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From the_dojang-admin@martialartsresource.net Sat Sep 12 17:20:01 2009 Return-Path: Received: from tarsus.bollow.ch (tarsus.bollow.ch [82.195.230.222]) by plus11.host4u.net (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id n8CMK1I04954 for ; Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:20:01 -0500 Received: from tarsus.bollow.ch (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by tarsus.bollow.ch (Postfix) with ESMTP id ED0A0B28072; Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:49:00 +0200 (CEST) Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:48:21 +0200 Message-ID: <20090913004821.8441.16215.Mailman@tarsus.bollow.ch> From: the_dojang-request@martialartsresource.net Subject: The_Dojang digest, Vol 16 #237 - 1 msg X-Mailer: Mailman v2.0.13.cisto1 MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net Errors-To: the_dojang-admin@martialartsresource.net X-BeenThere: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13.cisto1 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net X-Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net List-Unsubscribe: , List-Id: The Internet's premier discussion forum on Korean Martial Arts. 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See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and the online search engine for back issues of The_Dojang at http://MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! Today's Topics: 1. Re: The_Dojang digest, Vol 16 #236 - 3 msgs (NATO Guy) --__--__-- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:07:17 +0200 From: NATO Guy To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net Subject: [The_Dojang] Re: The_Dojang digest, Vol 16 #236 - 3 msgs Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net The letter below is in response to Subject: RE: [The_Dojang] Differences in American Sport Tae Kwon Do and Traditional Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan In the past I have shared the view that the WTF emphasis on sport taekwondo is distorting the art. But in recent times I have seen some things that made me modify my position. In February 2009, I attended a Kukkiown poomse seminar in Las Vegas and competed in the US Open held at the same hotel. >From the participants in the seminar, many of whom held Kukkiwon 4th dan or above, I learned that most of them had traditional training (ITF or Tang So Do) and incorporated these approaches into their curriculum. From the US Open tournament, I noted that although the techniques used would not be appropriate for street fighting, many of the competitors demonstrated a very high degree of skill (agility, speed, power and endurance) as well as good discipline as seen by the respect shown toward fellow competitors, judges and coaches. If these young people are not taught self defence techniques, then they would have a gap in their education; but they certainly have the tools. I have no reason to believe their instructors do not teach these self defense skills. That said, I agree that an over emphasis on tournament competition is bad for the art of Tae Kwon Do, and I have no reason to doubt those commentators who have written about their observations of instructors who seem too focused on the competitive aspect. Beyond that I have noticed that the very fluid, flexible and agile fighting style, required for success in WTF type sparring is not suitable for all students and body types. If you go to the USAT web page and look at the photographs of the national team, you will see they are almost all slim, have light bone structure and are long limbed, what physiologists call an ectomorph body type (see link below). Students with other body types or who are older when they begin training may not feel as comfortable with WTF style training and competition. For these students, there is an advantage of a more traditional approach, with lower stances and kicks, more hand techniques and the development of power, focus and balance through the practice of forms rather than sparing drills. Further, when the emphasis on competition is lowered, students can focus on meeting the standards of their style as set by the instructor, rather than on beating their fellow students. My final observation is that many of those students who are attracted to the competitive aspect of the art do not stay with it beyond the time when their competitive career ends, as it must for all of us. I spent some 20 years in the military and have on many occasions met former WTF style competitors. They tell a common story: they competed for a number of years, rose to dan rank, won some tournaments or were on a competition team. But they say they can no longer train because they can't compete due to an injury or the lack of time needed to focus on competition. None of them could name a single poomse they had learned. Most of these people were still in the military which means they were in good shape and trained their bodies on a daily basis. Sport Taekwondo is often treated like any other sport in that it is something you do when you are young, and when you can't do it at the highest level, you stop. I think that is shame and that a traditional approach may lead to a more balanced, lifelong activity. http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/body-types-ectomorph-mesomorph-endomorph.html Subject: RE: [The_Dojang] Differences in American Sport Tae Kwon Do and Traditional Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan I might have joined this a little late but if any of you get watch Choi's Legacy DVDs you will see that there is a significant difference between ITF AND WTF the North Koreans use Taekwon-Do to train soldiers to kill people or at least hurt them very badly. The other is a sport. People may go on to say that Judo is sport, indeed roughly translated it means gentle way. However every black-belt and most of the lower grades, will be able to use potentially lethal techniques. I don't want to open or reopen any cans with worms inside but I have seen so many parents take their child to a dojang so that they con learn to defend themselves. Then within two years they are black belts. The question mark remains on whether or not they can defend themselves. --__--__-- _______________________________________________ The_Dojang mailing list The_Dojang@martialartsresource.net http://martialartsresource.net/mailman/listinfo/the_dojang Subscribe or Unsubscribe: http://the-dojang.net Old digest issues @ ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com/pub/the_dojang Copyright 1994-2009: Ray Terry and http://MartialArtsResource.com Standard disclaimers apply. Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Remember September 11. End of The_Dojang Digest