Why did YOU start Tae kwon do?

i start tae kwon because of i want to make stronger myself and also fit my body to lose my weight i start taekwon as exercise to stronger muscle.
 
I was 17 and dating a blue belt at the YMCA class branch of I. M Kim, then of Des Moines. He talked me into it. Think he finally made 2nd degree. Yes, I was one of those. I don't believe anyone stays in TKD for the reasons they start TKD.
 
I started for two reasons...

To get my current instructor off my back about joining. :) He had/has done business with me for over a decade, and always suggested I come in and give it a try. I had always liked him... great attitude, solid individual... and someone I could see pointing me in the right direction.

But the main reason I started was I wanted to get more active. I got a new desk job and was shocked at how much muscle and stamina I had lost in five years. I had never trained in MA... and only had an outsider's perspective on the arts. I did no research on TKD, or any other MA, training and went into it without completing any due diligence... which is very odd for me.

A year later, and I have grown to love TKD. Find myself studying and practicing whenever time permits and go to class 3-4 times a week. TKD/MA training is almost nothing that I had gleaned from popular culture... and is giving me more than I had ever imagined.

Needless to say, it was an excellent decision to begin... and something I can't ever see stopping.
 
I was sitting in in-school-suspension with a broken nose, bruises all over my face, and one eye swollen shut and the kid next to me says, you should take martial arts.

Our area had Tae Kwon Do, Japanese Karate (whatever that means), and some redneck who taught something loosely like Kung Fu. The Japanese Karate guy was creepy, the Kung Fu redneck acted very much like the bully who beat me up, and the Tae Kwon Do guy made me feel like family. The rest is history.
 
I was 17 and dating a blue belt at the YMCA class branch of I. M Kim, then of Des Moines. He talked me into it. Think he finally made 2nd degree.

How far did you get under GM KIM In Mook? GM Kim was my first Chung Do Kwan instructor's direct senior. My instructor said that GM Kim was always one dan higher than he was throughout their time in Korea.
 
My school requires each student to write an essay and read it aloud to the class at the end of each rank advancement test. The first one is required when testing for your yellow belt and it asks "Why are you taking Tae Kwon Do?" I wrote my essay in May 2005 and just stumbled upon it today. It was interesting to me that most of the reasons I started taking Tae Kwon Do are the reasons I continue three years later. And of course, now there are many more reasons to continue training than I ever could have imagined three years ago.

All of this got me wondering - why did others on this board start taking Tae Kwon Do?

I was jumped on by five thugs, at dusk, in Nairobi's Uhuru Park, on October 31, 1986, while walking with a girl. I had just turned 21, had lots of boxing experience and shook the thugs off, but I was badly rattled by the whole thing. I was very lucky the thugs -- unlike today -- were not armed. I signed up for taekwondo the next day, because the old Kenya Taekwondo gym was right opposite a bank where I had found a job.
 
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The reason I signed up for TKD is simple, there were no other schools in my area :) Seriously though my kids were interested and I had been wanting to train again so I signed us all up. The kids lasted about 6-7 months and I've been back at it for over 3 years now. I enjoy the training and we have great instructors at my school, that is what keeps me there.
 
How far did you get under GM KIM In Mook? GM Kim was my first Chung Do Kwan instructor's direct senior. My instructor said that GM Kim was always one dan higher than he was throughout their time in Korea.

I got to brown belt with a black stripe. Still have it hanging. My ex-husband then managed to get transferred 8 time over the next 10 or so years, so that was the end of my time in Chung Do Kwan. I was with GM Kim In Mook when he was living in Des Moines in the little house next to the school with Francis. TJ Hanna was still alive and Joe Cook, my instructor was with the Sioux City branch. I was did the school secretarial work, painted the dojang when we moved to a building, helped clean, all that stuff. As I remember when I started, they were ATA but after some unpleasantness, we suddenly had patches that read ACTA - American Chung Do Kwon Association. I remember a Grandmaster Lee coming from Omaha to Des Moines for our testings. BLast from past. I understand GM Kim In Mook is now in San Antonio, or at least he was a few years ago, I lost track of that crew.
 
