the 540

[d1jinx]

It seems like today there are alot more kicks then when i was young. The toughest kicks we did were the tornado roundhouse kick and jump spin hook kick. now they have kick like the 540. I wish I was younger. I would LOVE to do it. Now I play around with it, but I am terrified of tearing my knees if I were to kick high above the head with it. I have never had knee problems, and knowing how lucky that makes me, I dont want to start now.
Any of you over the age of 30 doing it? (I'm 35)

It seems the older I get, the less of a chance i wanna take. I can't afford to be out of work because of an injury. I think it is starting to hamper my skills because I am not pushing myself like I used to.

 

[IcemanSK]

Nope. And I didn't do it when I was 20, either. Basically, cuz it was an unheard of kick back then.

It's a pretty kick to break boards with, but I see no need to learn it.

 

[Jphtkd]

I am 31, I still do 540's and some of the other tricks

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I am 35 and have no interest in how to do a 540. I do most of the flashy kicks just for a bit of fun but I spend my time in class concentrating more on self defence , form and sparring.

 

[NPTKD]

I am 41 and can do a 360 really fast when a 21 young lady walks by!:supcool:

 

[d1jinx]

well actually I got that 540 down pretty good, spin 180 to look, 180 back, and another 180 for the second look....:boing1: :ladysman:

 

[dortiz]

As someone that loves to spar I greatly appreciate and look forward to all the kicks my opponents use which send them in the air.
Its just so much easier to knock them across the room that way.
; )

Dave O.

 

[Manny]

It seems like today there are alot more kicks then when i was young. The toughest kicks we did were the tornado roundhouse kick and jump spin hook kick. now they have kick like the 540. I wish I was younger. I would LOVE to do it. Now I play around with it, but I am terrified of tearing my knees if I were to kick high above the head with it. I have never had knee problems, and knowing how lucky that makes me, I dont want to start now.
Any of you over the age of 30 doing it? (I'm 35)

It seems the older I get, the less of a chance i wanna take. I can't afford to be out of work because of an injury. I think it is starting to hamper my skills because I am not pushing myself like I used to.

I can feel your pain. Yes the toghtes kicks back in my yourger days were the spining-jumping hook kick and all the others kicks using the spining-jumping motion.

These days the flashy kicks like the tornado, the 360,the 540 etc. are the best in town no? But yes, to perform them flawlesly you must train hard and .... yes... be young kid. I'm almost 42 (october 22th) and as you said my knees,my anckles and my entire body don't allow me to perform that tricky kicks.

My body can't afford a ligament rupture or a broken bone or knee so I have to stay on the mat and do the regular kicks.

Manny

 

[d1jinx]

As someone that loves to spar I greatly appreciate and look forward to all the kicks my opponents use which send them in the air.
Its just so much easier to knock them across the room that way.
; )

Dave O.

These kicks are to demonstrate the athletic ability and dynamic kicking techniques of the art we call TAEKWONDO. Only someone who is beyond superiority would dare attempt these in a competition and I wouldn't expect it to work. But if it did... you all would be the first to say
"HOLY **** DID YOU SEE THAT, That guy is awesome."
At some point most things we do have no practical application other than "just to do it"
But if all we did was front kick, round kick and side kick, what would seperate TKD from a japanese MA?
I watch the Korean Tigers and other Demo teams, Springboarding off a mans chest to do a backflip and kick the apple off a sword... where the practicality in that? We do it because it displays what makes TKD so great over other MA's. The true mastery over ones body and the kicks they can perform.
We use to do gymnastics in our TKD class. I can't really see the practicality in doing a backflip in a fight either. But we learned it and it was fun.

Ay what point do you make your TKD class fun and encourage students to grow in their athletisism. Lets face it, people like flashy and cool stuff. Not everything has to be REAL, PRACTICAL and BORING.

 

[dortiz]

Wow,
I will just say that this is where I really beg to differ. I truly believe you can make a class darn challenging while working on stances, power, balance and good technique.
Most of the folks I grew up with in the arts do not find real and practical Boring. Usually just the opposite.

Different approaches, I guess.

Dave O.

 

[d1jinx]

Wow,
I will just say that this is where I really beg to differ. I truly believe you can make a class darn challenging while working on stances, power, balance and good technique.
Most of the folks I grew up with in the arts do not find real and practical Boring. Usually just the opposite.

Different approaches, I guess.

Dave O.

as a 12 and 13 year old, I can tell you I did that stuff to. But class was much more fun when we did fancy techniques and kicks.

plus, if you had a demo team, what would you demo if you had nothing fancy to show??

 

[Msby]

Depends on what audience you're demoing for too . MAists of differing styles and non MAists will want to see different things.
That being said though, I've been working on this kick simply because of the short feeling of "flying" you get from it. And as for competitions, I told my friend that I would give him $20 if he could make a headshot with this kick during a match :lol:

 

[Aikicomp]

Wow,
I will just say that this is where I really beg to differ. I truly believe you can make a class darn challenging while working on stances, power, balance and good technique.
Most of the folks I grew up with in the arts do not find real and practical Boring. Usually just the opposite.

Different approaches, I guess.

Dave O.

+1 That's all I will teach in class, practical and to the point. No flash, no fancy, nothing that would not be practical and/or applicable on the street, just basic self-defense techniques that are designed to get you out of a bad situation and back home safe and hopefully sound.

Leave the flash and fancy for demos, because, IMHO for self-defense solid, basic and practical will most likely get you home.....flash and fancy....not so much.

Having said that, I've seen some people do some REALLY astounding things with their styles and they definately have a WOW factor. I wish I could do some of the stuff I've seen, just for the fun of it. Tournaments and demos are the perfect place for flash and fancy.


Michael