??? Strange question. Size has nothing to do with it, if they have the skills. I'm referring to youngsters who are wearing blackbelts and tripping over themselves, due to lack of balance and coordination, lack of skills related to their M/A style, and lack of any fighting ability, what so ever.
I probably was thinking about the child black belt thread when I wrote this...
I've seen many kids with black belts. Some have been as you described. Others DEFINITELY not so. These later ones were highly skilled, coordinated, limber, smart, and fast as lightening.
I've also seen adults with black belts that fit your description above. Limited balance and coordination, no flexibility, stiff as an old dead branch.
As to the skill of TKD practitioners, I think it's pretty much like anything else.. everyone's an individual. They come to training with a certain genetic potential and a certain innate mind set. Some people will never be very flexible or quick or strong. Some people have a disposition against pushing themselves hard.
My personal belief is that the ones that don't push themselves should not earn a Dan rank. (unless that changes)
Sometimes though, the naturally talented ones don't really push themselves - because they've never had to.. things just come easy for them. Sometimes that's a curse, because what they developed came easy to them and so they place less value on it. There have been times when I've questioned whether I should test a physically talented student for Dan, because I questioned their mental toughness. Having mental toughness is a huge part of earning that rank level (in my opinion).
On the other hand, I've had students that really came into training without much natural physical talent. But they pushed themselves HARD. They made up for their deficiencies by developing other talents. Fighting intelligence for example - this can make up for a lack of speed and flexibility. My best students were this way.
In part, what you speak of could be a result of commercialization of the arts. It's expensive to open and maintain a training studio. Garage / basement / back-of-restaurant training studios are a thing of the past.
Rent of commercial property is extremely high (even these days). Mats, training bags, focus mitts, etc etc etc - are all costly, so just setting up and equipping a training studio can run into the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. As an instructor you have to create a "corporate veil" via a LLC or S-type corp, and purchase liability insurance. All this before you even start working at attracting students.
So, considering all those expenses.. how many students do you need to just break even? And if you want to make a living running a martial arts studio as a business, how many students do you need to afford a place to live, a car to drive, and food to eat?
It would certainly be lovely to be wealthy enough to only take on a few students - the dedicated ones that really put in the work. But at the end of the day, none of us can afford to do that. So we attract as many bodies as we can, in hopes that some of them at least will be a pleasure to teach.
You need those warm bodies signing on and training just so you can keep the lights on. We hope that out of those masses we will encounter a few that will possess the mental and physical skills and disposition to make it to Dan rank. Of the rest, we hope we can teach them something of value that enhances their life enough to make a difference.
Due to the volume of students necessary to stay in business, I think we all make compromises. Personally I've never promoted anyone to Dan rank that I was not proud of. I've never promoted anyone to Dan rank that I did not completely believe was worthy of that rank. HOWEVER I have seen Master Koo do that.
I suppose that falls into the category of "necessary evil" for some.
Sorry for the rambling post.
Either way - Thanks for your response.
