Avoiding Common TKD Training Mistakes

Hehe. The whining may have come from the actual losing of the glasses. Those things are expensive :cry: .
But then again, why was she sparring with glasses? (was it sparring or just practice?) I have glasses, but I don't even train with them at all. And my sight is horrible. But not so bad I have to wear them all the time. Hope the poor girl isn't near blind

But that makes for a little typing on the actual topic. Glasses, jewels and anything else not worn when taking a shower (um.. except clothes people.. don't get me wrong), shouldn't be worn while training. Many advocate the point of view that it's dangerous. While others blatantly deny it and feel that students should choose for themselves. But think about it. I don't think I know any other sport where people are able to comfortably work out while wearing stuff like that. Why are martial arts considered different? I have heard myself students questioning why they have to take this and this off. Is it really that mindnumbingly difficult to understand? It's restrictive and uncomfortable. And if you don't think so, you aren't training hard enough

Guess I am a little off topic, but the posts about whiners here kind of got me going. TKD is "too popular". In a sense that it almost gets a mainstream quality and all kinds of people flock to it. Got to take the bad with the good though. Popularity is good, but it can be a double edged sword. I just spoke against myself there I think. I'll stop now

 

I train Taekwon-Do for 5 hours a week on 4 nights. If I could only train for 2 hours a week then I wouldn't go, there'd be no point because 2 hours isn't long enough to do all my patterns at a "break-it-down" speed - then there's sparring,bag work,muscle development etc etc to cover. But I will admit that I trained twice a week up until about 8 months before grading for 1st Degree, but thats because there was only 2 classes available to me as I had no way to get to the clubs held away from my town (i was only a lil nipper back then lol).

 

Sloppy Techniques

Hi

I agree with #4. I think there is nothing worse than watching students perform patterns or line work and not punching to the centre of their own body. Also, students whose Walking stances and 'L' stances are identical. These seem to be a problem at all grades.

 

i have also noticed that there are instructors who pay a lot of attention to explaining how the leg travels while performing a kick. that is ok, but the strength of the kick can by no means be forgotten. what's the use if you can perform a kick but not be able to hit a bag and make it move. the reason for this might be also found in the lack of pad work or bag work. some students simply need a target which they can hit in order to feel the kick, so to speak.

 

Clear your mind of all thoughts, and focus on the physical aspect of what you are doing.

 

I think a typical TKD training mistake is thinking that TKD is something that can be picked up quickly. It takes hard work and the mindset that you won't give up. If I saw students at my school giving 100% all the time there would be much improvement. I hate to sound harsh, but you can't be a wimp and learn this art fully. There are bumps and bruises involved. Especially in the self-defense realm of TKD.

 

exactly. it takes maaaaany repetitions to learn a kick and there is always something one can improve. some posters have complained about instructors who don't include much sparring in the training sessions. on the other side there are instructors who in my opinion start with the sparring too early. of course there will be bruises and pain in knees and hips if the student has to spar but hasn't learnt to perform the kicks. i guess, everything in its own time.

 

Mistakes in training

I feel that lacking control from the hitter contributes to lots of these bumps and bruises. The person who hits too hard, causing the sparring partner to pass out or to get severely injured, needs to think twice about why he is sparring. If the "accident" happens for the first time, the hitter should really examine his sparring techniques and the force he delivers.

There shouldn't be a second such "accident". The least I can say is that sparring needs to be closely supervised, but too often it isn't.

While TKD training is not baking cookies, I personally had just such bad experiences sparring a higher belt. Here I was a green belt, at 170 pounds, 50 yrs old. I was paired with this big young 27 year old guy, a 2nd dan, at 245 pounds. He wasn't showing me how to spar; he wanted to kill me, and almost did. I passed out after one round, having been hit rather severely. When I came to, he told me he didn't realize I was that weak.

Another time, he broke my right wrist with a face-high round house kick. That broken wrist took 7 months to heal.

When I tested for my 1st dan, by then I had already gained 20 more pounds (of muscles, at 190 pounds) and he was going for his 3rd dan. That was full-contact sparring. It went on for two rounds of 3 minutes each, mean-spirited hard-fought battles. The 3rd round went on what seemed like forever, since we were both very tired... until the Master Instructor stopped the match.

I never felt so great to be able to hit that person as hard as I could. But now thinking back, both of us were lacking control, actually more so from me than from him, for I was bracing for a beating from him and wanting to fight him the best I could and did. Had I fought someone else with that kind of force, concentration, speed and skill, someone would have gotten hurt badly.

Oldie

 

you are talking about sparring at the dojang, right?!

