Tae Kwon Do beginner

[Kacey]

We vary the contact based on several factors - age of participants, sparring gear (hand/foot pads - no body armor is used), and rank. Older, more experienced students make medium contact without pads - younger, less experienced students make no contact without pads and light/medium contact with pads, and work their way up.

 

[matt.m]

I have to say that conditioning is huge. Gee, put this in perspective.....I am being effective in warding off attacker a and b. Oh no I am getting tired, oh no. Holy crap I have no more stamina what do I do?

Not having good conditioning can be disasterous. I know mine needs so much improvement that I should never claim to be in any kind of shape. Pop has said on several occassions that if his students have to fight then they won't lose because they are out of wind.

 

[TraditionalTKD]

We don't have students do any sparring other than light contact until green belt because they are still in the process of learning how to do technique and steps. How can you worry about mid to heavy contact when you are still learning how to do the technique? There will be plenty of time for that. Better to practice coordination, grace, rhythm, and timing and worry about getting hit later.

 

[TKD-Pete]

Hey guys. Had a fair few more sessions now (last session was my eighth) and feel like it's really starting to click.

We've been practicing kicks and the first poomse (four directional punching). I feel like my side (sword edge) kick is my best and my front kick is probably my weakest. I'm really enjoying it though and wish we had more than two sessions a week.

Is there anything I can be practicing specifically outside of the dojang to get better at everything?

Many thanks for all the advice - I know it's important to learn the basics first and move on from there, I just like being challenged all the time and doing lots of running races (while good for conditioning) does get a little boring after a while.

I also feel like my technique goes out the window when we're told to practice a technique quickly, is there any way to combat that?

 

[terryl965]

Hey guys. Had a fair few more sessions now (last session was my eighth) and feel like it's really starting to click.

We've been practicing kicks and the first poomse (four directional punching). I feel like my side (sword edge) kick is my best and my front kick is probably my weakest. I'm really enjoying it though and wish we had more than two sessions a week.

Is there anything I can be practicing specifically outside of the dojang to get better at everything?

Many thanks for all the advice - I know it's important to learn the basics first and move on from there, I just like being challenged all the time and doing lots of running races (while good for conditioning) does get a little boring after a while.

I also feel like my technique goes out the window when we're told to practice a technique quickly, is there any way to combat that?

Glad you are having a good time.

 

[exile]

Hey guys. Had a fair few more sessions now (last session was my eighth) and feel like it's really starting to click.

We've been practicing kicks and the first poomse (four directional punching). I feel like my side (sword edge) kick is my best and my front kick is probably my weakest. I'm really enjoying it though and wish we had more than two sessions a week.

Is there anything I can be practicing specifically outside of the dojang to get better at everything?

There's lots you can do. For starters, try the following:

(i) take three or four basic kicks---front snap kick, rear leg side kick, some front leg side kick (slide or stationary), turning kick, maybe back kick---nothing really elaborate---and for each one of them, throw fifty of each of on the left leg, then then on the right leg. This takes very little space, and repetition (in good form) is the mother of all progress. You'll notice a big difference in your skill level (though not right away... it's cumulative).

(ii) Take each of those kicks, and on the leg where you do the kick with most assurance, do ten very slow reps---as slow as you can and still be in balance. As time goes on, try slowing the kick down even further, maintaining good form and as close to perfect balance as you can. When you can freeze the kick in an arbitrary position---anywhere along the trajectory of the kick---try doing it with ankle weights. When you get that down, so you know what it feels like to do it right, try doing it on your weaker leg. Nailing the kinaesthetic sense of doing it on the strong leg makes it easier, I've found, to then do it on the weaker leg, because you now know what the sensation of doing it right is.

(iii) Put an erasable chalk mark or some colored tape on a wall and kick to that mark. When you can nail the contact with complete accuracy, change the height of the mark.

Many thanks for all the advice - I know it's important to learn the basics first and move on from there, I just like being challenged all the time and doing lots of running races (while good for conditioning) does get a little boring after a while.

I also feel like my technique goes out the window when we're told to practice a technique quickly, is there any way to combat that?

Yup---do it slowly, as per (ii), on your own!

A very good book, full of ideas for practice and refinement of technique outside the doj., is Loren Christensen's Solo Training. Very, very good, demanding exercises---way more than you'll have a chance to do in any given week, so you've got a lot of variety there and won't ever get bored.

Good luck with your training!