TMA Fans: Your experiences with Tae Kwon Do?

[Inokisbathwater]

????????????

Sorry, I just assumed you'd catch the reference to that post you made, oh, eight hours ago. My bad.


To get back on topic a bit, here's another vid for fans of Grandmaster Hwang Jang Lee.
YouTube - Hwang Jang Lee - Showcase

 

[djchen011032]

WTF TKD for about a year. The only classes i went to were sparring and technique practices. i learned my poomsae online and then took the belt tests >_> i wasnt going to waste precious time learning forms when i could be sparring or learning techniques.

 

[SmartHippo]

I have a first dan in ITF TKD. Not currently training, I'm not sure if I'll go back or not. It had it's pros and cons, but overall it was great. It was a lot of fun, and got me interested in martial arts. I would like to try some different arts, but I'll never regret my time doing TKD.

 

[Too Defensive**]

Taekwondo is my base and it has given me excellent balance and versitle kicks. However, I dropped out when my school became too sporty. I was trying to "spar" with people and was fustrated by the lack of acceptable targets. In order to be successful in this type of fighting, you must be able to switch stances on the fly (which I hate doing). So I quit and started MT. My MT trainer laughed at me when he saw me kick the heavy bag for the first time. I did one of those TKD slap kicks. It took a while for me to swing my leg MT style.

 

[Jessi.2]

15 + years ITF TKD.....and looking forward for 15 more....

love it...hate it...whatever....it has it's up and downs like anything else.....i have been fortunate to find the best instructors out there

Unfortunately some Olympic style schools have ruined parts of the art in the mainstream. I think the general compared it to watching a toddler walk without the help of it's parent......aka it always falls.

 

[NickNack]

I started off sparring full contact with only shin and hand pads, but then we got a new instructor who was a total noob who made us do forms all day with a "sparring is dangerous" mentality so I quit.

 

[Fishgun]

Been studying TKD for 28 years and competed in TKD and open tournaments for many years. Have also studied several other styles.

For me TKD is the best especially because I love stand up and I'm built well for it.

If you find a good traditional school where you are actually aloud to make contact you can learn a lot of useful striking technique.

Just stay away from the WTF Olympic crap where they dangle their arms by their sides while kicking like crazy.

 

[locknload]

I learned to say Kiaaaaa!!

 

[neomosh]

I still enjoy the TKD kicks more than anything. Of course they were more effective when you were just sparring for points

 

[ChachiKiller]

I can tell a guy who has a good TKD background when I spar. They have fast feet. When mixed well with other types of striking, it can give people problems.

 

[valekunedo**]

TKD ownes, but not as much as Choi kwang do. i wish we saw more of that in the ufc

 

[laz0001]

You've got to be joking. This was a serious tkd thread until this crap.

Seriously? Hwang Jang Lee is awesome:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8Iic9EUqdA

 

[Umbra]

My base is TKD (12 years) and I competed at the national level several times when I was younger. This base gave e a great transition to Muay Thai in which I am currently undefeated (9-0). It just depends on your mentality I guess. I was able to distinguish between the useful stuff and the flashy stuff. But it'll make your hips loose as hell and give you some nice leg speed and flexibility.
In MMA I broke my first to opponents ribs with kicks, one being a spinning back kick, so I laugh when people tell me TKD is useless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur0SN12FO2M

 

[speedlight]

tkd you get really good kicks

 

[ghost scribble]

Meh. The guy sucks.

Yeah, he's horrible. Doesn't have a clue what he's talking about lol

for real, I love the vids

But yea, I started TKD when I was 12, and did it for about 7 years before I got my black belt.

I agree that most of it is worthless, but if you want to increase flexibility and kicking speed, TKD's the way to go.

I still use a lot of the TKD kicks when I spar, and I love the look on a guy's face when I surprise him with a spinning kick (doesn't always land of course, but it's nice to use to throw a guy off a little)

 

[neandtachiwaza]

I trained Tae Kwon Do for many years as a kid. I think it's a good art for kicking, flexibility, and balance. I Have to say that as a Judo Guy it's nice to have some striking knowledge that many in our art do not have.

 

[hosed49]

I trained ATA TKD here in Ky. It was my first experience in Martial Arts and I loved every minute of it. However, it is not a self defense type training, but as everyone else said , the kicks are phenomenal! When I transitioned to MMA I had a hard time defending head punches because it wasnt allowed in ATA.I was so retarded with my hands during the boxing classes.I still have a hard time trying not to chamber my kicks now and deliver them in more of a muay thai style. On the other hand I could and still can kick the piss out of someone! It teaches you respect and discipline, apprecaition for the sport and your abilities. I helped teach after I received my 1st Degree and loved it also. To me when you teach little kids you are like a super hero to them...they mimic your every move and you are just as proud as their parents when it comes time for testing. Not too many MMA fighters that are announced as TKD practitioners have done well in the sport which is a sign that it is a sport but not necessarily one you want to rely on in the cage. Kicks only go so far until you get taken to the ground...then TKD is out the window....but every once in a while you will see a nice reverse side kick to the gut in the UFC!

 

[kyrilan]

I got my black belt in WTF taekwondo. Learned some bad habits, the school I went to was way to crowded and overall it sucked.

If I ever find a school who teaches traditonal taekwondo i'd like to try it again.

 

[Josh Kinzey]

I trained Olympic style TKD from about age 7 to 20 (I'm 28 now) and while it had it's benefits; I honestly spent more time unlearning bad habits once I moved onto to other things.

The pros have pretty much been discussed. My favorite is the ease with which I can throw kicks. I have a side kick that floats out like a jab, it's as natural to me as anything. I respond with it a lot in other training classes. Kicks just feel natural and 'right' to me after so much kicking in the TKD environment.

Hand skills suck, NO ground work, absolutely no idea what it's like to have strikes thrown at your head, etc...

 

[Appelkick]

Honestly all of the "bad" things being said about TKD on here could be said about boxing as well:

No ground skills at all

Unable to block / deal with kicks (with TKD it's unable to deal with face punches)

...

ANY martial art has many things about it that must be adapted for use in MMA. Picking on TKD for this and not making the same statements about boxing or BJJ is being very simple minded.