TKD as a P.E. class

[Gemini]

Well I was offer do TKD as a PE credit for several charter schools starting in January. I am currently doing it as a afterschool club but it has been so successful that they believe it should be available to all students that wish to take it, so I am getting that chance. I believe it can only be a positive class for alot of these kids.

Fair enough, Terry. As I said before, I realize I'm in the minority on this topic and I'm okay with that.

Engaging young people in activity is always a good (and necessary) thing for their development. I get that. Where I have to leave the mainstream is the choice of activity. There are many activities that can fulfill that purpose with great success. Martial arts is not IMO the best choice. I would love to see ALL kids train in the arts. Just not in such a limited capacity. I don't believe it is in their interests or the arts.

No one has shown a greater love or dedication to their art than you have. How many times have you posted your concerns over the detrement of the art and the causes? To me, this is one of those causes. You've heard the expression ...just enough to be dangerous". This is that.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree. That's not to say I don't wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. You may be able to turn this into a good thing, but you're not most people, and more to the point, most people aren't you. Picturing this as a wide spread practice makes me cringe.

Regards,

 

[terryl965]

Fair enough, Terry. As I said before, I realize I'm in the minority on this topic and I'm okay with that.

Engaging young people in activity is always a good (and necessary) thing for their development. I get that. Where I have to leave the mainstream is the choice of activity. There are many activities that can fulfill that purpose with great success. Martial arts is not IMO the best choice. I would love to see ALL kids train in the arts. Just not in such a limited capacity. I don't believe it is in their interests or the arts.

No one has shown a greater love or dedication to their art than you have. How many times have you posted your concerns over the detrement of the art and the causes? To me, this is one of those causes. You've heard the expression ...just enough to be dangerous". This is that.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree. That's not to say I don't wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. You may be able to turn this into a good thing, but you're not most people, and more to the point, most people aren't you. Picturing this as a wide spread practice makes me cringe.

Regards,

Gemini I am going to keep everything the way I teach at my school, one reason for the Charter school route is they will let me run my program not a water down version. I do understand your concerns and they are a value to all of us, I will say this I will elt everyone knows how it goes once we get started.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

I guess it's a matter of how we each look at it, Daniel. But to your point, allow me to rephrase my initial statement.

For the purpose of this discussion, let's not confuse Korea's interpretation of Taekwondo with ours. It's apples and oranges.

Taekwondo is a martial art that has a sport aspect, which is what you see in the Olympics. To say that it accuratly representents Taekwondo is highly inaccurate. It's only a small part of what the art is all about which just happens to be the most visible. To learn only that small aspect without understanding the concept of the art is a mistake. By all emcompassing, I'm referring to the mind set that supports the art which can be applied to just about every aspect of your life. It's not a religion, it's a dedication. It's a commitment to oneself. To me, it is, and always should be taught in that manner. That takes a lifetime. How much can anyone hope to absorb in a predetermined school term. The last thing we need is another vehicle to help dilute Taekwondo or any other art for that matter.

Regards,

I agree with you, though I know that at least in Japan, martial arts have been a part the school system for some time, though I do not know what capacity they are a part today.

A far as using taekwondo for PE, there is no practical way to get a full taekwondo class through the public school systems in the US, as far as I can see at least.

A taekwondo based class is what came to my mind when I read the thread title. Which would end up with maybe a combination of forms and drills or a cardio kickboxing style class using strikes culled from taekwondo.

Certainly, no belting should be done in such a class.

Daniel