I'm guessing that Master Lee was probably the late GM Haeng Ung Lee.

As I remember when I started, they were ATA but after some unpleasantness, we suddenly had patches that read ACTA - American Chung Do Kwon Association. I remember a Grandmaster Lee coming from Omaha to Des Moines for our testings. BLast from past. I understand GM Kim In Mook is now in San Antonio, or at least he was a few years ago, I lost track of that crew.
 
In the mid 80s, I watched my younger cousin take his taekwondo class in Burbank, CA, and I decided right there that I had to learn it as well.

All of this got me wondering - why did others on this board start taking Tae Kwon Do?
 
I got to brown belt with a black stripe. Still have it hanging. My ex-husband then managed to get transferred 8 time over the next 10 or so years, so that was the end of my time in Chung Do Kwan. I was with GM Kim In Mook when he was living in Des Moines in the little house next to the school with Francis. TJ Hanna was still alive and Joe Cook, my instructor was with the Sioux City branch. I was did the school secretarial work, painted the dojang when we moved to a building, helped clean, all that stuff. As I remember when I started, they were ATA but after some unpleasantness, we suddenly had patches that read ACTA - American Chung Do Kwon Association. I remember a Grandmaster Lee coming from Omaha to Des Moines for our testings. BLast from past. I understand GM Kim In Mook is now in San Antonio, or at least he was a few years ago, I lost track of that crew.

Would GM Kim remember you if I mentioned your name to him? We have national Chung Do Kwan meetings and gathering every once in a while, and so I have an opportunity to see him. He, along with gentlemen such as GM Jhoon Rhee, GM NAM Tae Hi, etc. are komoon, or senior advisors.
 
I started back in 1985 and yup it was cause of movies and shows like the Karate Kid, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yup I know I'm a dork but hey they got me started in TKD
 
Would GM Kim remember you if I mentioned your name to him? We have national Chung Do Kwan meetings and gathering every once in a while, and so I have an opportunity to see him. He, along with gentlemen such as GM Jhoon Rhee, GM NAM Tae Hi, etc. are komoon, or senior advisors.

I was with his organization under my maiden name. not Sweet. He might though I would doubt it, you are talking mid to late 70's. GM Jhoon Rhee would be more likely to remember me from our conversations and work leading up to the 2004 remediation. I remember his leaving a message with my daughter's boyfriend who told me I got a prank call as that couldn't have been GM Rhee on the phone. I am sure GM Kim would remember my instructor Joe Cook, and his son Joey Cook Jr. I am sure he will remember TJ Hanna his student I took from when I took a 6 month holiday in Missouri when I was 18. TJ died many years ago but I am sure he would remember him too. You can always ask.
 
I was with his organization under my maiden name. not Sweet. He might though I would doubt it, you are talking mid to late 70's.

I know that GM Kang and GM Won remember you. I was just wondering if GM Kim would have the same opinion as those two gentlemen. I'll try and ask about Mr. Cook, his son Joey, and Mr. Hanna as well. Thanks.
 
I know that GM Kang and GM Won remember you. I was just wondering if GM Kim would have the same opinion as those two gentlemen. I'll try and ask about Mr. Cook, his son Joey, and Mr. Hanna as well. Thanks.

Believe me, i will never forget either one of those gentlemen. Well, I am so sorry that the USOC and the USTU did not return all that money Mr. Won paid for those memberships that he didn't get to use. Do pass on to Master Kang that I hope they get his parking lot/foundation fixed soon after this weekend's unpleasantness.
 
They are genuinely polite and nice to me, not just to my face.
That you know about :)
However, I am sure others and the moderators would prefer that we stick to the topics. So I answered all your questions, have you answered why you started TKD?
 
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