hi everyone. I'm interested in learn which asssociation you're all with, and what they do for you. This is probably one for the instructors. Add anything you think is relevant, heres some examples: Competitions, Freedom to run gradings (colour belt/black belt) Networking, NVQ's or courses, etc
TAGB They allow me to run my own school with little to no inerferance they do not charge outlandish plaque/association fees gradings cunducted by 6th degree blackbelts and above Instructors certification recognised in all countrys within TKDI BTC Registration
GTI. I don't know the in's and out's. All I do know is that Ohdokwan Black Belt Academy is a far superior school to the ITF and TAGB schools here.
I'm not going to rise to the bait other than to say please do not make such unsubstantiated statements. Post specifics or keep your observations in the realm of personal experience. Mitch
Hey... I didn't say GTI is better than TAGB. I trained extensively in ITF and learned virtually nothing other than how to do a decent pattern. And I've been told by some very experienced MAists that the local TAGB club isn't... Up to standards. And two of their most senior students got flattened last year at a bar by two drunks. So I don't know what they've been learning there all them years. But it wasn't self-defence. I'm just talking about my area. Okay?
Both Kwajman and Madhoose are correct. When you train under an Instructor they can make all the difference. Is my art good for SD or rubbish? Does it improve my fitness or not? etc etc The same goes to a lesser extent with organisations. On the upside I get my club graded by an external 6th Dan. There is no question as to my influence on gradings, I have almost none. Similarly, when a student of mine goes to another TAGB club, they know they will train the same syllabus for gradings. Though everything else may be different On the downside, the grading syllabus is not exactly what I would choose. I don't give a fig about sparring. I'd replace it with RBSD and include more takedowns/grappling. That's why I'd get my ass handed to me in sparring competitions, I don't care or train for them. But sparring is part of the senior syllabus because other people like it. Also, I get involved with admin and have to pay other people to come and do gradings for me. On balance, it is beneficial for my students to be in TAGB. I might lose some money (grading fees go mainly to other people for example), but I'm not in this for the money and I earn enough to compensate me for my time. By having an external examinar and association I get the right amount of external scrutinay with the right amount of external interference. I would not dream of speaking for other Instructors/Organisations, unlike others on this board. Mitch
This is what you said. Do you mean it or not? I have never trained with an ITF club, never mind a representative sample; what belt did you achieve/how long did you train for in your extensive training? So your repeating hearsay from people we know nothing about. I think that comes under the heading of gossip. What were the circumstances of "two of their most senior students" getting "flattened...by two drunks"? Were the students drunk? Were they jumped? Were they 17 and 5' 6" and their attackers 29 and 6' 2" with past convictions for gbh? Please be very, very careful about such comments when the people involved might be reading this board. Their story might be different and potentially more accurate than yours. It would be a shame to write off an organisation, by name, in one area (and by association in others) without any clear first hand knowledge of the facts, wouldn't it? Mitch
superior school to the ITF and TAGB schools here. A year and a bit, was delayed on gradings so had green tags when I left. Now I know that isn't a long time. But that was 4 times a week. I trained under 3 different masters in that time [2 7th Dans and an 8th] and as the classes were all together I got to see what the Blackbelts were doing and they were just doing patterns as well. We very rarely did any breaking or self-defence, our warm-ups were short, plenty of people were out of shape. Kids ran about a lot and disturbed the class under 2 of the 3 instructors who taught me. I remember that out of about 8 red and blue belts, only two could break a single focus board with a reverse turning kick. The rest had difficulty putting their foot to it. Well actually you've got a point there, and I'm big enough to admit you're right, I have jumped to conclusions. They're friends of a guy I do train with, and I'd have to ask him regarding their state and the size of their opponents. I know they are adults though. By comparison most of our blackbelts are doormen or full-time martial artists. They haven't lost any fights. However, like I previously mentioned, I wasn't entirely judging the school on that incident. I've been told by more experienced people than me, to avoid the club. Also, we have at least 3 people that I know came here from the TAGB. I've never had a discussion as to why, but I know that none of our students have ever gone there... Right. But even still. Maybe it is a decent school. But without sounding like I'm bragging, we do have a very high standard school. We get trained by national competition winners. We have blackbelts from other martial arts like Ju-Jitsu come in to train us. We have weapons specialists, a state-of-the-art Do-Jang. Full punch bags, wavemasters, Body opponent bags, stacks of mats, handpads, a full mirror across the front wall, qualifed chiropractors incase of injury and my instructor has lived and trained in China, has trained divisions in the NAVY seals, runs government-funded self defence courses.... The list goes on and on. The point being, that's why I train GTI. The Academy I'm at is very, very good.
Thank you. So, as with most people I imagine, the association comes a distant second or lower. It's the Instructor and the facilities that make the difference. So to address the original question, what does the GTI do for you? Mitch
We have links to several MA groups. WTF, ETF, WAKO, ITF, even TAGB/TKD International. It gives us opportunities to compete under different rules, to take part in many events. We don't really care too much about the federations. We just do TKD and compete in different groups, just like training athletics and competing in high jump, 100 m or hurdles. It's the school and the quality of instruction that counts. I've seen many good schools and many poor ones, no matter what group. Gizmo
this doesnt add up. you trained extensively (how long) and all you could do was patterns. please expand on this
I really lucked into joining my assoc. - I live about 30 minutes from headquarters and can train with Grandmaster Sereff anytime I want. I currently train under an 8th dan Master, and his experience alone has been priceless. Our org. holds regular training for referees, sparring classes, weapons courses, ho sin sul (self-defense, including grappling and takedowns), breaking, etc. Overall, I think it's one of the best experiences of my life. Plus, they don't charge outrageous amounts, and nearly everyone I met has a great sense of community.
Well im in the ATA we are the largest martial arts organization in the world(in combonation with the STF and WTTU and KTA) we have our own sanctioned tournaments TONS of them lots of competitors, we also are allowed to compete on the open circuit and most important it is soooo much fun!
Any numbers here? I don't think the ATA is the largest even in TKD, not to mention the whole martial arts scene... Gizmo
this thread has gone from asking an honest question to a whos best thread answer the gentlemans question please.
a lot of interesting posts but I was really hoping this wouldnt turn into a I'm with _____ and we're better than you, remember this forum gives everyone from different groups to talk and get CONSTRUCTIVE ideas, lets not slate each other its not going to get us anywhere. I'm interested to hear peoples own experiences with different groups
On the TKD side, we rank up through the WTF, which provides a nice world-recognized dan rank and opens up the doors of other WTF schools to us around the world. For that, I find the fees pretty good. For our normal operations, we are part of the ITA (Independent Taekwondo Association - under GM Pellegrini) and all of our black belts have memberships and dan rank through there as well. Here are the benefits I see: - As an "independent" organization, we can handle our own affairs as we see fit (as far as forms, rules, etc.) but ultimately have a system "above us" to turn to for support in everything from business, new resources, and dan certification. -an open network with other ITA schools, where we exchange visits and training. - As the ITA grows, there will be video resources and seminars resources to tap into (there is an ITA seminar in New York the first week of March for example). -Plans to develop a larger tournament circuit through ITA schools At this point in time, we don't pay a lot for the ITA membership and mainly it provides a level of support for us especially in the area of dan certification and a good network. I am hoping thta it develops like GM P's ICHF has where there is a large collection of media resources, seminars and events, and so on.
