I TOTALLY SUCK AT TAEkWANDO!!!!?

Question

my parents registered me for taekwando and i have to stay in it until i get my blackbelt. honestly, i dont like it. like i am fine with stretches and stuff but then with the nunchuck, we have to do all of this stuff and i end up hitting my self and i cant do it right and my instructor is yelling insturctions at me accross the room and i cant understand a word he is saying. (im a white belt) and we had to do some form or something and then i dont know what to do its like you block then punch then change direction... yeah im really really really bad at it and i dont like it since im the worst in my class. please give me advice, i have to keep going until i get my blackbelt, my parents payed for this. right now i havent made any progress at all, i totalyl suck. when we go on weekends, grand master teaches the class and hes really strict so we dont go on weekends anymore, we go on weekdays and we have another much nicer teacher. igo 3 times in one week. please help me what should ido

Answer 1

I think David N noted some very interesting points in his response to you.  

All things considered, sounds like the martial arts are not for you.  Consider some other interest.  Talk to your parents and brainstorm with them on something else you might be interested in.

Answer 2

If you are using nunchucks in Tae Kwon Do something is wrong. Especially at your level. I find it hard to believe you would be using weapons before you learn the empty hand techniques, It sounds to me that this school is taking advantage of you, and I dont like when parents force kids into doing something they dont like, Perhaps you can tell your parents you would rather do something else. If they signed a contract you are probably screwed.

Answer 3

Taekwondo translates to "the art of kicking and punching" or "the way of hand and foot". It is not a weapons style, so the fact that you are learning nunchaku (a Japanese weapon, may I remind you) is very suspicious. I doubt you are learning taekwondo but more likely a hybrid of a few martial arts studied by your instructor, who is trying to increase his target market with the introduction of weapons to appeal to anyone who's just watched a Bruce Lee film.

If you wish to continue training, talk to senior members of the class and see if they experienced similar problems as a white belt, or talk to your instructor about the difficulties you are having. If his response is not helpful, or if he treats you with contempt, get out of there, because you're learning at a McDojang with an instructor who shouldn't be teaching. you should be able to convince your parents of this by arguing something along the lines of "safety issues".

Answer 4

everybody totally sucks at something...just do the best you can and if you feel you really cant complete taekwando then sit your parents down and talk to them about it....let them know what you are feeling and that you really prefer to do something else....

Answer 5

don't feel bad if you think you suck at TKD!!!!! As a TKD practitioner myself, I still think I suck at it, since I'm still having difficulty in mastering those advanced upper level jump kicks ( Jump Spin hook & 360 Jump Spin hook ).

Keep practicing and practicing and practice some more and you will improve !!!

Never give up !!!

Answer 6

Weapons at white belt level? This sounds like a McDojo, very bad. A white belt shouldn't be allowed to touch a weapon. As for the setup you will get use to it. The punch, change direction routine will become very easy after a month.

Answer 7

take the strictness as a learning motivator..not rudeness.

tell them you dont like it. i doubt they paid for you all the way to black belt.

anyway..keep trying and ask your instructor if he'd help you more one on one rather than yelling across the floor. take it slow.

all white belts suck...and all great martial artists of all time started out knowing nothing at all just like you.

Answer 8

I never heard of the nunchuck being associated with Taekwondo.

I am especially surprised that they have you training with a weapon as a white belt!

When I was studying Taekwondo in the 80s they did not use weapons at any level.  It was all empty hand techniques.

Answer 9

Stick with it! Everyone sucks as a white belt and the best teachers are normally those who had a hard time learning.

Answer 10

Give it a month or two, practice everyday for at least an hour, if you really didn't get it during a class then stay after and ask your instructor for help. If you do this for those two months and still suck compared to other white belts and still hate it than tell your parents and instructor about how you feel, they won't have a right to be angry with you, because you tried really hard for all that time. However, I'm pretty sure that after those two months you will find yourself very skilled and liking it a lot more.

Happy Training!

Answer 11

Along with my Sifu constanly reminding me 'Pain is good teacher' he also stresses disipline and commitment..not everything in life is going to be fun or easy...and honestly there are times that I have disliked aspects of my training, feeling like im not going anywhere and why do we have to do this d**n form/routine/exercise again..?? Because it makes you into a better person for stepping up and doing something..and trust me, it's never easy but d**n, when you personally begin to accomplish something you begin to like it because you have opened your mind to something new...unlike basketball, soccer, hockey or football, martial arts will only take you as far as you are willing to go...no teammates to blame on losing a game or getting scored on, martial arts will stay with you for the rest of your life...h**l, it may even get you out of a bad and potenially physical altercation one day but by giving up on martial arts, you are letting yourself down...im guessing you were a kid who said hey i wanna do taekwondo mom and dad...so they signed you up only for you to realize you don't start out learning a 540 tornado kick in the first day then go on to master it the next class. Thus leads to frustration because an very obvious hiearchy/ranking system (use of belts) and causes frustration...but thats just my opinion...never count yourself out as a white belt, we all need to start somewhere and anyone can kick a ball into a net or throw a football during the fist tryouts or practice, but not everyone can earn a belt...good luck

Answer 12

if you stick with it your skill will increase, when i first started Taekwondo i really sucked at it, i was fat and as you can imagine hated any form of exercise. After about two months i started to be come better and better, the forms became easier to learn even though they were more complex, my kicks went higher with more power, i even joined my schools demo team. If you looked back at me then you wouldn't believe I'm the same person. So as long you stick with it and have a good attitude you will become better,

Answer 13

Well there are a number of things wrong with this situation and they are not all with you by any means.  Teaching students a weapon  that are only white belts is folish but I am afraid you are stuck so see if you can't make the best of it.  Take a video camera with you and tape the weapon form and I would tape a few of the classes.  It might help you some if you can then replay them back several times later and practice at home.  Also it sounds like you learn primarily by explanation and the language problem is making it harder for you to follow your instructor.  There are two other things that I would also recommend and that is see if you can make a negative into a positive.  By that I mean redouble your efforts and take a little different approach as to class and see if one of the better students would be willing to work with you for a few minutes before or after class on some of the things you are having trouble with.    You might also consider writting some things down to aid you later and help you review.  Also learning kata is like learning music in some ways.  It is harder for some people than others to learn.   Your first one or two katas will be the most difficult for you to learn but once your mind starts to work along those lines it becomes easier to pick up on and learn them.  

