Is taekwondo good

[WaterGal]

As others have said, "is [style] good?" is a really tough question, because it depends so much on your school, their curriculum, your teacher, you, what your goals are.....

If your goal is to get in shape and be a competitive athlete, and you're at a good KKW/WTF-style TKD school that has high standards, does a lot of sparring and sends people to tournaments and such, then yes, Taekwondo is great. It's even in the Olympics. On the other hand, if your goal is to learn the kind of self-defense you might need to defend yourself while working as a prison guard, that same school might not be so great. And whatever your goals are, if the school/teacher/chain doesn't teach well or have high standards, your training won't be good - and that will be true in any martial arts style.

At it's best, TKD will give you great kicks, good hand strikes, good flexibility and cardio, and some decent sparring experience that will help you with things like distancing, managing your energy, handling pressure, etc. TKD is a striking-focused art, though, so there are some limitations involved in that. If your main goal is to learn to defend yourself, you might want to try also learning a grappling-based art like BJJ, Judo or Hapkido at some point. But that doesn't necessarily mean giving up TKD, unless your financial situation means choosing one or the other.

 

[Andrew Green]

i am currently 1 year and a half away from black belt but im wondering once i reach it should i continue or look for other martial arts to learn

Do you enjoy it? If so, keep at it. Feel like trying something else? Go do that, maybe you'll come back later, maybe not.

 

[oftheherd1]

Why? If he said he was a year away from getting a MD would you question how he knows the time frame? Surely a MD is given with a lot more care and requirements then a Tae Kwon Do black belt...

If I considered it were relevant I might ask the time frame. Or not. But considering the question, I think that was a legitimate question. If a person is close to black belt and is questioning its worthiness, that would be just one of several questions I would want to ask, if I wanted to answer the OP.

I guess by MD you mean a master's degree. Sadly, just as there are McDojos, there are McColleges and McUniversities.

 

[Andrew Green]

If I considered it were relevant I might ask the time frame. Or not. But considering the question, I think that was a legitimate question. If a person is close to black belt and is questioning its worthiness, that would be just one of several questions I would want to ask, if I wanted to answer the OP.

I guess by MD you mean a master's degree. Sadly, just as there are McDojos, there are McColleges and McUniversities.

The comment I replied to was expressing concern over knowing how long he has until black belt, thinking he might be "guaranteed" one in a given time period.

I see no problem with a school being very curriculum based and knowing how long it will take to reach a given stage in learning that curriculum. I know that a University degree is 4 years, it might take longer if you don't take a full load, it could be shorter if you mix in some summer classes. But in general, 4 years. There will be honour role students, and there will be ones that scrape by with "C's".

But it is still a very valid way to set up a schools curriculum, especially to black belt (which is still a pretty low grade in a lot of places)

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I guess by MD you mean a master's degree. Sadly, just as there are McDojos, there are McColleges and McUniversities.

I'm pretty certain he meant M.D. as in Doctor of Medicine.

 

[Buka]

Play it by ear, young fella'. See how you feel a year and a half from now.

I'm guessing your screen name doesn't mean as much to you now as it did when you picked it on Friday. Things change.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I'm guessing your screen name doesn't mean as much to you now as it did when you picked it on Friday. Things change.

2015: signs up for forum with screen name tkdislife
2016: e-mails moderators to see if he can change his screen name to judorulestkddrools
2018: asks for another name change - to wingchunisthegreatestnoireallymeanitthistime

I find going by my real name tends to simplify things in the long run.

 

[Flatfish]

2015: signs up for forum with screen name tkdislife
2016: e-mails moderators to see if he can change his screen name to judorulestkddrools
2018: asks for another name change - to wingchunisthegreatestnoireallymeanitthistime

I find going by my real name tends to simplify things in the long run.

So do I

 

[oftheherd1]

The comment I replied to was expressing concern over knowing how long he has until black belt, thinking he might be "guaranteed" one in a given time period.

I see no problem with a school being very curriculum based and knowing how long it will take to reach a given stage in learning that curriculum. I know that a University degree is 4 years, it might take longer if you don't take a full load, it could be shorter if you mix in some summer classes. But in general, 4 years. There will be honour role students, and there will be ones that scrape by with "C's".

But it is still a very valid way to set up a schools curriculum, especially to black belt (which is still a pretty low grade in a lot of places)

OK, now I understand your comment. But I have just never agreed to a school being able to set a specific time frame for a belt. Minimum time I can understand, but not that everyone will be promoted to the next belt in a given time frame, nor even a certain number of classes. I don't think everyone learns in the same time frame. Or maybe I am just comparing my experience in thinking I didn't learn as fast as others.

 

[oftheherd1]

I'm pretty certain he meant M.D. as in Doctor of Medicine.

