Avoiding Common TKD Training Mistakes

Discussion in 'Tae Kwon Do Resources' started by KickChick, Aug 19, 2003.

  1. HwaRang

    HwaRang Just don't call me flower

    patterns are a great way to practise "the art" of Tae Kwon Do, [how to move in between the moves (to paraphrase sting)]. but usually the patterns happen mostly in your head.
    next time you are on a long train or lying in bed or something try just thinking through all the patterns without performing them. not just memorise them but think of it automatically as one long movement without pauses (yeah i know, i know dont do that for gradings etc...).
    and most importanly - when you block or strike in your pattern just imagine somebody off the street right at you throwing a swing at you. in the middle or the class invisible/or only you can see him - block his attack and actually hit him correctly.
    once you are performing patterns like this you will get that epiphany and realise you are going through patterns start to end automatically without thinking.
    then you can work on more power or speed to the techniques
     
  2. G50

    G50 Night Owl

    I agree, I do the exact same thing for practice, I always go through patterns in my head right before I go to sleep. :)
     
  3. franksv

    franksv Valued Member

    Getting caught up in other like styles and having a huge amount of material.Then figuring out the grass is not really greener on the other side and then you are torn between styles(all of which you are fond of,but its too much to train it all everyday).I MUST hit ALL my material on a daily basis(I still do the ki chos daily),I am my own worst enemy.I hate being in the situation to let a style or two go.If I can't train my stuff like an idiot savant,I m not really training it in my mind. :bang:

    End of rant,thanks for reading,please learn from my mistake.

    Frank
     
  4. Burnsey

    Burnsey Armchair liberal

    I think that sleep is also important. You are not just more alert and less tired after a good night sleep, it helps your memory too. So practice your patterns and get lots of sleep.
     
  5. HwaRang

    HwaRang Just don't call me flower

    true, but when im suffering from insomnia i will go through all my patterns until i get sleepy or the rest of the house wakes up. ;)
     
  6. Burnsey

    Burnsey Armchair liberal

    I guess thats a good idea HwaRang. If you can't sleep doing patterns is probably the next best thing. Better be sure you warm up first though because you may need to utilise some self defense when angry tired people find who's woken them up!
     
  7. tkd-kicker96

    tkd-kicker96 New Member

    Usually when I can't sleep it's because I am thinking about patterns in my head...then i have to get up and do my patterns until I know they are right. Drives me crazy sometimes!!! :bang:
     
  8. beefytee

    beefytee New Member

    Hey guys, obviously I'm new.

    Let me break down my story then to my question, I'll try to make it quick.

    I'm 28 and started Tae Kwon Do a month ago.
    As a child/teenager I was an athlete, baseball and football. I'm undersized (5'5") but I had a natural athleticism and mechanically was always sound and strong.

    For the last 7 years or so I have been wasting away at a desk job and decided I really needed to get my body moving again.

    Now, I've been studying rigorously for a month. At class 4 or 5 times a week. I have also been running about 2 miles a day 5 to 6 times a week.

    This week, my roundhouse clicked, and all the sudden, I have a ton of power in the kick. The mechanics of the kick are stronger than the muscles in my legs.

    Now, finally my problem/question.

    Last night after class my legs hurt so much with every step that it was honestly hard to walk down the stairs and home. It was a deep ache and felt almost like a bone bruise.

    After resting for a couple of hours they were 100% better so I think I may just be over working them. I'm pretty good about stretching, especially because my hips are still very tight and my side and round kicks are only a little better than waist high.

    Questions: Has anyone else experienced this? Is this simply a fatigue issue? Is there anything in addition I should be doing? Should I be training less? Is this an issue of my mechanics outpacing my body?
     
  9. HwaRang

    HwaRang Just don't call me flower

    I get that all the time.
    If a week goes by where i haven't spent a day hobbling then i havent trained hard enough.
    If it "hurts" but more like a dull ache then dont worry, let it come and go. You get used to it, maybe even enjoy it.... :confused: well...

    EDIT: if ever you get a pain in the joints, however, calm down. joints are nasty when damaged.
     
  10. beefytee

    beefytee New Member

    That's good. It is livable, an Ibuprophein works wonders.

    My joints seem fine. My hips hurt a lot, but I'm 99% certain that is muscular and not skeletal.

    The pain is kind of like shin splints, but the whole leg
     
  11. KickChick

    KickChick Valued Member

    Well beefy this really is not a TKD training "mistake" but rather a common after training soreness.

    What you seem to have (since your pain was felt immediately after training ... is acute soreness.
    http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1999/01_99/muscle.htm


    Your legs will need to get used to the vigors of kick training in TKD.. and they will!

    Remember! -- Warming-up is an essential pre-requisite before training in Tae kwon do
     
  12. taescharnhorst

    taescharnhorst Valued Member

    Very good advice, lot's of good wisdom and informative. Thanks
     
  13. NaughtyKnight

    NaughtyKnight Has yellow fever!

    Dont worry man, that all goes away.

    I was in agony after every kick when I first started, mostly from my hip flexors.
     
  14. tkdally

    tkdally Values sillyness in life

    What I really hate

    I train at three different schools that are all part of one club. At one of them we have a group of about 5 or 6 young kids whose parents seem to use the class as a creche!!!