 

neryo tkd,

Yes, I am talking about full contact sparring at the dojang. Yes, we had pads on, so there were no broken bones although the bodies did get some pounding, and there were many bruises on our limbs. I tried my very best to avoid getting hit, counter when I could, attack when the chances were there; all kicks and punches were used, except the illegal ones (but probably a few of the illegal moves were thrown in from both he and me). He being the stronger of the two did have some hard kicks and punches (you ought to feel a couple and you would know what I mean, even with the chest guard and other protective gears). Fast and furious, especially in the second round, and I thought I was fighting for my life against someone 23 years younger than me (I was 54 yrs old at the time I took the 1st dan test; he was going for his 3rd dan). When the 3rd round came about, we were both tired; for me, I felt like my heart was about to come out of my chest. I evaded more of his attack and tried to conserve energy...but time seemed to stand still. I was exhausted...and my arms felt dead, completely dead. "Keep your hands up! Do not quit!" I heard the Master Instructor yell at me. Then I got hit in the chest, hard, and it felt nauseous. I felt a little disoriented, and was backed into a corner. The survival instinct took over and I took advantage of his charging in, blocking his hard and bruising punches with my elbows, side-stepping to his right and delivered a most devastating round kick to his mid-section. "Gooooooood kick!" The Master Instructor exclaimed. I must have counted on that kick as the last one that I could muster. The big guy swaggered a little, as I was practically on his right rear catching my breath. He turned toward me, and I backfisted him with my left fist (illegal move) and he instinctively tried to block that backfist-----at which time the Master Instructor stopped the match.

By the way, I had to spar a total of 9 rounds, against different opponents. 4 rounds against 4 different red belts; 1 round against 2 attackers, 1 round being 1 of the 2 against 1 red belt. These were done one after the other, with no rest in between. The 3 rounds against this guy were the final test. There was a one-minute rest between the rounds.

When all the rounds were done, I pulled off all my sparring pads and flopped on the floor trying hard to catch my breath. In fact, I must have passed out for a few seconds or so. I did not care if anything was said about me at that point. I simply wanted to breathe.

Oldie

 

[ I must have counted on that kick as the last one that I could muster. The big guy swaggered a little.........
Oldie[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I meant "the big guy STAGGERED a little..."

Oldie

 

you did really well. i assume you got your 1st Dan. congratulations . If the Master at the testing did not react to the way you two sparred, it means that others spar that way too. at the dojang during our training sessions we also spar full contact, and at competitions it's always full contact. the most important thing is that you survived and earned your belt.

 

wow! I have alot of respect for anyone sparing full contact. doesn't sound all that fun to me. but I bet you guys could whoop my but anyday. at my school its all friendly, light contact. sometimes the big guys will hit hard, but its all in good sport. I've never had someone whose angery go at me. thats got to be a bit scary. I'd tell him to take a chill pill. but oldie, great job at your testing! you definately deserved your rank.

lane

(mental note to self - don't cross oldie )

 

I see a lot of people go through the school who turn up only to try and better their training partners. It is reflected in the way they spar and train. They are usually agressive in nature and are just after a little ego boost. These people don't usually stay with the art for an extended period of time, but look for something else to satisfy their ego.

The funny thing is, those that take an aggressive mindset in their training find themselves prone to injury from more senior students.

Students should always show respect and be mindful of their motivations for training.

 

I certainly agree with this point. When sparring I frequently feel that my left leg is much weaker than the right - when I try kicking my opponent nearly always blocks it and when it does hit it doesn't have much impact. At home I have a very large mirror and everyday I practice side kicks very slowly. I have found since I started practicing with my left leg first that its power/height/accuracy have gradually increased and I am pleased about it.
What I really hate in TKD is knowing or thinking that I can't do a basic move.

 

I think one of the big problems people have when they first start sparring, is that they worry to much about the technique being exact, they never actually get the move out. I recon to start with you just need to get in there, and as you get more used to it the technique comes along as well. Another mistake in sparring is also forgetting to move, is people learn to move from the begining, they become much quicker at getting the move in and getting out of the way.

1st Dan black belt

 

Oldie,

I am sorry to hear that your experience was so scary. I think that perhaps respect was not a large part of your training. I spar often and sometimes it gets a bit rough but we never are trying to hurt eachother. When I train for competition it gets more aggressive. I am only a Blue/ red belt so I am not at your level yet though. Most of my bumps and bruises come from working on self defense techniques.

Good job on your test...

 

I have to say that I have been injured a few too many times and have witnessed some appalling injuries in TKD training. To me anything that prevents me from regular training is something that has to be avoided at all costs and that includes injuries.
Its just common sense not to hurt your partner else next time he may not be there for you to spar with or practice your self defense moves.

 

UK,

You are right on. Tenants of TKD are courtesy first, then integrity, and perserverence...and lets not forget the whole self-control thing. In my opinion if your not learning respect, then your not learning TKD, your learning how to beat on other people. I am thankful that I train at a dojang that teaches respect. Theres a lot more fun to be had when you are respecting your sparring partner.