WTF vs ATA

[phlaw]

I would definately recommend the WTF school, I have never been impressed with any ATA school.

Depending on the instructor, some WTF schools are very traditional and not as much sport. I train WTF in Fargo.

Do you know who the instructor is?

 

[tkd_jen]

Minot huh? Alright another fellow North Dakotan on the board! Greetings from Fargo!

I am sure you have or will visit each school. Usually you cacn tell pretty quick after a school visit where you belong. Most schools worth their weight will let you try classes free for "x" number of classes. You could do it as a family or you could go yourself and decide (sometimes schools focus on "fun" for the kids instead of training so the kids want to go to school A, but school B may be a better school training wise).

Congrats on your decision to train. We have a couple of families at our school and they are awesome to work with. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[LoriH]

As I stated earlier I'm new. So I hope this is the proper place to post.

I took WTF as a kid and loved it, but had to leave due to money reasons. My family and I are currently enrolled in ATA. We don't have many choices up here in Minot North Dakota so I have 4 styles to choose from.
We have ATA and WTF (TKD). We have a guy who has a "Karate" school who claims he really teaches a style of Kung Fu called Sou Shou (spelling?), and a Hapkido school.

Hapkido is not an option for my family, kids are young and the wife has had brain surgery recently. The "Karate" school set me off by the owners demeanor and confusion over what he claims to teach. Karate and Kungfu are two very different styles. ATA and WTF seem the only two viable options left.

I am wondering who has had experience in each, and can you help me with me delima between WTF and ATA.

ATA seems watered down and very weak. They have a 2 yr black belt program which bothers me. I am an old school kind of guy. When my family puts on a black belt I would expect them to defend themselves properly and effectively. I am not expecting them to be stone killers.

I am in the military and believe "you train like you fight". ATA seems to be soft and cuddly not wanting to offend. Martial arts means a "way of fighting" the last time I checked. I am not trying to come off like some sort of brawler, I am just looking for information and knowledge. I hope all this makes sense.

Thank you,
Lars

ATA has negative and positive. Test- annoy! When we are in Black Belt Degrees 2. 2 years. Have to take test each 2 months - pay for test. From White stripe, orange, yellow, camo, green, blue, brown, red, silver and black stripe then move to Degrees 3. I hate weapons. Weapons have variety forms. Test for degrees 4 that you have to go National to out state for mid-test and test. I have been at WTF many years. I tried ATA. They are so friendly. I love Combat sparring. I’m not going take degrees 4.

 

[J. Pickard]

ATA seems watered down and very weak. They have a 2 yr black belt program which bothers me

it is not unheard of, but isn't too common, for Kukkiwon practitioners to get a black belt in just over a year, really it's about hours trained. Choi got 1st dan in Karate in 1939, only one year after moving to Japan, Ed Sell got a 4th dan in TKD in late1965, only 2 years after he started his TKD training. The important thing to note is that these men were training martial arts 6-7 days a week from sunup to sundown. For reference WTF (now WT) is not a style nor is it a governing body for rank progression. World Taekwondo is purely the governing body for the sport of Taekwondo and it's rank and curriculum is dictated by the Kukkiwon in Seoul.

That being said, there are equally as many (arguably more) watered down KKW schools as there is ATA. Every association has its bad schools and its good schools. The best course of action is to first decide why you want to train in the first place. Second visit as many schools as you need to find a school that will give you what you are looking for without breaking the bank. There is no wrong reason for wanting to train but not all schools can accommodate all reasons

The "Karate" school set me off by the owners demeanor and confusion over what he claims to teach.

This is purely for marketing. Karate is a well known term associated with martial arts training so if you want to get new students in the door then advertising "karate" and then explaining your style once they are in the door is definitely the way to go. It used to be Judo way back when, then Kung fu for a while, now it's "karate". It's necessary if you are running a for profit school to make sure you can get new students in the door.

