Questions about Tae Kwon Do? Please Help!?

Question

I'd like to start by saying that I know NOTHING about Tae Kwon Do, so I'm sorry if you think these questions are dumb.

1 - What are the main pros and cons about Tae Kwon Do?

2 - Is it effective in "street fights"? (This year our school had 24 fights in 30 days, kids from violent parts of Chicago moved here and picked a ton of fights. I need to learn some sort of Martial Arts in case someone picks a fight with me.)

3 - At what belt do you start sparring?

4 - Is it true that Tae Kwon Do mainly focuses on kicking and more brute force than anything else?

5 - How long does it take to learn the moves that the TKD fighter here does? Like, around what belt or how many years until you can master moves like these?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fL9ZXos8LfQ

6 - What does "Dan" or "Den" mean? I've seen them both be used when people talk about their belt ranking.

7 - About how long does it take you to get a black belt if you're determined, disciplined, and naturally skilled?

Thanks!

Answer 1

1. Pro's: It is a good sport. It is good at developing muscle tone and stamina. Con's: It is not a good form of self-defense, and can lead people to being overconfident.

2. No, it is not very effective as a form of self-defense, especially for women.

3. Depends on where you take it.

4.  It focuses on kicking and punching and pays very little attention, if any, to grappling/wrestling techniques

5. Sorry, youtube is blocked here so I can't see it

6. Dan just means level.

7. A few years, depending on where you take it.

Answer 2

Ok. Before I say anything, ULTIMATELY, most of this is going to come down to the quality of schools and the kwans (Chung, Moo, Songahm... et cetera...) that you decide to pick. Nothing is really set in stone.

1.

Pros:

At a good school, It's a great style to get your feet in the water with striking. It's a very good style for speed, and reaction timing, two things that are very important for combat as well as competition.

-It makes you very flexible. I've taken many styles, but Tae Kwon Do is one of the reasons (Besides my genetics: I'm ectomorphic) i'm flexible.

-The flying/spinning/jump spinning kicks are great for fitness. Some of the masters can still do those things well into their 70s.

- A lot of schools are starting to make up for the flaws that might exist within Tae Kwon Do, depending on the school and kwan again.

- (Personal) my technique is really good in both my Boxing/Kickboxing classes, as well as MMA. My instructors applaud me accordingly for it, but I have experience with Boxing and Muay Thai already anyway lol, so they've contributed too.

Cons/Neutrals

-(Depends on the school) Tae Kwon Do, as well as other styles have many schools that are known as "McDojos," where money rules over techniques, skill, and progression of ability. It's horrible, but you have watch for it in this style, as well as others.

-The high flying kicks are meant for show, fitness, and to enhance your basic kicks which are what you're suppose to use in a self-defense/combat situation. However, some schools may focus on those more than the practical self-defense, which if that's what you're looking for: You might want to find a new school.

- (Subjective) The ratio of kicks/punches varies depending on school and kwan. Everyone has different experiences with fighting as to what you would use more, but look for ITF or Moo Duk Kwan (And the like) if you want 50/50 hand/kicks. Chung Do Kwan, for example, is 70/30 with kicks/punches.

-(Depends on the school) The sparring varies from compliant to full contact. There's 18 different styles of sparring in Tae Kwon Do. You have to find out for yourself which type you like, whether it's for sport or self-defense, et cetera.

-It lacks grappling, but as I said before: Many schools are adding in grappling classes, and arts to complement it such as Hapkido, BJJ, Jujutsu, wrestling, submission grappling, and more.

- (Depends on the school) Close quarters combat is sometimes a problem, but that can be complemented again.

2. If you go to a good school, then you'll learn basic striking. That's great, but you'll more than likely need more than just that for self-defense. Something like Hapkido would cover striking, as well as standing grappling, and possibly ground grappling as well.

The contact matters in this case too. No you don't have to be full, but you have to be at least medium, or you won't know what it's like to be pressured like you would in a "Street Fight." A thug isn't going to be compliant.

3. It depends on the school.

My first three schools- You start at white belt.

Last school (DOUBLE O MCDOJO!!!)- You start at green.

4. It depends on the kwan. Most do, but some make it equal. And it's a hard, linear/semi-circular style,  but the force relative to speed et cetera also depends on the school. Usually it's a sort of balance between force and speed. It doesn't teach you like Aikido or Hapkido that you shouldn't meet force with force though. You're using force to inflict pain.

5. (That video sucks: Don't trust it, BUT there are videos of TKD guys actually getting the job done)

It ultimately depends on you. A belt doesn't mean much.

6. "Dan" is actually a Japanese designation for people that are black belt level and above in the arts. 1st dan, 2nd dan, and so on = Your degree of black belt.

7. It depends on the school. No two schools are the same. lol

It SHOULD take no less than three years, but some schools do it sooner. They are usually mcdojos, however.

Answer 3

1 it is a great martial art I used to do it before my knees gave out when I was 14. Really comes in handy dont really know of any cons.

2 yeah I would think so its more of a kicking martial art so long legs help

3 you start at white which is the first belt

4 yeah it is

5 more advanced moves start around brown which is only 3 belts away from black.

6 dont know never had my teacher talk to me about that

7 at least 2 years my teacher said it took him 3

Answer 4

1- Taekwondo Is very quick. You can knock someone out easily, but you don't have much defense.

2- Taekwondo is effective in street fights if you know what you are doing.

3- you don't have to spar at all. maybe yellow belt?

4- taekwondo is 80 % kicks 15 % hands and 5% speed.

