Someday ill start TKD..

[terryl965]

Krillan I am just going to say that for you to even bring up the over wieght issue is just poor taste. I have been involved in MA for over forty years and run a very high level school. I am obese by any standerds period and I train people every single day. My weight problem is from a medical condition and steriods that I must take five times a day. There are alot of people on here that knows me and enjoy my training methods and appreciate all of my knowledge. Maybe you should investigate and ask question about the instructor and take a moment and do a class or two and see if he is the real deal. I am up front with everybody but onece we get on the mat and start training they sign up and are glad they did. My advice is try a class I am sure they will give you a free trail if you ask..

 

[Kframe]

Terryl, i ment no disrespect. I my self am obese and am on the path to losing weight. I was just going by what my instincts were telling me. Couple that with the oddly short class times my cuation flags went up. I was not trying to disrespect you or your school. Ill go and talk with them, hopefully ill be proven wrong. Tho the weirdly short class times are off putting for me. I put in 1.5 hours in boxing and yet there beginner class is only 30mins?

 

[Cyriacus]

Edit to add, sorry about my previous post, i ment to post more with it, but had a family issue i had to deal with and had to go.
Thank you for that video, that guy was truely impressive. About the fitness thing tho, this instructer i saw was not just unfit, but morbidly obease... Im sorry but i dont see how anyone that heavy can be a instructor. Also why im trying to loose more weight, tho granted im half way there. IMHO there is a difference between big but muscular and morbidly obease, one can usually tell the difference. I have a friend who got me started in boxing. He is a older gent, in his 60's he is obviously over weight, but he is very muscular and still every bit as dangerous a boxer as he was in his youth.

Video comment: the video you supplied, his punches were different. He seamed to punch very quickly and with apparent power as he knocked out a few with just punches, but he seamed to be a head hunter. He seamed to be only targeting the heads of his opponents he punched at. I get reminded often that i need to not be a head hunter and to attack the body more. Needless to say tho, his videos were impressive.

Punch Targetting is a Personal thing. I like to strike Parallel to Me, regardless of what it hits.
(I.e., My Arm goes straight out. It isnt inclined up or down. Its hitting in line with My Collarbone.)

Terryl, i ment no disrespect. I my self am obese and am on the path to losing weight. I was just going by what my instincts were telling me. Couple that with the oddly short class times my cuation flags went up. I was not trying to disrespect you or your school. Ill go and talk with them, hopefully ill be proven wrong. Tho the weirdly short class times are off putting for me. I put in 1.5 hours in boxing and yet there beginner class is only 30mins?

A good Class Length is 1-2 Hours. 1 Hour is normal, 2 Hours is preferable.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

Cyracius, you mention that the TMA dojos emphasize conditioning more then some mma gyms, but i continue to see examples of obese over weight blackbelts. The first place i visited is a example of this.. Of course there is this famous video.

Im speechless after watching that vid. How can anyone that bad possibly think its a good idea to fight competitively. Surely you cant enter one of these competitions and call yourself a "tkd guy" unless you have actually achieved something in tkd, which Im sure this guy hasnt. You can see why people say "tkd cant work in mma", because of people like that guy.

 

[SPX]

Firstly is the short classes, beginner through orange belt get 30min, then the green and higher get 30 min, plus a extra hour on wednesday.

In my opinion, that right there is enough to disqualify the school from further consideration. 30 mins? That's about long enough to take your shoes off. A 50 minute class MIGHT be worth it if the instructor really knows how to manage time and keeps things moving at a brisk pace from start to finish, but in my opinion you need an hour or more to really begin to learn something.

 

[Gnarlie]

In my opinion, that right there is enough to disqualify the school from further consideration. 30 mins? That's about long enough to take your shoes off. A 50 minute class MIGHT be worth it if the instructor really knows how to manage time and keeps things moving at a brisk pace from start to finish, but in my opinion you need an hour or more to really begin to learn something.

Too right - I'd say 30 minutes is too short for a decent athletic warm up. I'd be very interested to hear about the content of the first 'beginner lesson' if you (Krillan) do go along for a trial. Even with a minimal warm up to get the heart rate up, and a cursory nod towards range of motion exercises, a warm up is still 15 minutes minimum. Which means you're likely to get 10-15 minutes of actual new material. One new idea and a drill. Woot. I'd give it a miss, but maybe take the trial class just out of interest.

 

[Kframe]

Well the other DOJO, i visited and the classes are very much set up like my boxing classes. In that its 1.5 hours long and they have the time brokend down into specific things they work on. His thoughts are, that you need at least 90mins of class to really get anything from it. Im going to setup a trial lesson and report back. Im hoping im still impressed with them after the trial as a i am now...

