Tae Kwon Do

[Forestpisces]

Congrats on the black belt!! I do the W T F style which i find great for self defence (i'm a 5ft 5 and bantom wieght catagory) i'm a very little lady but know i can defend myself

I also love to compete the british open later this year will be a blast

EDIT: wouldn't let me write W T F as one word hahaha

 

[FWFishLover]

I think Tae Kwon Do is to flashy for me and ineffective.

I do Muay Thai (dutch k-1 style), 7 years boxing, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

I did but Wadryu and Shotokan when i was younger also but again, i prefer more aggressive styles.

i just decided not to renew my contract where i do TKD and i can't agree with you more,
IMO i think anything like TKD or Karate Etc. Just teaches you "How to kick" and not "How to fight"
because i thought about it and if i do ever get in a REAL fight, i would never use TKD on the guy
i wanna do kickboxing/muay thai and jiu jistu (MMA) now that im done with TKD

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I took up Taekwondo at the start of my A-levels in '90, best thing I ever did and probably the thing I most regret giving up once I left higher education. Like in most things in life, there are good and bad TKD groups. Yes, some may teach you to kick, but other give you a comprehensive all-round teaching... After all, " tae kwon do" is translated as the "art/way of the hand and foot."

After going through the grades at a slow pace, as back then I wanted to become an instructor, I ended up drifting away from the martial art as a "red-tag" (3 grades off first dan) in '96 (tried to get back into it in 2003, but felt so frustrating). Used to love "dressing up" in the "Michelin Man suit" for full-contact sparring as the student regionals and nationals, as well as the graceful side, taking part in the inaugural student national "patterns" competition held at Nottingham University in '95 I think it was.

Back then, Mark Biddlecombe (our grading examiner) was one of the highest grades in the country, being a 5th dan at the time (probably 7th or 8th dan if still training, might well be, was ~30 in mid-90s)... His occaisonal lessons at Southampton uni were awsome, as his technique was superb to learn from!

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

I have found it useful to use aspects of my training in real self defence. Seminars of applications of techniques in patterns have been fantastic!

Obviously in a fight situation you're not going to go - hold on let me adjust my stance, hands in the right position - ok let's rumble. Developing a proper 'flinch' reaction / response using peripheral vision and applying what your body (rather than your brain) has learned is much more effective than trying to remember what is in patterns / set sparring.

My instructor teaches a lot of common sense, practical self defence, how to avoid situations in the first place, reducing aggression as well as good attention to patterns. Guess I got lucky with my instructor! Pay as you go - ex world heavyweight sparring champion - teaches what he knows is good rather than what the organisation says is good.

 

[JoshuaA]

Flexibility is a must... I found that out the hard way, doing a hell of a lot of mountain biking + football then trying to kick someone at head height takes it out of my groin. I enjoyed TKD however I was introduced to Jiujitsu by one of my tutors back in college. We had a spar and he absolutely hammered me repeatedly there was nothing I could do, being taught to nearly always kick presents a problem in the real world. To me TKD was a fun sport but definitely not that useful, perhaps if you were to strike first great, however if you're trying to defend yourself because someone attacked you on the street you're closed down and if they have got any sense you won't be able to bring your legs up.

Great fun though, and definitely takes it out of your legs after a while.

walk your way out, talk your way and then if all else fails fight your way out.

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Again - it depends on your style of TKD. #W T F style is more kicky, but ITF style is a mix. It's funny sparring W T F guys cos they just freak when you start punching them and hammer fist really throws 'em. All of a sudden your right inside their strike area and they can't use their legs.

Check ouit the team GB performance at this years WASCO chapmpionships TAGB at WASCO

 

[JoshuaA]

Again - it depends on your style of TKD. #W T F style is more kicky, but ITF style is a mix. It's funny sparring W T F guys cos they just freak when you start punching them and hammer fist really throws 'em. All of a sudden your right inside their strike area and they can't use their legs.

Check ouit the team GB performance at this years WASCO chapmpionships TAGB at WASCO

There is a clear cut difference between the both but if you wanted a practical form of defence you would be better of taking something like jujitsu or even karate. There is still a high amount of strenuous exercise in both and as a sport TKD is fantastic.

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

Anyone tried the systema Russian martial art. It looks pure evil but hugely effective

 

[woody88]

I'm an instructor for a freestyle martial arts school that specialise in kick boxing, karate, brazillian jujitsu, Kali escrima and aikido and I can safely say this is what you want to learn to defend yourself on the street.
I can confirm this by the fact that 3 youths approached me a couple of weeks ago, one came toward me with his hand in his pocket and one mai geri kick later and he was on the floor in agony.
Unfortunatly I ended up getting arrested on an assault charge and released on bail but it won't go to court and at the very worst I'll only get a caution.
As for the other lad,the police told me he ended up in hospital with a footprint on his stomach and the other two lads didn't do anything.
Once I put the one lad on his @rse, I walked away and so did the other 2.

The police were actually on my side and even though I spent a few hours in a cell they treated my like a king! Lol