5- you can start getting familiar with the kicks around red belt which might take a year or slightly more.

6- No idea. Never heard that.

7- If you work hard and are naturally good it will take around 2 years.

No problem.

Answer 5

1. the pros are: it develops great flexibility, coordination, and self-defense.

the cons are: is one of the number one Mcdojo makers, has a few flashy kicks that aren't good for self-defense.

2. Taekwondo is good for self-defense however some schools won't each you this aspect and will probably focus on sport more.

3. this depends on the school it could white belt or it could be the second level.

4. taekwondo is 70% kicking 30% punching meaning that you'll use your legs way more than your arms. It is also referred to as a external martial art meaning it will focus on fighting power with power.

5. not very long, however it may take a while to use them as well.

6. den is an incorrect spelling of Dan, which means grade or belt level.

7. how long is determined by instructor and student, some schools will have it be 6 months to a year while others will have be more like 3 or more years.

Answer 6

2. taekwondo is affective in a one on one street fight and a great defence against surprise attacks.

3. i started sparring at white belt but different sckools could be different.

4. yes. taekwondo is a kicking and open handed martial art. mainly kicks

6. dan is the belt grades after blackbelt once you have your blackbelt it then goes 1st dan 2nd dan....... 10th dan

7. about a year and a bit

Answer 7

This may take some room, because there is a need for some refuting of information from other answerers, but I will do my level best:

1. Depending on the governing body under which your school operates, you will find that Tae Kwon Do provides you with an excellent workout, a sound sense of discipline, tenets to live your life by, and techniques that are effective in the gym (dojang), in the ring, and "on the street". A truly well rounded school will teach all aspects of Tae Kwon Do: hand and foot attacks, hand and foot blocks, joint locks and manipulations, sweeps, throws, upright and ground defense, self confidence. If you are looking for traditional training, then a sport-oriented school MAY not give you what you are looking for, and vice versa. One danger of Tae Kwon Do is that you can find yourself in a school that claims to teach Tae Kwon do, but does not subscribe to the ranking system, training requirements, or philosophies of either the ITF (International Tae Kwon Do Federation) or the WTF (World Tae Kown Do Federation). Both have common ancestry, and any school subscribing to the governing principles of either of these groups can be considered "authentic". There are some schools which state that they teach Tae Kwon Do, but have made so many changes, deletions, additions, etc. to the original Tuls, poomsae, etc. that the resemblance is in name only.

2. Compared to other martial arts styles, Tae Kwon Do can be, and is, just as or more effective than any other, depending on the skill of the practitioner and the application of the technique. I have said many times here that proper application at the appropriate TIME is key in how effective any martial art is. A martial artist who is overconfident in his skill, or disrepectful of an attackers ability, can quickly find himself getting a quick lesson in physics, particularly the ones concerning irresistable forces meeting immovable objects, and gravity. As far as the fights in your school, the number one technique in winning a battle is to not be in one in the first place (i.e. AVOIDANCE).

3. Sparring occurs at ALL levels; however, at lower ranks, sparring is mostly limited to step-sparring (slow moving, pre-arranged routines to familiarize the student with techniques he or she will use at higher levels) and no-contact free sparring (spontaneous attack and defense with no contact between participants).

4. Yes and no: yes in that from a purely sporting aspect the focus is more towards kicking (points are scored differently for kicks and punches), and control is less emphasized than technique. From a more traditional standpoint, control is PARAMOUNT to success in competition; points will actually be deducted for improper technique, or contact that is hard enough to knock a competitor out of the competition can actually result in forfieture of the match. The reasoning is that anyone can be trained to blast through a target, but it takes infinitely more skill to stop a full speed attack just before or immediately upon contact with the target. This does not mean that traditional practitioners do not have the skill to make full contact, only that they ALSO have the skill to stop the attack when and where they want to.

5. Quite honestly, this Tae Kwon Do fighter is sloppy. Hands are down, kicks are wild, and his target is too slow to get out of the way. However, the kicking techniques he attempts to employ are usually taught at higher grades, usually starting around blue belt if studying in a traditionally governed school (ITF or an affiliate).

6. Dan is the title given to black belts, starting at I Dan (1st Degree) and going to IX Dan (9th Degree). Colored belts below Black Belt are referred to as grades or "gup(geup)".

7. If graded properly, a MINIMUM of 3 to 3-1/2 years. Under more traditional guidelines (ITF and affiliates), it takes a minimum of 6 months each at grades 3, 2, and 1 to advance. Coupled with the time it takes to get to 3 gup (blue belt/red tag or tip), a three year journey is not unreasonable, depending on the level of training put into getting there.

Answer 8

these are some outstanding answers... the only thing that is left out in my opinion... TKD is fantastic if taught correctly... but it does take a long time compared to other types of training to ecome "good enough to make it work"  

for instance: a guy that has 6 months of boxing will destroy a guy with 6 months of TKD

a guy who has wresteled 4 years in high school will take down  a guy with 1 year of tkd...

a guy with 1 year of TKD will have a hard time with your average guy on the street, while the wresteler or the boxer will have handle it with ease..

but if you can find a good school, and are willing to train hard for 5 years.... a 20 year boxer or a 20 year wrestler , you will have a huge advantage (unless they have done both)

TKD, if taught properly (i believe my training had a high influence of Hapkido, with take down, and joint locks) takes a long time for it to become "part of you"... while boxing and wresteling are based solely on competeting against another game opponent..(and that is what fighting is all about)

dont worry about "what belt you get" be more concerned about how good you get, and always push yourself....

good luck