Tweet
I think that in korea TKD is much better.Elsewhere in the world the story changes somewhat.TKD is easy to learn(You can have your first grading in three months,Which encorages students)which makes it easier to defund students.Quick and easy is what people want and people who seek to make their fortune grab hold of the bussiness oportunity.They care not if their students can defend themselves only as long as they are capable to defunding themselves.These people are responsable for the sorry state that TKD finds itself.TKD is the most practiced MA out there so what better way to cash in.Punch block turn,punch block turn.These poor students would be better of being robbed in the street(Give me your wallet!Excuse me while i punch block turn)Than being robbed in the dojang.At least they would not end up so disillusioned.
-
-
actually i have heard(from people in these forums) that in korea it's just as bad..they said that it's actually better in places like europe and australia -
Is that true i didny know that.But my other points still hold true.COMMERCIALIZATION aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!Comment
-
Preach what you practice!
Dear ?,Originally posted by guy incognito
Are you a TKD practitioner? If so, what are you doing to preserve the art with out the water and mass marketing!
TAEKWON,
SpookeyComment
-
I could nt find a school without the mass marketing and water so i have stopped i was a blue belt(ITFand WTF)Originally posted by SpookeyComment
-
Be the Solution!
Dear All,
Why do so many people spend so much precious time speaking of the problems with the marketing invlved in Taekwon-Do...and so little time helping fix the problem!
I was reading a post just today on either this forum or karateforums.com titled "What has Taekwon-Do done for you"...well my question is what have you done for TKD!
Problems are common occurances in life and as adults we are intended to find solutions. Instead of defacing an art by calling it watered down...why not learn the art and teach it minus the water!
The only thing more common than the bastardization of all martial arts is the persistent whinning of those not willing to put in as much as they want in return!
Be the solution as opposed to the PROBLEM!
TAEKWON!
SpookeyComment
-
I have this theory. It goes a bit like this:
Popularity is possibly the single worst thing that can happen to a martial art. Why you ask? Well, when a martial art becomes popular, the demand for instuctors by a very diverse group of people increases substantially. Many of these people are not, or are unwilling to become, serious martial artists. Yet that does not stop them for wanting to learn what they can. As the martial art expands, it will expand to fit the desire of those who demand it. People that demand a watered down art suitable to their level of fitness, conditioning and understanding will get it. The purity of the art is perverted by the popularity of the art. I could, of course, be way off.Comment
-
No ithink you hit the nail right on the head.Originally posted by DJL2Comment
-
Well, in about another week I test for 4th gup. . . so I still have a ways before I reach the first dan. My capacity to instruct will be rather limited until that time.
I would, however, love to be a martial arts instructor someday. I think I would be good at it. You make a good point. I think when you earn your black belt you have a duty to share the knowledge you have gained with others, even if only a handful in your dojang.
Originally posted by SpookeyComment
-
All martial arts becomes watered down because they are not used as everyday essentials. In the case of early martial arts, it was necessary to stay sharp and conditioned for skirmishes or raids. For this reason, martial sports have retained a higher integrity because the sporting aspect demands hard work and training ethics.
It's true that TKD has become watered down in America due to commercialization and business...but you must also consider our culture. It is against the law to fight in the US and few people resort to fighting. The average American can go about his entire life without getting into a fist fight. What that means to the average American who practices martial arts is that he's learning something that has never been tested, by him, against a REAL aggressor. Therefore, it's not so much that TKD or martial arts is watered down, but that society has changed.
That's why, while my students and I realize the importance of self-defense, we train hard for sport martial arts because that is the only measure of skill.Comment
-
Taekwondo is not as watered down as u think. For example in sparring we hit just as hard as neone else would in a fight/another martial art. Its only watered down if the studen whos taking it chooses not to take it seriously.Comment
-
Changing Society!
Dear All,
During the 20th Century, the statistics of being forced to fight or defend ones self was statistically low. Unfortunantely, history has ways of repeating itself! We live in a society of growing unrest and the violence is growing!
Even over the last decades ("Peaceful Times") some of us have been forced to live in small thid world countries across America...ie. Houston's "Third and Fourth Ward", Atlanta's "Vine City" and "College Park", Los Angeles' "Lenox","SouthCentral", "Watts", ect. which have not been blessed with a deminished crime rate...where being forced to fight is the norm!
Martial Arts bastardization for financial gain has become the norm in most other coutries as well...even countries with constant social and civil unrest.
I am begining to believe that a lower quality of student is allowing the phoney instructors to prosper! Stnad up for right...don't stop training after your first belt testing because you had to break a sweat. Now a yellow or green belt and still can't jump over a house and then kick a school bus on edge..."man my instructor must be teaching watered down techniques...or better yet my favorite..."My instructor doesn't teach me ALL his SECRET TECHNIQUES"...moron...did it ever dawn on you that his(instructor) ability consistent of but one simple secret...HARD WORK...you have trained for three months, he has trained for thirty years...NOW WHY IS HE BETTER THAN YOU!
How about this...I took my child to "Karate" so he could learn some discipline!
So, what happened? Well, the instructor made him do push ups, and just for talking (all class long)...and then he wouldn't let him test (because he only came to class three times over the last two months)...So I told that "sorry" instructor that he wasnt gettin no more of my money! Now he's in a good dojang...only three months and he's (10yrs. old) a red belt...what, yeah they bake their boards in the oven, then cut half way through it before testing, but "SUPER SABUM?SENSEI" is helping my child build self confidence!!!
Hum, could it be as much the John's fault as the prostitute?
TAEKWON!
SPOOKEYComment
-
Spot on Spookey. One reason I left the dojang for the dojo was a good part of a change in students. When I started our training kept away the football moms and of course their children. Well rent went up and suddenly we needed a few of those soccer moms and their offspring to pay the rent and make enough to buy new equipment. Of course soccer moms and dads want the experience of learning the art without the pain so training was adjusted down just a little. This brought more soccer moms and kids so training was adjusted again to fit their goals and keep them training. Slowly many of the better black belts and better students left for more challenging arts, which watered down the school even more. My sahbumnim now has a happy school where people can't punch worth a damn and couldn't explain what they're doing during kata or even how to apply basic blocks and strikes. Belt advancement is now determined by how many holes are punched on your student card and if you can wander your way through the kata. From time to time I still train with my instructor but it's outside of normal class time, and I can tell that his students are pulling his skills down.Hum, could it be as much the John's fault as the prostitute?Comment
Comment