Traditional TKD

[Miles]

I think that since TKD is so widely practiced one will find many different interpretations out there. ... Maybe to answer my original question there really is no traditional TKD out there. (??)

Yes and yes.

Personally, I don't know that there can be "traditional" Taekwondo since the art itself is only 50 yrs old. But, having said that, it can have and promote "traditional" values:courtesy, integrity, perseverence, self-control, indomitable spirit (to quote my ITF friends).

Traz, I asked about your Hapkido instructor using the Chinese term-thanks for answering my question.

Miles

 

[Marginal]

Given that "traditional" practice itself is a relatively recent invention, (it only really came into focus as we think of it now with the arrival of Shotokan) I can't see how TKD being 50 years old disqualifies it as a traditional art. Traditional refers more to a specific mode of practice rather than the antiquity of a given art.

 

[MichiganTKD]

Yes and no.

Granted, Tae Kwon Do is only about 50-60 years old. However, the traditions that make it up are also rooted in Korean philosophy and history, which is much older than 50-60 years. How old the art is is not as relevant as the culture that comprises it.
Example: One of the foundations of traditional TKD is the Five Tenets of the Hwa Rang Warriors. These Tenets go back about 1500 years. So the fact that TKD is relatively young is irrelevant considering that the philosophy and culture that goes into it is much older.

 

[Zepp]

...The other class which was police and korean military officers was a whole different animal. It had the look and feel of Muay Thai. Lots of boxing drills and hard sparring. The teacher, who was also my judo teacher insisted it was TKD.

It probably was, and still is, TKD. The art has been a part of Korean police and military training since before it had a name.

I train under an organization that practices an older style of TKD, but I still try to avoid using the term traditional to label it. I will sometimes say that I practice a "more traditional" style to differentiate it from Kukki-TKD, which is newer. But for an art that had only had its name for about 50 years, I think we have to accept that traditions are going to change.

 

[JanneM]

I'm serious when I say this. The guys was in his early 30s. In korea the instructors carry an ID with their rank and organization. He showed it to me because I didn't believe him. Also I noticed that the ranking system was different for americans in TKD, that way the koreans had the advantage. What part of korea do you live in? I was in Pyongtaek.
-David Dempsey-

Are you sure that it was Kukkiwon ID card?

I am in Seoul at the moment.

 

[JanneM]

I think that in taekwondo only tradition is its constant chanching.

 

[D Dempsey]

Are you sure that it was Kukkiwon ID card?

No I'm not positive. I only looked at for a second, and as I said I don't study TKD, so I don't know what one is supposed to look like.
-David Dempsey-

 

[JanneM]

No I'm not positive. I only looked at for a second, and as I said I don't study TKD, so I don't know what one is supposed to look like.
-David Dempsey-

Then I think it could of been some kind of other certificate. I'm guite sure that it is not Kukkiwon ticket.