 

[Cyriacus]

Well the other DOJO, i visited and the classes are very much set up like my boxing classes. In that its 1.5 hours long and they have the time brokend down into specific things they work on. His thoughts are, that you need at least 90mins of class to really get anything from it. Im going to setup a trial lesson and report back. Im hoping im still impressed with them after the trial as a i am now...

Well, the trial is a good time to keep an even keener eye. Best of luck.

 

[TKDinAK]

If I may...

It seems you are thinking that TKD is some sort of ultra intense cardio driven workout... one which requires beginners to jump and spin... possibly while getting kicked and punched. Have never heard of such a thing. If you have been taking boxing lessons for awhile, I'm absolutely confident that you are already well ahead of the "normal" beginning TKD practioner concerning conditioning. I know you are well ahead of where I began.

I started TKD absolutely raw to physical athletic activity. I work as an artist, and I had been sitting behind a desk for the previous 6 years before I joined my dojang. I was probably 25lbs overweight and had zero conditioning. In my experience, and I would think this is quite common, my first month of training, was more about getting my body stretched out, learning some very basic kicks, punches and blocks, and then some gradual drills and bag work to begin some conditioning. A good instructor will get a clear sense of where you are physically and mentally, and bring you along at a gradual and methodical rate. My first pattern was after my first promotion... which in our school, a promotion is based on in class time requirements being met, and gaining our instructors confidence in being able to test and pass.

Of course, there were classes within my first couple months that pushed me hard in conditioning, but I always made it in fine shape. Sore for a couple days maybe, but a good sore. If you get yourself on a regular attendence, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you gain conditioning/fitness. I've only been training eight months, and while I feel very good about where I am right now in my training and conditioning, there are still more classes than not where I am totally spent at the end of the session. Several of those times have been from classes where all we did was practice patterns over and over. It's just like your boxing class... if you got on a heavy bag and punched nonstop, basic punches, it wouldnt be long before you were a wet noodle. I will go through the four patterns I know right now, and be breathing hard and sweating profusely. It's because of what I put into each and every movement.

So, if it's just a fitness/conditioning thing you are concerned about... IMO, it's not a real valid concern. You will be just fine. Go join, and go train. You will love it.

 

[Kframe]

Problem is, i have alot more then 25lbs to loose. I Just have a hard time with the concept of a obese martial artist. The work is Martial- war, as in doing something to prepare for combat. I know that just from my boxing class that fighting is seriously physically demanding. I want to be able to meet the challanges of combat to protect my family..

 

[TKDinAK]

I understand. I don't know your current level of obesity... not important that I do... but I do know we have beginners training in our dojang who are 50+ over, and while they may struggle somewhat more than someone who is less overweight, they show marked improvement class by class.

My instructor has done business with my company for years, and for as long as I can remember, he'd put a bug in my ear about joining his school. I always balked at the idea because I had always had the misconception that martial arts was for younger people who were athletically fit and gifted. Never put it together that people start their training at all different ages and levels of fitness.

But, you should go when you are ready. It took me years to finally take the plunge... and I still wish that I had joined back when I was first offered... I'd be at least a 2nd Dan right now. But, I am very happy that I am on my way. Love TKD.

Keep us posted on your path... and congrats on already taking the first steps.

 

[Kframe]

Well Right now im about to start some conditioning/bjj/mt classes at a mma school on my non boxing days. Personaly i want to start tkd, but it will have to wait till im physicaly and mentaly ready for it. I need a structured work out on my non boxing days, I just am not good at self conditioning. I figure I might as well learn some ground work and some rudimentary kicks and defenses while i condition my self. For my the most important part of training at the mma school is 2 things. Number 1 is conditioning in a structured environment, sorry i need it and i think this will get me there faster. 2 i will learn some ground defense takedown defense. Those are the 2 things that are top of my list right now. My path to starting tkd is a long one, but i feel i must walk it correctly. Comming in with a solid ground game, and good conditioning is important to me. Lastly and this is important but a distant concern is, i wanna compete before i turn 40, and not in tippy tappy point matches or hands down by my **** foot fencing matches. When i start TKD i want all my desires to compete out of my system. I dont want the desire to compete interefere and ruin the techniques of tkd for me.

This may be a more mental thing for me then anything else, i know that tkd works, i just dont trust it fully in my mind.. I want to have a solid ground game before i start. Its kinda like a dr jekel mr hyde thing. On the one hand i know it is fully capable of molly whomping ****, but on the other hand i know that it has little chance against a grappler/ground fighter, so i must also have some good grappling skills. Only then will i be comfortable with it. Its tobad no one teaches it like Jeff speakmens kempo 5.0 which now has ground work in it.