Well, as I just said above, I may not learn as fast as others.

 

[Ironbear24]

Why? If he said he was a year away from getting a MD would you question how he knows the time frame? Surely a MD is given with a lot more care and requirements then a Tae Kwon Do black belt...

The two are very different and unrelated in this context. Unfortunately Tae Kwon Do has a negative reputation of being belt factories and grant people belts just because they been paying their membership for x amount of time.

That is why I question why he knew a date or seemed so confident he would be granted it by said time.

 

[WaterGal]

OK, now I understand your comment. But I have just never agreed to a school being able to set a specific time frame for a belt. Minimum time I can understand, but not that everyone will be promoted to the next belt in a given time frame, nor even a certain number of classes. I don't think everyone learns in the same time frame. Or maybe I am just comparing my experience in thinking I didn't learn as fast as others.

I think, like Andrew Green said, if you have a set curriculum, you can have a general sense of how long it typically takes to get from one belt to another. Of course, it's going to depend on the student - how often they come to class, how talented they are, how old they are, etc. But I think it's pretty reasonable to say, for example, that you have a color belt test every 3 months, and you have 10 color belt levels, and people who practice and come to class regularly usually pass the test, so for dedicated students it typically takes 30-36 months to get a black belt, but some people might take longer. [Note: replace those figures with whatever the appropriate figures would be for your school/style/program.]

 

[Andrew Green]

The two are very different and unrelated in this context.

Not necessarily. If a medical degree, something where you have people's lives in your hands daily, can be broken down into a structured curriculum and taught on a schedule that most people will graduate with and reach milestones with why can't a martial art?

We're not so different, we will have "honour roll" students, and students that scraped by. But there is nothing wrong with the model where you teach a curriculum based on a schedule and everyone that meets the requirements graduates based on that schedule.

Some schools operate on a different system when it comes to promotions, and that is fine too. We got a little more flexibility in terms of how we choose to train people. But if a basic system and structure is capable of outputting surgeons on a schedule I'm sure martial arts curriculum (which is far, far simpler) can be broken down to have students learn a curriculum that follows a pretty fixed schedule.

 

[JR 137]

Not necessarily. If a medical degree, something where you have people's lives in your hands daily, can be broken down into a structured curriculum and taught on a schedule that most people will graduate with and reach milestones with why can't a martial art?

We're not so different, we will have "honour roll" students, and students that scraped by. But there is nothing wrong with the model where you teach a curriculum based on a schedule and everyone that meets the requirements graduates based on that schedule.

Some schools operate on a different system when it comes to promotions, and that is fine too. We got a little more flexibility in terms of how we choose to train people. But if a basic system and structure is capable of outputting surgeons on a schedule I'm sure martial arts curriculum (which is far, far simpler) can be broken down to have students learn a curriculum that follows a pretty fixed schedule.

I agree with you, but there is a bit of a flaw in your logic...

Medical schools are highly selective in who they admit into their programs. Candidates need to have specific prior training, meet standardized testing scores, have some experience working in the field (through internships or the like), etc. Basically, they have to prove they're worthy of walking through the door.

Other than perhaps Koryu schools, there's no admissions process (for lack of a better word) involved in joining an MA school.

But if you have a set curriculum and minimum requirements to achieve a specific rank, be it a kyu rank or any dan rank, and you've had some students go through it, then there's no reason you can't give an average time frame. If the student has been training for a while, there's no reason you can't reasonably estimate when they'll likely reach a certain level if all goes well and nothing unexpectedly occurs.

Never telling anyone when they can reasonably reach a milestone such as 1st dan is an easy way to lose students.

 

[Kenpoguy123]

Quite honestly if you're a martial artist then you should know that's a stupid question there's no such thing as a bad martial art overall any art is good but it depends on the teacher and the interests of the individual. Personally I'm not interested in ground fighting it's just not something I particularly have interest in but that doesn't mean I think judo or jiu jitsu are bad martial arts just something I'm not interested in.

 

[tkdislife]

thankyou all

 

[Azulx]

thankyou all

Is there are a problem with the school you are currently at? If so do you mind sharing, hat issues you may have?

 

[drop bear]

Seems pretty simple. Go do some other styles and see if the guys training about the same time as you beat you up.

Make a judgement from there.

 

[tkdislife]

Is there are a problem with the school you are currently at? If so do you mind sharing, hat issues you may have?

my school is great we learn sport and traditional taewkondo

 

[tkdislife]

Play it by ear, young fella'. See how you feel a year and a half from now.

I'm guessing your screen name doesn't mean as much to you now as it did when you picked it on Friday. Things change.

yes i did pick becasue it has had a great impact on other parts of my life not justing beating people up