From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #336 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Fri, 2 July 1999 Vol 06 : Num 336 In this issue: the_dojang: The Path Less Travelled... the_dojang: Teaching on campus the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #335 the_dojang: Re: Survey and MA Buddies the_dojang: Re: Scoliosis the_dojang: Time to get BB the_dojang: Re: Starting over Re: the_dojang: survey the_dojang: Happy 4th! ......................................................................... The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. ~725 members strong! Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, California Taekwondo, Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. 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 To send e-mail to this list use the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com 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: Mike Schroeder Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 22:10:29 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: The Path Less Travelled... > > How do you balance the desire to teach with the necessities of life? Teaching is a necessity of life for me. It has become part of who I am. I am married with 3 small children and it has cost me time with my family, but I don't hunt, fish, or go out with the boys so my time is split only with TKD and family (and work of course). It's a huge commitment but I can't see myself not doing it. > > If you are the head instructor of a school, how did you get to that > position? I've been in the martial arts for 21 years. I taught for my instructor for 10 years, moved out of state a couple years then opened my own school (independent) when I returned. Independent because I disagreed with my instructor's business practices not his teaching methods. My instructor was not pleased for a long time. We worked thru it and I eventually returned to training with him (off and on due to time and location of his school) eventually testing for 4th dan with him. I have a very lose affiliation with my instructor (grand master) and I am the head of my school (but don't use the title of master - waiting for 5th dan someday for that). > > Have you moved from smelly gym basements where you taught > > for free (or cost) to spacious 'training centers' carrying your name? Have > > you done the reverse (shaven head optional)? I have a modest sized school. My first was 1600 sqft in a not great building. Unattactive and hard to access but my area was very clean and under my control. I moved to a new location in a strip mall with similar sized space (1500 sqft) which I build the insides myself at great cost. I have lost money for many years. May break even this year from the addition of cardio-kickboxing classes during non-Taekwondo hours. Lessons learned - location, location, location. Charge enough to cover costs (still learning that one). Have an understanding family. Diversify if possible (cardio-kickboxing) to cover costs. Have a great day job to fund the school. Do it because you love it. If anyone has specific question about the financial aspects or opening a school, I'd be happy to share my experiences offline. I also have 2 fellow practitioners who have had their own schools for slightly longer with different set-ups and a third who wants to do it this fall. Only one of us needs the money for income and he has the least attractive facilty but the lowest costs. All of us are 4th dan with 20 years of training. Mike Schroeder Head Instructor The Black Belt Club Inc. - Minnesota ------------------------------ From: Mike Heeney Date: Fri, 02 Jul 1999 15:47:06 +1200 Subject: the_dojang: Teaching on campus > > > For those of you who teach in dank dungeons on campus or in > > >community centers and make your living elsewhere, what obstacles > > >do you face from your host or facility co-ordinator? When we first started training up at uni we affiliated with the WSU, the student body at university. That meant we got hall hirage for next to nothing which was great. BUT we started to have hassles... *sigh* Once we turned up and there was band equipment all over the hall. Once we turned up and there was an art exhibition on there. Of course we were never informed that the hall was going to be needed for other things. Once we turned up and there was broken glass all over the floor. Many times we turned up and it was locked, and it took security 15 minutes to come and open the hall. So the next year (the club was started in the 2nd semester, and at first we didn't train over summer), we simply didn't affiliate with WSU. This meant looking around for a new place to train, but we ended up still on campus, which is kinda handy. We now train at the School of Education gymnasium. While the cost is a bit more, it is still a lot less than other school halls, and we don't have ANY hassles, so it's great. It's a good size. We used to be allowed the mats if we wanted them but now they are locked away. No matter. Booking extra times (eg for gradings) or cancelling bookings (eg next week when I'm away for the week) is simply a