MA, but not WMA

[Eric C]

Well, great news. (back-story first) I have never found anyone who teaches Tae Kwon Do in a way that I thought made it a decent MA. Everyone I have come across has simply thrown you into a line and told you to throw a certain kick. Forget the fact they haven't taught you HOW to throw the kick, just throw it. I've seen folks with fairly high belts who still didn't know proper form. Unfortunately that seems to be the norm with many EMA schools in these parts these days. This led me to dislike TKD as a whole.

So, that has changed. Last year right about the time my wife got laid off, a new teacher came to town. He is set up in a dance studio. I went to watch him and to talk. He is a grand master from Korea. His father taught him if my memory serves me correctly. I was impressed, but with the wife's job situation, we were unable to join the classes. Now she is working again. We joined the classes last Thursday night. It is going well. With my previous training in Goju Shorin as a teenager I have easily fallen back into what I already knew and it comes in handy as I try to help the kids get up to speed. So, the kids and I are pretty excited about that.

[Greg]

Very cool! I took a few years' worth of TKD as a kid, and look back on it as ultimately a complete waste and failure. The only thing I retained from all of it was a single counter to a knife0wielding attacker, which wasn't even TKD...all these years later, I discovered it in a Talhoffer manual. Go figure.

At any rate, glad you found someone who actually teaches the real deal!

[robinhoodsghost]

Great to here about your TKD training. Although a students skill is mostly because of his effort, a good teacher is a must. I'm glad you found one. I have been training in Okinawian Karate for 30 years this past March and taught for over 20 years. I just do private lessons now. I hope you stick with it, the health benefits alone will make it worth your effort.

[mcapanelli]

Great to here about your TKD training. Although a students skill is mostly because of his effort, a good teacher is a must. I'm glad you found one. I have been training in Okinawian Karate for 30 years this past March and taught for over 20 years. I just do private lessons now. I hope you stick with it, the health benefits alone will make it worth your effort.

If I may ask, which Okinawain art and whom did you train with?

[Eric C]

I'm interested to know as well. I studied Goju Shorin for a year and an half as a teenager. It is a combo of Goju Ryu and Shorin Ryu. I really liked the style, but basically my father got tired of taking me so I had to quit. It's funny how that was about 30 years ago, but that style keeps creeping into my TKD training.

[robinhoodsghost]

Hey mcapanelli and Eric,
I study Tang Shou Do Karate passed down from Tomari village in Okinawa. Our lineage is Kusanku, Kanga Sakugawa, Sokon Matsumura, Tawada Pechin, Kentsu Toguchi, Ching Kong, Curtis Robinson and me. Yeah I know to much info.
We are a small but proud dojo, that puts focus on health, like our founders wanted. visit and friend us at ....
http://www.facebook.com/tangshoudo.karate
You can never have to many friends who are Rangers.

[RangerKellen]

That looks and sounds very neat!

[Ringulf]

Just to chime in and be counted, I studied Jui Justsu and Kenjutsu from a sensei that taught at the Riverside Drive Budist temple in NYC. His wife taught Kyudo and Aikido and though I only dabbled a bit in the Aikido, I did learn everything I could during the Kyudo sessions.

I now study an art known as STAV. It is a multifaceted martial art/lifestyle that includes self defense, weapons and meditation and is scandinavian in origin.

Stav means "staff", but the staff we are talking about is the staff which runes are made of, so in essence some of the form is like a runic tia chi.

The weapons and philosophy are derived from Old Norse tradition and include cudgel, seax, axe, sword, bow and spear. There is much of the philosophy that is derived from the old Norse culture and religion, and the runes as well as the harmony and balance of nature and body are a primary focus.

I am fairly new at it as I have only been studying for about a year, but I have found it very helpful, and healthful!