The other thought I have is in regards to why are you taking this and who picked the school.  Good instructors and good schools irreguardless of style and rank all have some things in common.  First and foremost is the standards they follow along with their ability to teach and impart those techniques and skills to their students.  It sounds like this school is struggling in an effort to do that and it is painful for you in some ways.  If after some time it becomes apparent that it is to painful I would certainly consider a different school.  Most white belts have enough to learn in the way of basic empty hand skills without putting a weapon in their hands and expecting them to learn that.  I would really consider a different school if not locked into a contract or not renew the contract if your problems can not be resolved to some extent.

Answer 14

ask your parents you want to learn a musical instrument instead

Answer 15

I stunk horribly at Tae Kwon Do when I started...Now I am a Kempo Karate teacher and I instruct my daughter, you will progress.....

Answer 16

Of Cause you hate it because you don't want to do it, be more positive and Tae Kwan Do is a sports and on every sport you will get hurt, Do some basic Nunchuks training believe me nunchuks is very easy to controll i did already controll it on my first day (I am not Training Tae Kwon Do.) If you can't understand a word your instructor say look at the other and look what they are doing.

Do some Basic Tae Kwan Do Exercise at home to result

Answer 17

it is still too early to tell whether this is not the art for you.

here is what you need to do.

1. pay more attention in class. Watch carefully and picture the shape and movements in your head. Hard to do at the beginning but after a while your brain will adapt to learning and coping movements at a faster pace.

2. break down the form into few parts. You can do the first 4 to 6 movements, train that, once you have got it, add the next 4 movements to it, train all that, once you have learned the 10 movements, add another 4 and now you have 14 movements,    train, adds, train, adds some more, that is the trick. Instead of trying to learn the whole form which may have 20 to 40 movements.

3. tell your instructor that you are having a bit of trouble remembering these movements, can he give you a hand before class or after class.

4. ask a friend or someone in the class who is good at what they are doing to show you. It can be someone on your level or it can be someone who is of higher belts. Make sure the person is a nice person who is genuinely try to help you and who have patience.

5. what you have leaned in class go home and spend 10 minutes going through them in a relax and slow fashion just to commit them to memory.  For days that you are not going to class, you should do 30 minutes of homework, train what you have learn. You will find it more enjoyable once you know what you are doing.

6. Believe in yourself, if people can do it, so can you. Different people learns at different rate, different methods. some learn faster through listening, some through watching, some through doing and experiencing. Pay more attention and believe that you can do it is the key.

It is always hard when you first learn a martial art. Once you are use to it, it gets easier, just like learning anything in life.

Taekwondo is one of the easer art to learn, there are a lot more complex art, which requires a lot of skills learning like wingchun, southern praying mantis, or internal arts.

After 6 months, and you are still making no progress , you may want to try muay thai, simplier system, just as, if not more effective than Taekwondo. Whatever you do, don't give up on martial arts, it is so important to know how to defend yourself. Don't be a victim. Your parents has the right idea. You must learn how to defend yourself, no matter how long it takes, or what form of martial arts. Watching a lot of martial art movies help to motivate you and by watching the movements, you get use to it. The brain is an amazing thing, it observe and learn.

Answer 18

Regarding Nunchakus in Tae Kwon Do, it's very common.  I've trained at 3 Tae Kwon Do places in the past 20 years and we all did nunchakus.  I also see other TKD schools doing them in tournaments.  It's great practice for hand eye coordination.

At our school, we only do them about once a week, usually in the kids class and we provide the padded version so that it doesnt hurt if you get hit.  We don't restrict this by belt and even let beginners try.

It's meant to be a fun activity we do at the end of class, for the last 5 or 10 minutes.  We are not teaching any street practical techniques, just using to improve hand eye coordination.

As for the question, so many kids these days have expectations of being good at something by just showing up.  My own daughter wanted to quit soccer about 4 years ago because she didnt think she was good compared to kids that had been playing.  Now she plays travel soccer and is a really good player.  The message is that it takes work and effort to become good at something.

The first problem is your attitude.  Your going into this class hoping to be good automatically.  Relax, no one expects you to be good right now.  If you can't hear the instructor, watch the kids around you and do your best.  It's ok if it's not perfect, it's ok if its bad.  With time and practice, you will get better.

Stick with it, in the end, you will be glad that you did and you will be a better person.  The tenets of TKD will help you become a better person.

Humility - being humble, being a white belt is teaching you humility because you are seeing that you arent so good right now.

Perseverance - sticking with it through the hard class or the strict instructor.  Not giving up.  You will grow through perseverance.

Courtesy - there are many social lessons in the dojo/dojang.  You will learn to be courteous to others.

Self Respect/Confidence - you will grow confident because you will have realized that you can do things that you thought you could not do.  You learned and you achieved.

Indomitable Spirit - no matter how hard things get, you will learn to keep a positive outlook and know that things can change.  

Good luck to you!

James