matter of ringing the lady in charge who is very friendly. The club is open to anyone 8 or over. The club is a small one, and although we could always do with more students, we do okay :) Mike Heeney Hamilton New Zealand. http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~mheeney ICQ 1036661 ------------------------------ From: MissIllona@aol.com Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 01:05:59 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V6 #335 In a message dated 7/1/99 6:19:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time, the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com writes: << If you earned a rank at another school you should keep that rank no matter where you go. More so if you are ataying within the same governing body (ITF, WTF). Otherwise, what's the point of having those governing bodies? >> I don't have a problem with that at all .... but if a black belt from a kung fu school came to my school .... sorry, they would be a white belt in this system. I am taking Aikido, now, but have black belts in 3 other styles (which I started at white at each of them) .... and am proud to say I am an Orange Belt in that system. The problem is not in how they feel about you ... but how you feel about yourself. I know what I am capable of ... so I have no problem with wearing whatever belt they give me. Illona ------------------------------ From: "Darlene" Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 00:05:37 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: Re: Survey and MA Buddies Kerry asked: > 1) How old were you when you started your MA? (This is a trick question--you're asking us all how old we are!) I was one month short of 37 when I started and immediately set a goal for a TKD BB by 40. > 2) How long did it take you to reach BB? ( or how long will it take on your current schedule ? ) > 3) Do you feel that you took too long? Or maybe not long enough? I zoomed through the kup tests and am now at 2nd kup. However, I decided that I was not strong enough in my previous forms or my sparring to continue at the same rate, so I'm slowing down. I will take another full year to reach 1st kup and then BB next April, still within my goal. My instructor agrees with my assessment of my timeline. I felt that my skills justified my progression through the ranks. I could have pushed myself and prepared myself for BB testing in October, but that would have been too fast. Three years will be about right, but I know others in my dojang (some who are starting out less fit that I was at the beginning) who will benefit from at least four years. > 4) How much did the rest of life impact your progress? I haven't taken any vacations, but I have missed several classes because of (a) school meetings/ classes/ etc. and (b) my two girls' 4-H & school events. June and September are the hardest months for me to come to class consistently. OTOH, during this summer, I plan to meet up with another student or two and practice on non-TKD class days, as I won't have as much "homework" to do in the evening (depending on the classes I have to take this summer!). One thing that really helped me was having a TKD "Buddy." My friend and I joined at the same time, about 3 months after our kids had joined (my daughter has since switched to gymnastics, but her son is getting ready to test for blue belt). We encouraged each other when, at first, our muscles were sore; when we just wanted to stay home and be lazy; when we weren't sure that TKD was really for us. We practiced at each other's homes, partnered for hapkido, sparred against each other, and tested together. Unfortunately, she's now moving to another town (near the Grandmaster's dojang-so I'll still see her sometimes at tests), and her interest has waned for a variety of reasons, so my motivation has to come from within, and from those at my dojang who have become my friends. Which brings me to another question to toss out: I am curious as to the demographics of your dojang in its new and returning students. Do more women or men come with MA "Buddies"? Do older students come with "Buddies" more often than younger students? What time of year do most of your new students join your MA and when do they most often return if they've been gone for any length of time? Darlene 2nd kup Port Hadlock, WA ------------------------------ From: "Darlene" Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 00:02:35 -0700 Subject: the_dojang: Re: Scoliosis I find that I go through phases, most recently the no-posting phase demanded by end-of-the-school-year processes. While the students finished on the 24th, I'm still writing year-end reports (one of the hazards of alternative ed: learning plan summaries for everyone), and have renewed my evening reading interest, just to get away from the computer. I too, have a slight scoliosis that was diagnosed when I was a pre-teen. It has never really bothered me, but I do suffer from a dull ache in various regions of my back. Taekwondo has helped strengthen my back through one very important aspect of my training: warm-up exercises. My instructor also suffers from back