if you worry. He might have no problem with you going the cheaper route, since you do fill a few valuable slots on his roster in these trying times.

As for the tournament....oh well. I never landed more beautiful head punches as when we sparred tourney rules....no head shots other than kicks....

But don't look at tournaments as 'real life' applications. The ITA ones were like a fun family picnic. You play some games, eat something, make friends and go home. Sparring under those rules is a game of tag and strategy: She who has the most visible legal shots wins. My first tournament I won 2nd in forms, struck out in sparring as my opponent kept turning her back to me. Had I not been too doggone tired to adjust my game...I should have made that shot to the back count and her thing twice about doing this crap.
I actually met her a few years later at our schools tournament (but I didn't mention the back turning thing...)

 

[WaterGal]

Like others have said, if the school really is helping your kids and they love it, they might as well stay there. WTF and ITF do harder contact sparring, but in my experience with WTF the little kids keep it pretty light anyway.

And for you, if you really want to learn self-defense like you mention, you might want to try studying something other than TKD. TKD is a great martial art, I love it, but it's more a sport than a self-defense system. Something like Hapkido or BJJ will teach you a lot more about defending yourself in a practical situation.

 

[rickster]

Another thing when mandating equipment or equipment types;

Insurance Criteria

When I had my two schools going, the Insurance group wanted to make sure that gear was up to standards.

Because hey did not have a "real" method to do this, they listed a few common brands-manufacturers

 

[EddieCyrax]

I have/continue to compete in multi-style tournaments. It adds a level of challenge. You enter the sparring ring not knowing exactly what your opponent has studied. To me it adds another level of challenge. It gives me areas to work on within my own style (Shaolin Kempo) to become more effective.

 

[rickster]

I have/continue to compete in multi-style tournaments. It adds a level of challenge. You enter the sparring ring not knowing exactly what your opponent has studied. To me it adds another level of challenge. It gives me areas to work on within my own style (Shaolin Kempo) to become more effective.

We use to call these "free-style tourneys"

 

[Steve]

We use to call these "free-style tourneys"

I might try it, but I'm pretty sure that even in an open style tournament, grappling would be discouraged under the ruleset.

 

[rickster]

I might try it, but I'm pretty sure that even in an open style tournament, grappling would be discouraged under the ruleset.

Grappling-define this

 

[dancingalone]

I might try it, but I'm pretty sure that even in an open style tournament, grappling would be discouraged under the ruleset.

Many karate tournaments allow leg sweeps, but certainly no judo/BJJ type stuff. If your comment wasn't tongue-in-cheek, you might look into sanshou competition as they allow a wider range of grappling. Either that or go full-blown MMA, lol.

 

[Steve]

Grappling-define this

Everything after punching/kicking and before tapping out.

Many karate tournaments allow leg sweeps, but certainly no judo/BJJ type stuff. If your comment wasn't tongue-in-cheek, you might look into sanshou competition as they allow a wider range of grappling. Either that or go full-blown MMA, lol.

Yeah. Seriously, I'd be kind of interested in some throwdown style sparring... style vs style, but I'm not really interested in learning to strike. While not tongue in cheek, I'm not at all interested in MMA as more than a fan, although a number of my really good friends compete professionally in the sport.

 

[dancingalone]

Yeah. Seriously, I'd be kind of interested in some throwdown style sparring... style vs style, but I'm not really interested in learning to strike. While not tongue in cheek, I'm not at all interested in MMA as more than a fan, although a number of my really good friends compete professionally in the sport.

Well, then honestly you're not going to find many casual sparring outlets that match what you want. The grappler always has a heavy advantage in light contact striking situations, and I can't see anyone allowing grappling where the participants don't try to knock each others' heads off.

 

[EddieCyrax]

She swears she's going to learn Jiu Jitsu and Ballet.

Now that would be an interesting combination.

 

[granfire]

I have/continue to compete in multi-style tournaments. It adds a level of challenge. You enter the sparring ring not knowing exactly what your opponent has studied. To me it adds another level of challenge. It gives me areas to work on within my own style (Shaolin Kempo) to become more effective.

One of the instructors in our region had competed in open tournaments. When we came about talking about outside tournaments with 'other than' competitors he strongly suggested to go and point spar first to get a feel before venturing into full contact. he had trined in many styles so I did trust his judgment in that (but never tried)

 

[ETinCYQX]

1) Seperate curriculums are commonplace. I've used them and will again. With me, for 25% price increase you train twice as much.

2) I require sparring equipment to be bought from me/my instructor. Insurance reasons. If you have it already, fine, but if you need some it has to come from us. It's a huge headache to worry about someone bringing cheap crap gear and getting hurt.

3) The ATA is known for lots of pricey options. They're also known for the atmosphere like you described.

I would stay with your instructor if you can swallow my explanations. If not, good luck finding a school.