Self Defense Wisdom

[terryl965]

What is the take on Self Defense for the average TKD'er? I mean we have so many that do it for exorcise and sport only, so where does your SD come from other Arts? Maybe by way of a handgun? Every single person should have some type of SD and I know alot of sport school and fitness type of school does not even how this in place.

I am not looking for a agrument but instead a great decussion on how and if you have even thought about it.

 

[dancingalone]

I know the ITA system has affiliated with Dr. He Young Kimm's Hanmudo to offer their members experience in a hapkido art. This is a great business move, and frankly if their members can gain some basic understanding of Hanmudo, it can only help increase their SD capabilities.

 

[hkfuie]

I am not sure what you;re asking, Terry. My first response is...MY TKD is not your average TKD. LOL!

I know the GM of my style who first came to USA was first a BB in Judo before he studied Shudokan.

I can see the strong influence of Judo in our self defense techniques. So I study Judo to explore improving those techniques from the people who specialize in the locks and throws I learned in TKD.

But I don't see that as self-defense from another style. I guess everything I learned in TKD is from another style!

I teach the same self-defense my teacher taught me.

 

[terryl965]

What I am asking is for those that just train in the sport or for physical fitness what are you doing about any Self Defense?

 

[granfire]

I know the ITA system has affiliated with Dr. He Young Kimm's Hanmudo to offer their members experience in a hapkido art. This is a great business move, and frankly if their members can gain some basic understanding of Hanmudo, it can only help increase their SD capabilities.

Yep, Hanmudo is a blast. Not sure if it works in real life, especially if you are not as fluent as Dr Kimm.

Incorporating other styles round you out and might give you the chance to get back to your game, like falling without getting hurt, getting up without getting your head kicked in...slide out of a submissive position...


However, exercise vs SD

My favorite subject.....

Aside from hopefully having the smarts from staying out of that dark alley, exercise gives you a different body posture making you not as likely to be targeted.
Sparring does give you a taste of being hit, thinking on your feet and breathing while doing this. This opens your window of opportunity to strike back, and hopefully run away, screaming if need be.

I have often wondered if I could make it, when I walked through the parking lot, half asleep or otherwise dazed and in total non alert mode. But then again I have not had many moments in my life were I ran on pure adrenaline, and none were lives (other than a critter) were at stake. But I can tell you that much, adrenalin is a powerful fuel! Pair that with ingrained moves and an impaired inhibition...I think even I could be dangerous...

 

[TaekwondoNeil22]

TKD is a Swlf Defence martial art if used properly. I mean there is no floor work as such just distance and effective strikes but if you have a good teacher and you understand what moves do what you should have no problem defending yourself with TKD. Other martial arts are better for Self Defence dont get me wrong but there are still advantages to TKD that people dont alwasy see it has got the power there just need to learn how to use it.

 

[searcher]

I think it all coems down to your own personal pursuits. Just because a person trains at a sport oriented school, it does not mean they are there for the sport side of things. It is really up to the individual to determine how the art they train in will be used. My own TKD training is supplemented by my years oftraining in other styles. When I first started TKD I just wanted to get my sport aspect better, but it has helped my other training in the SD side of things. Again, it comes back to how I want to utilize the art, not how the art is used by others. JMHO.

 

[exile]

This is tricky, for me, because I never learned the 'sport' side of TKD at all. My instructor's constant call to us, from Day 1, his signature line, so to speak, has always been, 'Keep your hands up!!'. It's been SD ever since I started (which is exactly what I was looking for when I first thought about starting MAs). So for me, TKD has been a kind of endless gallery of striking-based SD techs, incorporating insights from shrewd analysts of other, related arts—insights that have helped me 'read' TKD methods better and convert them into practical, street-ready tactics.

I think this is one reason why I sometimes find that I have a hard time understanding what other TKDists are saying—they're coming at things from a more standard, 'mainstream' approach to the art. I often find that I have a perspective more in common with maunakumu and his vision of Tang Soo Do than with a lot of my fellow TKDists, who are assuming much more of a KKW point of view. The difference is really night and day.

It strikes me that for someone with the latter perspective, SD is an 'external' desideratum, an add-on, that has to be grafted onto the rootstock of what they know, making for a possibly awkward fit. For me, it is the rootstock, so it's very hard to know what to say to those for whom it's much more distant.

 

[ATC]

SD is vital in my eyes. Our school teaches some aspects of SD to color belts but goes more in depth once your reach BlackBelt.

Actually before getting my BlackBelt I got to see closed door BlackBelt classes as I often do most of the computer work in the Dojang when needed. It was brutal to me and it intimidated me a little bit.

Now that I have my BlackBelt and I do these classes as well. It still is brutal to me and still intimidates me

. All I can say is this is pain, pain and more pain.

Our school also teaches sport TKD and I think we are very good at it also. The good thing about our school is that there are many programs in which you can choose to do and focus on.

We have traditional classes
We have two competition classes - one forms and the other sparring
We have BlackBelt only classes
We have SD classes

Oh and we have a cardio class for those that just want exercise with no combat at all.

This may be standard in many Dojangs but I only know what we offer.

 

[StuartA]

My SD comes from TKD, with the modern edge and thinking of Geoff Thompson and co.

To me, martial arts is about SD first and formost, all the rest are nice extras but mean little if you can't defend yourself or your family IF or when the time arises!

Stuart

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Before we had hapkido offered as a separate course of study, we had hapkido locks and holds, as well as sweeps and takedowns worked into our taekwondo curriculum. All of the moves are fairly brutal and geared towards quick finish or escape. Given that our GM was an ROK special army hapkido instructor, this wasn't surprising.

Our TKD SD curriculum still has an SD element, but it is primarily in the adult only evening classes two days a week. It is still basically the same SD that was offered before, but we get a more comprehensive SD curriculum in our hapkido class, as there is no sport element to have to carve out time for.

Daniel

 

[hkfuie]

What I am asking is for those that just train in the sport or for physical fitness what are you doing about any Self Defense?

Oh! Are you asking sport TKD people what they do for self-defense?

Oh. I don't know about that...good question.

 

[mozzandherb]

My self defense is my TKD. That and hopefully being able to outrun someone if I have to. Other than that, if I was in a fight on the street depending on the situation I would probably look for some type of weapon to use. I mean self defense could mean you end up seriously injuring someone or even killing someone. So if it comes down to its me or him, I would probably do anything to make sure I come out on top

 

[Twin Fist]

well, as you may know, i use Kenpo for my self defense as i think it is more practical.

now, that doesnt mean I dont use the TKD

TKD supplies the tools, strength, balance, strikes and kicks, but Kenpo supplies the flow, and they work well together.

 

[bankerrkt]

In my school, SD is a regular part of our TKD training and curriculum. My Master is retired military (Special Forces), so SD is huge to him. He also has 6th degree belts in both judo and jujitsu so we get some of that in the Advanced Belt Training Class (Blue Belt or higher). For me personally, I grew up around guns and enjoy shooting and collecting them. So I have a concealed carry license and carry a gun as my regular SD too.