    They drop them off about 15mins before class starts and the kids just run riot. They run around the dojang, shrieking and trying to kick and punch eachother. The instructor tries really hard to get them to do something useful whilst they are waiting for class to start (i.e. practice their patterns or step sparring) but they don't listen and she has other things to do before class starts (collect money, talk to students that have issues, paperwork for competitions and gradings). In the end us senior grades end up acting like babysitters telling them off for kicking eachother in the head and trying to explain that they'll either hurt themselves or eachother. SOOOOO ANNOYING!!

    We'd like to spend some time before class doing extra practice but we can't because they're always running around getting in the way, it's so noisy that you can't concentrate and you have to watch them so they don't kill eachother.

    Not a week goes by where the instructor tells the kids that they need to stop doing this because it's not a playground and they should respect the dojang, but when they all get together it's like group mentality and they turn into chimps. She has now said that if they do it again she will make them sit the class out and then explain to their parents the reason why. I hope she follows through on it but somehow I doubt it.

    I think she needs to tell the parents that they have to wait with their children until the class starts. Either that or she makes them wait outside until the class starts (or tells them not to drop them off early) and any paperwork can be done at the end of class.
     
  15. KickChick

    KickChick Valued Member


    There in lies the problem ! ;)


    I suggest that your instructor has a word with the parents conveying this same sentiment. This is not a babysitting service ... this is a school. Class begins at such and such time.... please bring your children in at that time and no sooner than 5-10 minutes prior.

    Are parents able to watch their students during class? Perhaps let them for one day and see just how proper or improper their children are. Of course, their children may perhaps be angels knowing that their parents are watching ;)

    Many instructors rely on their senior students to help out in class. Try not to feel as a babysitter but rather as learning how to "teach" ... it is a good prerequisite that will either make or break you ;)

    I believe rather young children should not attend the same classes as older students.... it is far too distracting at times. Perhaps a suggestion to reclassify the classes as well?
     
  16. tkdally

    tkdally Values sillyness in life

    I am not sure it's really my place to suggest that the classes be restructured. I have explained to her that it is distracting for the older students but the children also have a right to attend the school too - that's just how it is.

    I regularly help teach classes and realise that dealing with children is part of the job but sometimes it would just be good for the children to behave!!!!!!!!

    Amazingly (or not) we had a substitute instructor tonight (he teaches another school within the club) and they were like angels. Guess they know when they can and can't get away with it. Might drop that into conversation with the regular instructor if I can.
     
  17. fc_was

    fc_was New Member

    I've made many mistakes in my training but two stick out. One I didn't even realize until I read it in a forum here. As I moved up the ranks, I practiced my ranking form until I had it down good enough to pass the test. Then I moved on to the next form. I lost a lot in my training by doing that. Now, after reading it in one of these forums, I understand what the forms teach us and practice them all equally.

    Second mistake, I learned my next forms before I was ready. They're all in the book and I can download videos of them off the internet. I spent most of my time un-learning my mistakes rather than perfecting my techniques. I learned Koryo as a yellow belt because it looks cool. My instructor saw the video on my laptop and advised me not to try it. Then later, knowing what type of person I am, said, "well, if you want to learn it you can but it will just be mindless motions for you." I learned my lesson well.
     
  18. tkdmusclerock

    tkdmusclerock New Member

    Here's my 2 cents' worth...

    Big mistakes I see (and sometimes make) in sparring class:

    -Being too aggressive with a sparring partner that's a mismatch. Especially in a smaller dojang, you will find yourself sparring with a student with lesser skill level than yours. Beat them? Absolutely. Beat them up? Nah. Also, not being aggressive enough with lesser opponents. Don't kill 'em, but don't be condescending, either. Be a good training partner. Remember, sparring class is a lesson, not a fight.

    -Not trying new techniques and strategies. The class is the right place to try new things, even if you suck at them. Work the techniques enough and you won't suck.

    -(my personal Achilles' heel) Being too tense/thinking too much. Analysis is paralysis. If you have to think very much, you're doomed. That's why we drill, drill, drill. Repetition is the mother of skill.
     
  19. neryo_tkd

    neryo_tkd Valued Member

    yes, that's why there are training sessions. i have also noticed that there are students who do all the drills in class but when the sparring starts, they use almost nothing of all those drills. big mistake. variety is important.
     
  20. shotsy

    shotsy New Member

    I just started TKD, and will test for yellow 12-9-06. Unfortunatly I have already seen many of the problems described here. We only have class 2x a week. It is a small town and you can not make a living teaching TKD. The classes are cheap and a good value for the money ($20 a month first person, $10 each add. per family/ 4 hrs a week available to train at the dojang). My biggest pet peeve is a lack of commitment by the students/parents - all but 3 students are under 16. Roughly 30 students total. The instructors are great and willing to help with questions.

    I personaly go to all classes and am often the first there and the last to leave. The majority of the kids however don't put in extra effort at class/before start of class is called especially in the lower belts. I think it is the amount of work and quality of work you put into it personally and what your goals are more than what someone elses goals are.

    There are two things that drive me big time nuts: the lack of adults to spar or team with(three bb 1 temp bb 1 brandnew wb) --bb are instructors. and the sloppiness. I have talked with and become friends with the main instructor--she is firm and fair. If they are not up to spec they do not test, however in an attempt to keep the dojang open, she feels it is necessary during normal training to let some of it slide with the very young student to keep them interested and coming back, not discouriging and making them want to quit.

    Any opinions????

    We are the only dojang for 50miles
     

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