 

[Balrog]

As I stated earlier I'm new. So I hope this is the proper place to post.

I took WTF as a kid and loved it, but had to leave due to money reasons. My family and I are currently enrolled in ATA. We don't have many choices up here in Minot North Dakota so I have 4 styles to choose from.
We have ATA and WTF (TKD). We have a guy who has a "Karate" school who claims he really teaches a style of Kung Fu called Sou Shou (spelling?), and a Hapkido school.

Hapkido is not an option for my family, kids are young and the wife has had brain surgery recently. The "Karate" school set me off by the owners demeanor and confusion over what he claims to teach. Karate and Kungfu are two very different styles. ATA and WTF seem the only two viable options left.

I am wondering who has had experience in each, and can you help me with me delima between WTF and ATA.

ATA seems watered down and very weak. They have a 2 yr black belt program which bothers me. I am an old school kind of guy. When my family puts on a black belt I would expect them to defend themselves properly and effectively. I am not expecting them to be stone killers.

I am in the military and believe "you train like you fight". ATA seems to be soft and cuddly not wanting to offend. Martial arts means a "way of fighting" the last time I checked. I am not trying to come off like some sort of brawler, I am just looking for information and knowledge. I hope all this makes sense.

Thank you,
Lars

The big difference is in the forms and the philosophy. ATA is most definitely NOT watered down and weak, nor is it soft and cuddly. I've had too many bruises and bled too much - I speak from experience.

When you put on an ATA Black Belt, you will have earned it. And you will have learned how to defend yourself properly and effectively. Most importantly, you will have discovered that we learn how to fight so that we can learn how to not fight.

My suggestion is to visit the ATA school and do some trial classes or a 4 week intro program. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Balrog]

ATA used to be a pretty good organization until they decided money was more important than quality instruction.

It's also very expensive as others have pointed out

I'm sure there are a few good ATA schools out there, but I haven't seen any in years.

Jeff

You haven't looked very hard, sir. As far as your comment about deciding money is more important than quality instruction - I will politely point out that you are dead wrong.

 

[Azulx]

You haven't looked very hard, sir. As far as your comment about deciding money is more important than quality instruction - I will politely point out that you are dead wrong.

The ATA spends a lot of time on quality-controlling instructors. Don't you have to get recertified every year?

 

[Balrog]

The ATA spends a lot of time on quality-controlling instructors. Don't you have to get recertified every year?

Every three years.

 

[WaterGal]

I've had too many bruises and bled too much - I speak from experience.

Doesn't ATA practice no-contact sparring?

 

[Azulx]

Doesn't ATA practice no-contact sparring?

No punches to head, light to moderate contact sparring.

 

[Balrog]

You haven't looked very hard, sir. As far as your comment about deciding money is more important than quality instruction - I will politely point out that you are dead wrong.

I will politely point out that YOU are dead wrong. I am a Master Instructor in the ATA. I have visited quite a few other schools, as well as running my own for 26 years before I semi-retired.

You really need to quit parroting BS from people who don't know anything about ATA. Just a suggestion.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Balrog said:

You haven't looked very hard, sir. As far as your comment about deciding money is more important than quality instruction - I will politely point out that you are dead wrong.

I will politely point out that YOU are dead wrong. I am a Master Instructor in the ATA. I have visited quite a few other schools, as well as running my own for 26 years before I semi-retired.

You really need to quit parroting BS from people who don't know anything about ATA. Just a suggestion.

Dude.. Talking to yourself is one thing. Arguing with yourself is another...

 

[Balrog]

I will politely point out that YOU are dead wrong. I am a Master Instructor in the ATA. I have visited quite a few other schools, as well as running my own for 26 years before I semi-retired.

You really need to quit parroting BS from people who don't know anything about ATA. Just a suggestion.

<FACEPALM> this is what happens when you post in the middle of the night with not enough sleep.

<FACEPALM AGAIN>