When I look back, now that I'm OLDER, those good old days, really weren't all that good. Came home with lots of black and blues, bloody uniform, sprains and let us not forget the broken/fractured fingers and or toes. The rule of thumb, even in the military in those days, was pain is an excellent teacher. In a way they were correct and I most assuredly learned and remember from those days, but they did take their toll. Only until one gets on in life, does the effects of that type of training manifest itself. Even with the very best and educated training aspects, the human body will wear down under the prolonged repetitive actions we put it through. Only moderation can determine just how long one can function, properly, in any given endeavor. That being said, looking at the gymnastic aspects of the tornado kick and those like it, aside from a given unpractical SD proponent, the overall stress on the body is quite profound. As Terry pointed out, age places limitations. In my opinion, the proposed athletic good derived from doing such kicks is outweighed by the negatives stated above. The saying, "You fight as you train" weighs heavily in my mind. I'd hate to attempt a kick like that, have the opponent just step in on me and I'd lose balance and crash to the ground. Asphalt/Cement is very unforgiving under any circumstances.
OK, now a little rant: I've watched post upon post, thread upon thread, bemoaning the state of TKD. The Kukkiwon transitions, the WTF attempting whatever, the USTU or whatever they call themselves, doing things not conducive to the general rank and file and it goes on and on. You want to talk about "Traditional TKD", well all those things were never in the beginning aspects of TKD. You, all of you, have allowed and are still allowing those things to run your TKD life. They, can't function without you. You on the other hand really don't need them, unless your under the delusion that you or yours has a CHANCE at Olympic glory. Buy a lotto ticket, you have a better chance at winning and it costs a heck of a lot less. You still insist on the dream, then go to the AAU program. At least it's home grown and your money is not going overseas. This relationship with these organizations relates to the battered wife syndrome. You get crapped on, but you still won't leave. Ad I said prior, NONE of these things were in TKD. We trained, learned, bled and were content with ourselves for the effort and knowledge put forth. In the end, that's really all there is and that's all there's supposed to be..........:asian:
