From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #71 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Fri, 5 Feb 1999 Vol 06 : Num 071 In this issue: the_dojang: Kwanjangnim - Rank the_dojang: 3rd Dan Testing the_dojang: Re: young female athletes the_dojang: AAU Region #2 Taekwondo Championships the_dojang: disciple the_dojang: Re: V6 #69: balance & flexibility for the elite the_dojang: Rank the_dojang: Instructor to Student Ratio Re: the_dojang: Rank the_dojang: kyosa, bu sabum, sabum, bu kwanja, kwangja? the_dojang: . ......................................................................... The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. 800+ members strong! Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, California Taekwondo, Martial Arts Resource To send e-mail to this list use the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe the_dojang-digest" (no quotes) in the body of an e-mail (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and online search the last two years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! Ray Terry, PO Box 110841, Campbell, CA 95011 KMA@MartialArtsResource.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 18:33:37 EST Subject: the_dojang: Kwanjangnim - Rank In a message dated 99-02-04 16:59:38 EST, you write: << t 4th dan you are addressed as Bu Kwanjangnim, and at 5th dan and above as Kwanjangnim, if you own your own school. Our uniforms are also color coded according to rank. >> This is sort of interesting. I've had discussions like this with Scott Shaw as well. In his book on HKD, he says Kwanjangnim means grandmaster, and you have to be a 7th dan. You are saying you have to be 5th dan. The interesting point is that Kwanjangnim is not a martial art specific word. The owner of my Hogwan (English academy) was also addressed as Kwanjangnim by the teachers. Basically, the owner of the school. In Hapkido, we addressed the owner, Kim Young-jong as Kwanjangnim, and instructor Lee Jun-Kyu as Sabomnim. No one else had these titles, no mater what their rank. While watching a video of a demo at Seoul one time, my instructor pointed at a woman and said, She's kwanjangnim. Not referring to rank at all, but to the fact that she had her own school. While titles are important in Asia, I think here in America it has gotten carried away with who to call master, etc. Saying you have to be a certain rank to be called whatever gets so over blown. I still like the policy of the school in Kangnung as for belts and uniforms too. Everyone is the same. Can't tell a 1st dan from a 7th dan by looking at the person. Scott Shaw still insists that the original meaning of Kwanjangnim is 7th dan grandmaster like his book says, and I say Hmmm.... guess all those Koreans are speaking their language wrong, maybe they should come ask us Americans how to speak Korean. Same thing happens with Japanese arts and the term sensei. I was a sensei in Japan, but not for martial arts. All teachers are called sensei, no matter if you teach English, shop, science, whatever..... Me? I'm a student of the arts, who enjoys teaching, sharing information, and passing things on to others. Rank just becomes excess baggage. Alain Burrese ------------------------------ From: "Chris Rock" Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 17:38:15 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: 3rd Dan Testing Hello Everyone, I was just invited to test for my 3rd Dan in May by my Master Instructor and at this point I have some creativity in how my test is to be run. Basically I have the option to design my own test with my instructors approval. My question for all of you that have tested for 3rd Dans or higher is this: What were your tests like for 3rd Dan, and as instructors what would you expect to see a 3rd Dan perform? I already have a pretty good idea on what I want to do, but I am curious how it would compare to what others around the world were required to do. Any input on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Chris _______________________ Christopher Rock 2nd Dan Sahn TKD Breckenridge, Colorado rockon@colorado.net ------------------------------ From: Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 19:46:37 EST Subject: the_dojang: Re: young female athletes Jamacia noted: <> I just finished _Reviving Ophelia_ and I'm about 1/4 through _Get Out of My Life But First Can You Take Me and Cheryl To The Mall_ (They don't call it adhellescence for nothin' ; ) ) One of the points made in _Reviving Ophelia_ is that as normally self-confident, athletic girls enter into the middle school/jr high scene, they learn that being an athlete is not a popular thing to be. The bulk of the popular girls are the ones that are concerned about appearances, tend to party and "act" grown up by doing drugs, having sex, etc. I must admit that the book frightened me a bit. One of the points made is that 