1992
White Belt
I am new here, and upon my introduction several members requested that I make a thread highlighting my transition from Taekwondo to Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. First I must profess my belief that there is no superior style of martial art, only superior martial artists. Meaning, no style is necessarily 'better' than another. It is dependent on the individual practitioner and their understanding of how to apply their skill set. I like to think of skill sets as a mental tool box from which to select techniques from, if say, you had to fight outside of training. I have come to realize that MA does not necessarily constitute self defense, and self defense is not a martial art.
I started TKD two years ago and did not do my homework. I joined a long standing dojang in my area that I remembered from childhood. Like many, I signed a contract thinking it was for one year, when I failed to realize it was for three. After a year of classes filled with people (all of them children sometimes with parents also training) I knew this was not for me. I started to research and found better schools. What I see in my TKD school are people who basically pay for rank and are not earning rank based on proficiency. Its sad that the black belt teenagers dont display the discipline and confidence that a black belt SHOULD have, and that black belt adults 'forget' color belt forms and routines. I feel that the instruction is good, and I test every other belt test because I believe people should advance at their own pace. Meaning, do not test until you are 110% confident that you are proficient and confident with your skills and techniques for your belt level. I train as I would fight. Most other students are too self conscious and inhibited at my dojang to go as hard as I do. This makes me sad, but what is more sad is that these people are paying a premium price to train but dont know any better. They couldnt imagine that there are better schools to attend.
Which is what lead me to do research and find something that is not commercialized. TKD is only as good as the instruction and environment in which it is taught. Im not knocking it. We learn self defense skills derived from many other styles and we learn how to spar effectively. Its just the structure of *most* TKD schools that I dont sync with. I do not wish to be in class with children. Since my dojang is family oriented, there is no separation of kids and adults unless there are equal amounts of each. There are day camps and birthday parties for the kids. Also, the black belts will go out into town and do demos, usually under the guise of 'bettering the community', but anyone who is business savvy like myself or is not blind can see that these demos are for recruiting membership.
So my quest began and I wanted to expand that 'tool box' by starting to look into other styles. I did not want to get into another striking style. To me that would be like going from a Pontiac to a Chevrolet. I also did not want to take a dedicated grappling style. This is because to me personally, it seems two dimensional and alot of the BJJ schools where I live are MMA oriented which have their merits but not where I want to train for my second go around at least. I chose BBT because of its use of both striking and takedowns, along with a long heritage which happens to be inline with my heritage. This last year of TKD I am training my usual amount of time and also squeezing in BBT twice per month. Then when TKD is over I will transfer over full time.
Mainly the difference I am seeing is that BBT adopts more natural body positioning and techniques. Its more about what would actually work and defending against multiple attackers taking a more relaxed approach with more fluid motions. TKD is somewhat non intuitive to me and unnatural in se aspects, mostly regarding the forms. However in a real fight one could gain the upper hand having sparred in TKD because of the speed and explosive attacks. This is an example of where having that set of 'tools' in the toolbox could come in handy. You will get a great cardiovascular workout in TKD, whereas in BBT, you wont. What you will get in BBT is theory of technique and every movement is broken down and explained in detail. I feel that people should choose to stay with a martial art.conducive to their body type. TKD is better suited for athletic and flexible types. BJJ, BBT, etc is good for any body type but more so for stocky shorter people. I dont see my 220 lb *** doing a jumping spin kick in the next decade, thats for sure. What it boils down to is, spending what I will have spent on TKD was worth it if only to learn that there are different and better opportunities out there that dont cost as much, and shouldnt. I pay $200/mo. for TKD, which includes the yearly member fee for the year spread out over 12 months, but is still very high. BBT class is two hours each class for $10.
That sums up my experience and I hope to help guide someone who took the time to read away from making the same mistake I did. Im in no way saying BBT is the end all be all or that all TKD schools are belt factories, but I am speaking on my experience and saying to do your research and find what is best suited for you.
I started TKD two years ago and did not do my homework. I joined a long standing dojang in my area that I remembered from childhood. Like many, I signed a contract thinking it was for one year, when I failed to realize it was for three. After a year of classes filled with people (all of them children sometimes with parents also training) I knew this was not for me. I started to research and found better schools. What I see in my TKD school are people who basically pay for rank and are not earning rank based on proficiency. Its sad that the black belt teenagers dont display the discipline and confidence that a black belt SHOULD have, and that black belt adults 'forget' color belt forms and routines. I feel that the instruction is good, and I test every other belt test because I believe people should advance at their own pace. Meaning, do not test until you are 110% confident that you are proficient and confident with your skills and techniques for your belt level. I train as I would fight. Most other students are too self conscious and inhibited at my dojang to go as hard as I do. This makes me sad, but what is more sad is that these people are paying a premium price to train but dont know any better. They couldnt imagine that there are better schools to attend.
Which is what lead me to do research and find something that is not commercialized. TKD is only as good as the instruction and environment in which it is taught. Im not knocking it. We learn self defense skills derived from many other styles and we learn how to spar effectively. Its just the structure of *most* TKD schools that I dont sync with. I do not wish to be in class with children. Since my dojang is family oriented, there is no separation of kids and adults unless there are equal amounts of each. There are day camps and birthday parties for the kids. Also, the black belts will go out into town and do demos, usually under the guise of 'bettering the community', but anyone who is business savvy like myself or is not blind can see that these demos are for recruiting membership.
So my quest began and I wanted to expand that 'tool box' by starting to look into other styles. I did not want to get into another striking style. To me that would be like going from a Pontiac to a Chevrolet. I also did not want to take a dedicated grappling style. This is because to me personally, it seems two dimensional and alot of the BJJ schools where I live are MMA oriented which have their merits but not where I want to train for my second go around at least. I chose BBT because of its use of both striking and takedowns, along with a long heritage which happens to be inline with my heritage. This last year of TKD I am training my usual amount of time and also squeezing in BBT twice per month. Then when TKD is over I will transfer over full time.
Mainly the difference I am seeing is that BBT adopts more natural body positioning and techniques. Its more about what would actually work and defending against multiple attackers taking a more relaxed approach with more fluid motions. TKD is somewhat non intuitive to me and unnatural in se aspects, mostly regarding the forms. However in a real fight one could gain the upper hand having sparred in TKD because of the speed and explosive attacks. This is an example of where having that set of 'tools' in the toolbox could come in handy. You will get a great cardiovascular workout in TKD, whereas in BBT, you wont. What you will get in BBT is theory of technique and every movement is broken down and explained in detail. I feel that people should choose to stay with a martial art.conducive to their body type. TKD is better suited for athletic and flexible types. BJJ, BBT, etc is good for any body type but more so for stocky shorter people. I dont see my 220 lb *** doing a jumping spin kick in the next decade, thats for sure. What it boils down to is, spending what I will have spent on TKD was worth it if only to learn that there are different and better opportunities out there that dont cost as much, and shouldnt. I pay $200/mo. for TKD, which includes the yearly member fee for the year spread out over 12 months, but is still very high. BBT class is two hours each class for $10.
That sums up my experience and I hope to help guide someone who took the time to read away from making the same mistake I did. Im in no way saying BBT is the end all be all or that all TKD schools are belt factories, but I am speaking on my experience and saying to do your research and find what is best suited for you.
