What has Tae Kwon Do done for you?

[matt.m]

I ask this for a few reasons. Well I began Tae Kwon Do for physical therapy. It has been good to me in that respect. I could pretty much test for purple in TKD, 3/4 the way to black in our system. Brown and red then finally black will be the end.

However, even though I do go to TKD classes on Thursday, it just seems to me that I have lost the care to promote. I help everyone with chambering correctly, learning kicks in the right manner etc. However, It just isn't a driving force any longer.

I teach Judo 3 days a week and am not too far off from testing in Hapkido for brown. I am trying to find and co-ordinate Judo tournaments for my students etc. Helping keep up with school logistics, student payments, points, the website etc.

Tae Kwon Do has been good to me in allowing me to pursue Hapkido and teaching Judo. But that is about it. I have found it a bit too demanding to do the forms, O Jang, Yul Gok.

This is a major reason why I said "Not quite giving up."

 

[wade]

Actually Matt, maybe it is time for you to move on. It sounds to me like your heart is in Judo and Hapkido. If this is so then why are you still dicking around with TKD? Please understand, I don't mean this in a bad way. Go where your heart leads you. Focus on what is important to you, no one else, just you. In the end that is all that will really matter anyway. Right?

 

[terryl965]

Wade said it a bit hard but the concept is right on, you need to find a path that will suite you for you and nobody else. We all have so many challenges ahead of us and as long as you cintinue to train in some sort of MA. That is what matters, it never ever say you cannot come back and finish later in life.

 

[Drac]

Actually Matt, maybe it is time for you to move on. It sounds to me like your heart is in Judo and Hapkido. If this is so then why are you still dicking around with TKD? Please understand, I don't mean this in a bad way. Go where your heart leads you. Focus on what is important to you, no one else, just you. In the end that is all that will really matter anyway. Right?

I side with Wade on this...BTW I wish more folks would say what they meant instead attempting to find ways to sugar coat their words...No matt I will NOT randori with you....

 

[tshadowchaser]

TKD was my original art and it served me well as it was an opening for me to see and experience other arts at tournaments. My legs became strong and more flexible through the practice of TKD.
I did eventually change styles to pursue what I needed as an individual

 

[IcemanSK]

I agree in principle with the others, Matt. If ou enjoy HKD & Judo (as I know you do) stick with them. You're always helping out around the school. That won't change. It makes sense to do what you enjoy.

 

[Brother John]

I've not done "Tae Kwan Do" for YEARS.
It was the art that I trained in for 6 years as a teen, from there I've gone on to other martial arts.

But...

My time in TKD was RICH in that it gave me many beneficial things:
A healthy use of my freetime as a teen. ((I now work as a correctional officer working with teenage boys. You'd be AMAZED how big a role this plays in keeping boys out of trouble!!))

It was a great way to earn my trophies. Though they don't mean much to me anymore...other than mementos of good times taking up space under the stairs...in my teens, earning the right to think of myself as a 'winner' probably had a very good effect on my self esteem. Our Dojang was BIG in competition at open Karate tournaments.....and we really raked in the ego towers.......er.....trophies.

Thinking back on my days in the Dojang, many of my best, LONG term friendships came from there. My absolute best friend, to this day, came from there. He and I are both now in other martial arts (Kenpo Karate) but we both look back on those days with a LOT of fond memories!!

Though it's no longer my martial art of choice, I benefited from and enjoyed my time in TKD a LOT!

Your Brother
John

 

[igillman]

TKD keeps me fit and keeps my weight down. When our contract is up for renewal I may persue some other martial art that deals more with the hands and less with the feet but TKD will always be my first martial art and there can only ever be one of those.

 

[YoungMan]

Made me stronger mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally, and brought me friends and colleagues I treasure. Maybe that's why I've stayed with it for 25 years.