80% of teens feel that is OK for a boy to force himself on a girl, especially if she somehow "lead him on" at that age. *brrr* I can only hope that as girls are training in the dojang that we are all a little more sensitive to their awkwardness. I think that some of us oldsters forget just how much things have changed since we were their ages. (I was in college before MTV was launched, most kids today have grown up watching it since they were babies so their perception is scantily clad, anorexic looking types rather than the kick-butt Honey Wests and Emma Peels that I remember.) I would suggest that if you have some young women (and young men) in the dojang, do what you can to help bolster their self-confidence but let them praise themselves. ie "You've been working on your spinning hook kick a lot lately" so she can either ask if you see improvement or mention that it feels better, etc. rather than "Your spinning hook kick is looking good." which gives her the chance to say, but it has so much further to go, etc. Finish off with at "you must be feeling pretty good about your efforts" (confirmation of it feels better) or "it shows that you are working hard" ... something reinforcing. This doesn't mean that critique should go out the window...criticism shows that you care enough to notice (at least, that's what I was always taught) But it is time to rethink some of the way we do phrase things. For example, instead of saying, you're snapping your leg too early on the kick, try saying: Hmm...let's try something and work with the person and say...which one feels better? You're still doing the same thing, just in a different way. Tang Soo! Karla ------------------------------ From: Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 07:23:51 EST Subject: the_dojang: AAU Region #2 Taekwondo Championships Hi folks! Here's another AAU Taekwondo tournament for people in the Maryland, Delaware and Southern New Jersey area. You need to be an AAU member to compete, but you can usually register for membership at the door as long as you have pre- registered for the tournament. AAU tournaments are open to all ages and abilities. You can do ATA, ITF, WTF, or TSD/MDK patterns, and there is both Point and Olympic Style sparring. For more info on the AAU Taekwondo Program visit www.aautaekwondo.org. March 7, 1999 Region #2 AAU Taekwondo Championships. Location: Gwynn Park High School, Brandywine, Maryland. A qualifying tournament for the AAU Taekwondo Nationals and the AAU Junior Olympics. For registration information contact: Roger Cavanaugh (301) 645-0450 or email: Rc111255@aol.com. Sincerely, David Mazor DMazor1026@aol.com ------------------------------ From: "Perry Seto" Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 01:54:00 -0800 Subject: the_dojang: disciple Jamaica, Another interesting topic from you once again. We were just discussing here, the other day, that the tkd students now are just that, students. Gone are the days when a master would take on a handful of students and they would become disciples ..... living and breathing what the master willed. I think a grand part of that is caused by the move to sport as opposed maintaining a "true" martial arts atmosphere. Also, the dojangs are much more of a commercial/business venture. I believe a goodly portion of the philosophy side of tkd has also disappeared. And .... without the philosophy, I think it is difficult to have a true disciple. - -Perry- ------------------------------ From: samiller@Bix.Com Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 09:11:51 -0500 (EST) Subject: the_dojang: Re: V6 #69: balance & flexibility for the elite I began my study of Tang Soo Do at age 45, after a 29 year hiatus from martial arts (I practiced Kodokan Judo in my late teens). I, too, had difficulty with balance and flexibility. To some extent the answer is patience and practice, since the progress of exercise-induced changes to body structure gets pretty doggone slow in us "elite" folks. I found that slowing down the pace of my practice and concentrating on performing techniques from deep, well-formed stances seemed to help balance and flexibility, also. You may not be able to do this much in class, but you can certainly try it when you practice at home. Hope this helps. >does anyone out >there have any advice for a first-time TSD student in her early 40's? >The flexibility and balance just aren't what they used to be, and I'm >having a really difficult time maintaining my balance and getting good >height on my kicks. Tang Soo! Scott A. Miller samiller@bix.com samiller@cyberenet.net ------------------------------ From: Greg Giddins Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 09:31:09 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: Rank >>It is so widespread that when someone who is trying to impress me with their rank i flat out ask them "Is that Kukkiwon rank?" I gave that