Taekwondo: is it a sport or a martial art? ( again)

[ralphmcpherson]

Are these older clubs? I wonder if they have "Self Defense" up in big bold letters as a hold over from when nobody knew what taekwondo was.

No, these are well established clubs, but are reasonably new to the area, and one of the schools was only built three years ago and has two tkd clubs and one karate club using their hall. I am taking my kids to tkd tonight but cant train myself (flu) so i will be up the back with the other parents watching their kids train. I will ask them why they put their kids in tkd in the first place, im sure 'self defence' will be their primary reason, but i will check and see what responses i get.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

No, these are well established clubs, but are reasonably new to the area, and one of the schools was only built three years ago and has two tkd clubs and one karate club using their hall.

Perhaps asking the owner why his sign says 'self defense' and what he does in that area might yield a fruitful (or at least interesting) answer.

I am taking my kids to tkd tonight but cant train myself (flu) so i will be up the back with the other parents watching their kids train. I will ask them why they put their kids in tkd in the first place, im sure 'self defence' will be their primary reason, but i will check and see what responses i get.

How do your kids like the class and what is your primary reason for having them in it? Your kids are obviously in the class and you are paying to have them their in spite of what you are saying.

Or is the club you train at SD focused? If it is an SD Focused club (that actually does SD in the way that you view it), then their answers will be of no support to the point you are making. If that is the case, you'd really have to ask parents at the other schools why they put their kids in, or the students why they train. And I will restate that finding out how the owner defines self defense in the context of his class would be of value. Even if you don't agree with it, think it's nuts, or think he's full of it, it will be straight from the horse's mouth.

 

[Kinghercules]

This is one of the common arguments among Taekwondo practitioners. The simple answer is that Taekwondo is a sport and it is a martial art. What is really funny to see is how fanatical we are. Sometimes just for the sake of fun I mention that the sport aspect of Taekwondo is the only unique thing in Taekwondo, which is when I start to receive hate mail, (I actually believe this). I think that we should see the big picture. The audience doesn’t care if we are a sport or a martial art; people just care what is to them and how our training can help them or if they have a child who would like to start training in Taekwondo.

When I was younger, I too was really fanatical about the difference between traditional and sport. I did look down at those schools that were focusing only on sparring. I felt that every school should teach the same as we did. We had sparring, self-defence, poomsae, 1 and 3 step sparring and well, pretty much everything.

Today I am older, more experienced and I have learnt that it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else is thinking. The teachers of individual schools decide what the style of the school is and if students are happy and satisfied, I think that’s enough.

For me, Taekwondo is a martial art and a sport and I don’t separate those things. One of the prominent Taekwondo writers asks if we should consider Taekwondo as a martial art because in sparring we don’t use many hand techniques only mainly kicking techniques. My question is what is the definition of a martial art? For me, one of the definitions is of course the ability to defend yourself.

Well, boxers don’t use kicks and Judo doesn’t use strikes but many of them are really good with self-defence and I wouldn’t like to fight against them in a “real fight” (I would prefer run anyway- I am too old for fighting).

Your thoughts?

/Markku

Why cant it just be both?

Well, boxers don’t use kicks and Judo doesn’t use strikes but many of them are really good with self-defence and I wouldn’t like to fight against them in a “real fight” (I would prefer run anyway- I am too old for fighting).Markku

It just all depends who trained you. Ive beaten both in street fights before and all I knew was my TKD.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

It must be a regional thing then daniel, because most, if not all tkd clubs in my area push the self defence angle in their advertising, and i dont live in an area where knowing how to defend yourself is really necessary. In fact, after i posted that yesterday i went on my afternoon run and paid particular attention to any signage i saw (i run past 3 schools that run tkd clubs in the hall and have signage on the front gates) , and every sign i saw actually said "self defence" in larger lettering than the actual name of the club.

I've know a couple of instructors in Australia and SD does seem to be a predominate theme from conversations we've had over the years. The same can be said for my area, including TSD and TKD schools nearby. One of the schools nearest me that advertises SD also has has a huge trophy case so they seem to be heavily into competition. I stopped in years ago but don't remember what or if they have a specific affiliation(s). Very nice school and one of the few TKD schools in the area that hasn't shut the doors in recent years.

Is TKD a sport or SD or a traditional art? As others have stated, the answer is, yes. Perhaps the biggest plus of TKD is that it can hold something for just about anyone.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

You're right kong soo do, almost all clubs over here use the term "self defence" in describing/advertising their club. Many do not practice what they preach, but will still use self defence as a selling point. Im out with injury at the moment and Im getting some time up the back of class mingling with the other parents and all that Ive spoken to have listed self defence as a reason for enrolling their kids in martial arts. As one parent said to me "if all I wanted for my kids was health, fitness, discipline, socialising etc, I would have just signed him up at the local AFL club. Martial arts is self defence". I think a lot of aussies feel this way.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

You're right kong soo do, almost all clubs over here use the term "self defence" in describing/advertising their club. Many do not practice what they preach, but will still use self defence as a selling point.

That is always my pet-peeve. It is a disservice to the student.

 

[leadleg]

When a student who has no knowledge of even making a fist or chamber a kick, teaching them how to kick, punch, or block, would be teaching the basics of self defense.

 

[Gorilla]

This debate is more about ego than sport or self defense...they are both viable and worthy pursuits!

 

[Kong Soo Do]

This debate is more about ego than sport or self defense...they are both viable and worthy pursuits!

How? Has anyone in the thread suggested otherwise?

 

[Andrew]

Its a Martial arts with some sports aspect mixed into it.