what does your dojang teach?
- Thread starter Michael89
- Start date
Interesting discussion here. I wonder how much of the differences we're all seeing have to do with local norms, particularly to do with the particular Korean teachers that came to your particular area to open a school.
None of the KKW-style schools I'm familiar with teach any significant amount of grappling as part of their TKD program. If they teach it at all, they offer it as a separate program (Hapkido, Judo, etc) or class.
But I think that's because the Korean teachers that came/come to this area were basically all ex-sparring champions, K-Tigers, etc, so they naturally have a strong sport focus. (I'm not sure if that's just chance, if having sport credentials helps you with the visa process, or what.) So their school and the teachers they taught are going to be that way too.
In other places, the teachers that immigrated there might have had a different focus and teach different things.
None of the KKW-style schools I'm familiar with teach any significant amount of grappling as part of their TKD program. If they teach it at all, they offer it as a separate program (Hapkido, Judo, etc) or class.
But I think that's because the Korean teachers that came/come to this area were basically all ex-sparring champions, K-Tigers, etc, so they naturally have a strong sport focus. (I'm not sure if that's just chance, if having sport credentials helps you with the visa process, or what.) So their school and the teachers they taught are going to be that way too.
In other places, the teachers that immigrated there might have had a different focus and teach different things.
skribs
Grandmaster
WaterGal, I think what you're seeing is a lot of the differences between schools.
When I did TKD as a kid, it was mainly techniques, forms, and sparring. We learned a few self defense techniques here or there, but they were kind of extra instead of standard curriculum.
There was another school that a friend went to that was basically a dance studio (you didn't start sparring until brown belt). It was all technique and forms.
If you go to a school where the focus is on the art aspect (poomsae and techniques) and/or the sport aspect (point sparring, maybe breaking), chances are you won't see much grappling. That doesn't mean that TKD does not have grappling techniques. Just like how if I go to the produce store and they don't have apples, it doesn't mean that apples aren't fruit.
When I did TKD as a kid, it was mainly techniques, forms, and sparring. We learned a few self defense techniques here or there, but they were kind of extra instead of standard curriculum.
There was another school that a friend went to that was basically a dance studio (you didn't start sparring until brown belt). It was all technique and forms.
If you go to a school where the focus is on the art aspect (poomsae and techniques) and/or the sport aspect (point sparring, maybe breaking), chances are you won't see much grappling. That doesn't mean that TKD does not have grappling techniques. Just like how if I go to the produce store and they don't have apples, it doesn't mean that apples aren't fruit.
You're welcome to define words in whatever way makes you happy. But I do think it's a lot easier to communicate if we all use the standard definitions, rather than inventing our own. After all, mumble dogface banana patch ramalamadingdong. Don't you agree?
And as it turns out, according to a link MAist25 just posted (from the KKW itself) you're wrong about there not being grappling within KKW TKD too.
Or are you going to insist that you're right and the KKW is wrong?