garbage up a long time ago. And I am not ever impressed with rank. Even the kukkiwan certifications can be bought. I've heard of double and triple blackbelt promotions, instructors giving kukkiwan certification for tournament victories, all of the usual "unearned" black belt garbage happens with the kukkiwan certification too. Kukkiwan rank certainly isn't the "benchmark" to which I compare others against. Although I will agree that some renegade schools out there are ridiculously promoting their students, and as time goes by it seems to be happening more and more, or am I noticing more and more? Hm..... One positive about kukkiwan certification is the ability to do research on a particular Dan holder as to when he tested, etc. so you can check out the "time in belt" statistics, but it certainly doesn't tell you if that person has been training/studying for the last 3 years, only that he got his belt 3 years ago. When I meet a new blackbelt I judge them by their 1)physical skills, 2)demeanor, and 3)knowlege of their art, in that order. Never by who gave them their paper with cool Hangul script on it. The ones trying to "impress" me have already failed in the second category, Kukkiwan 65th dan certification or no. Unless you're a lifeer in the WTF with plans for "climbing the ladder" kukkiwan rank is just another paper on the wall...(that goes for EVERY organization) Maybe someday the problem of establishing a reliable benchmark for blackbelts will be handled, but right now every organization compares itself agains every other and tries to say "our certification is more MEANINGFUL than theirs". When actually, certifications are only valueable in the organization that assigned them. (although they do look good hanging on a wall.... I am particularly fond of my personal "ego gallery") Greg Giddins ggiddins@ossinc.net If you are living like there is no God, you'd better be right. ------------------------------ From: "Jamaica Power" Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 08:36:01 PST Subject: the_dojang: Instructor to Student Ratio Whether you are the student or the instructor what do you think is an optimal student/teacher ratio. Over the years I've taken in classes that exceeded 80 at one time down to one-on-one instruction. I always felt lost in the larger classes especially if I was at the back of the room and couldn't hear the instructor. If you think the particular style also has something to do with the ratio could you please elaborate a bit? Thanks. Jamaica jamaica_power@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ From: Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 08:45:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: the_dojang: Rank > >It is so widespread that when someone who is trying to impress me with > >their rank i flat out ask them "Is that Kukkiwon rank?" > > I gave that garbage up a long time ago. And I am not ever impressed with > rank. Even the kukkiwan certifications can be bought. I've heard of double > and triple blackbelt promotions, instructors giving kukkiwan certification > for tournament victories, all of the usual "unearned" black belt garbage > happens with the kukkiwan certification too. One used to be able to skip-dan in the WTF, e.g. Masters moving from another org into the WTF. But I was told that is not possible any longer. Anyone else hear that??? Ray Terry raymail@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com ------------------------------ From: Greg Giddins Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 11:53:19 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: kyosa, bu sabum, sabum, bu kwanja, kwangja? >>>In my TKD association you are addressed as Sabumnim at 3rd dan. At 4th dan you are addressed as Bu Kwanjangnim, and at 5th dan and above as Kwanjangnim, if you own your own school. Our uniforms are also color coded according to rank. As a 2nd dan (Bu Sabumnim<<< Does anyone use the title "Kyosanim" any more? I used to be at a school where Kyosanim meant "student instructor"(1st, 2nd, 3rd Dan) if I remember correctly. Greg Giddins ggiddins@ossinc.net If you are living like there is no God, you'd better be right. ------------------------------ From: Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 11:47:52 -0800 (PST) Subject: the_dojang: . ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V6 #71 ******************************* Support the USTU by joining today! US Taekwondo Union, 1 Olympic Plaza, Ste 405, Colorado Spgs, CO 80909 719-578-4632 FAX 719-578-4642 ustutkd1@aol.com http://www.ustu.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this digest, the_dojang-digest, send the command: unsubscribe the_dojang-digest -or- unsubscribe the_dojang-digest your.old@address in the BODY of email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com, in pub/the_dojang/digests. 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