 

[Kacey]

From the time I started, TKD filled a void I didn't know existed. Would another art have done as well? I don't know, and can't know; it's been too big a part of my life, for too long. What I do know is that you have to do what is best for you - not for anyone else, not because anyone else expects it of you, but because it is what you need.

 

[YoungMan]

I've stayed with Tae Kwon Do even when other arts became all the rage. I've witnessed ninjitsu, BJJ, MMA, people that tried to combine Tae Kwon Do with other styles, and a host of other trends. As a testament to my Instructor, I was never tempted to leave. I always felt comfortable with Tae Kwon Do and believed in it.

 

[matt.m]

All of you made interesting thoughts. I do believe all to be good. Please understand the following: I have always learned Hapkido and Judo along with Freestyle Wrestling. I have just in and out participated in Tae Kwon Do. I always did well with the art, however I always did Hapkido style kicking and it is all good. I am all about chamber, an art that has been lost in the art if you want my humble opinion.

I did test for brown and got it in hapkido. Red, followed by dan. Anyway, Tae Kwon Do is great if you do poomsea as an isometric under tension. I have participated in Hapkido since a young child and well I have spoke of my endevors in Judo and Freestyle. So TKD is just not my thing. TKD is after my Thurs. Judo class so I help people with kicking and combinations. It is all good. I am just happy to help out.

Thank you everyone,
Matt

 

[jim777]

You will always have a soft spot in your heart for the art you started with, whether it is TKD or Kyokushin or WuShu. However, if you feel something else call you then listen to your heart and go. Hapkido is a great art, I don't think anyone could tell you differently.

Don't let the soft spot in your heart become a soft spot in your head :lol:

jim

 

[Deaf Smith]

What has it done for me?

Hmmm. Dammaged knee, scare on my forhead, bent nose, broke hand, broke toe, front tooth bent elbowed back (I straitened it myself and it didn't kill the nerve.)

Oh, you mean good wise?

It taught me patience.

It taught me to see where I wanted to go and look for the stepping stones to get to there (and this is how you get a degree from college, or the job you want, or the place you want to live, you plan ahead and work toward your goal.)

It taught me perseverance. To not give up. The word 'quit' like 'can't', is a four letter word!

It taught me when my doing didn't do it, I just keep doing it till I get it right!

It taught me to judge a person not by their flashy uniform but by what they can do. I saw plenty who could talk the talk but if they could not stand and deliver, then their talk was just talk (and ain't life just like that?)

It taught me to respect those who put 110 percent into whatever they endeavor to do. Even if they were not real good at it, if they kept pushing and putting effort I had to respect that.

It showed me it's not what you've go, it's what you can do with what you've got!

It taught me that when you have to stand up and do infront of others, well that's the test of test. All other test are easy.

And lastingly, like Douglas Mcarthur said, "there is no substitue for victory"!

Deaf

 

[zDom]

TKD set me on the path I now walk.

It gave helped me develop discipline, confidence, assertiveness. It helped steer me into becoming a better person.

I had a LOT of fun sparring (in class! Tournament sparring is over all too quick).

It kept me in decent physical condition.

I met a lot of great people.

It has proved a benefit to my hapkido in that my kicks, blocking and hand strikes got a lot of extra attention, some fine-tuning that I might not have had if I went directly into HKD.

Choosing HKD over TKD was not an easy choice: I was an "A" TKD student and am only a "B" HKD student. I could have been a 5th degree "master" in a martial art by now had I stuck with TKD.

Yet I have no regrets, only fond memories of a TKD that I fear may be fading from this earth (kudos to those who are dedicating themselves to not letting it fade completely!)

 

[tyciol]

I did a bit of TKD to lose weight and gain confidence and stuff. I didn't stick with it so I didn't get many benefits, but in general it made me a person who likes to stretch more and throw kicks randomly and be more explosive and all that. It makes you want to learn more, it's like when you learn it you can't forget it, so it might lead to coming back to it or some other martial art later on. I think that's the good thing about stuff that sticks with you. You just get really impressed by what people can do with it.