problems, so he leads us through a variety of warm-ups that may be different from those of other dojangs. Many of his warm-up exercises he brings straight from his physical therapist. If you continue to train in Taekwondo (carefully--Listen to your Body!), be sure to get a selection of back exercises (pamphlets available from your doctor) and do them first to strengthen your back. If your back hurts--Don't do it! Darlene 2nd kup Port Hadlock, WA ------------------------------ From: kelyin.boar@bt.com Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 09:27:48 +0100 Subject: the_dojang: Time to get BB I would just like to say in Ref to "is 5 years to long is 1 year to short" I train in England in a style call EKKA ( English Korean karate association ) It's TKD/WADO-RYU ( TKD kicks & forms & WADO RYU stance's ) & there's no-way anyone in this style would get to BB within a year you can only grade once every 3 months up to 3rd kyu ( 1st brown ) then 6 months between 2nd & 1st kyu then about a year between 1st kyu & 1st DAN then 2 years between 1st & 2 nd , 3 years between 3rd & 4th & so on In our style we told it's not a race in fact some brown belts are told to wait up to 2-3 years before going for black belt we have to make sure our mind & body are ready for the black belt grading as we have 50 normal kicks ( 5 kicks 5 off each leg ) 2 spinning kicks ( again 5 off each leg, total of 20 ) & 5 jump/jump turn kicks again 5 off each leg totalling 50 so that's a 120 kicks plus 6 forms & combinations (hands only feet only then hands & feet ) we have to do this the half the length of a sports hall twice each set & then once we done all this we have to fight first semi free against given kicks where all they can use is round kicks then heel kicks (spinning jumping or step up kick) then we have sparring for 15 mins 3 fights 5 mins each my point is yes I think 1 year is to short to become a BB as I think to become a black you have to be ready & one year is to short I don't think your kicks would be good enough you wouldn't be fit enough & I don't think you'd be ready mentally so I think about 6 years is more the mark ok I went on a bit here.......sorry kelvin ------------------------------ From: MRowe@ids.sitel.net Date: Fri, 02 Jul 1999 13:44:28 GMT Subject: the_dojang: Re: Starting over Mike:<< white belt just because they are no longer in a school but have decided to enter you dojang (mind you the forms are still the same). That is BULL!>>> CJ: << No Mike--its called "marketing".>> SESilz: <> The Empty cup is wonderful philosophy. I believe in it but it should only be a nessecity when you as a studnet are learning something completely different. If you studied at a Kukkiwon Style Based Club at the YMCA for 4 years studied that Taegueks, and Koryo, did the sparring and everything that goes with good study and then you decide to enroll at my school. Since I am a Kukkiwon 4th Dan (waiting for my 5th Dan) There is no reason in the world for me to make you start as a white belt again. That would be BS. And in case you think this is far fetched, we have a 8th Dan (Kukkiwon) here in Nebraska. He now operates a Club at our University of Nebraska - Lincoln (GO HUSKERS!). Well not long ago several of us USTU schools in Omaha formed a Black Belt Testing board. This 8th Dan Signed the Kukkiwon applications. One of our Black Belts (who he had signed for) then went to the Club at the University. This 8th Dan tried to demand that this 1st Dan Start at white belt again. That is BULL! It is not Marketing, it is plain GREED! Mike Rowe ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 08:35:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: the_dojang: survey Kerry asked: > 1) How old were you when you started your MA? I count 21, when I began Tang Soo Do. One might also count 15 which was when I began wresting and then later Judo. I typically don't because I really didn't get serious about 'martial arts' until I began Tang Soo Do. > 2) How long did it take you to reach BB? ( or how long will it take on > your current schedule ? ) About 3 years to TSD gym black belt. Then I switched to TKD (because I moved), then about 3 years to Kukkiwon 1st Dan, relocations and two serious injuries slowed things down a bit (given the previous TSD training). > 3) Do you feel that you took too long? Or maybe not long enough? About right. > 4) How much did the rest of life impact your progress? Not very much, more likely my progress impacted the rest of my life, especially wrt to SO relationships. Ray Terry raymail@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 08:33:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: the_dojang: Happy 4th! Folks, Happy 4th of July to those of you/us in the States. I suspect many will be off the long weekend (at least I get a long weekend), so have a safe one. Ray Terry ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V6 #336 ******************************** 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. All digest files have the suffix '.txt' Copyright 1994-99: Ray Terry, Martial Arts Resource, California Taekwondo Standard disclaimers apply.