I left TKD cause I was burned out teaching and running my Master's school as program manager for years. It was my gig that paid my way thru college. I was making only 10 bucks an hour and no commission on the contracts I sold. My instructor was only there 3 days a week and we had at our peak 250 students at 80 bucks a month. He was raking in the dough, but I was a brainwashed fool and stuck with him. He mentally abused me and it was like a cult. Sunday 6am instructor workouts to test our discilpline. Assisting wiht sleepovers for the kids, birthday parties for the kids, car washes, demos in the public, running booths at fairs, being forced to hard sell people on contracts, etc. I had been with him since I was a teenager and it was hard to leave. I had always wanted to learn mma and bjj and the first ufc blew my mind. He was close minded. Didnt care for other arts much excpept boxing and a little judo. We were transitioning to another organization right when I left and I realized it was time to leave after 16 years with him. I didnt want to learn all new form patterns, wanted to learn mma, jkd, and bjj.
I got into bjj , jeet kune do and mma and am very happy that I did what I did. I still miss teaching and the comraderie but I have found that in alot of traditional martial arts schools there is mind maniuplation that goes on. Happens at some bjj schools too. My friend owns a tkd school and I help judge testings from time to time and maybe someday will go back to teaching it again. I do miss it at times.