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Hey everyone been browsing around trying to learn as much as I can about different arts. Never been one for any sort of ''Sports'' as Martial Arts are often referred to as. I had a simple question of what are some things I should be working on just starting off?

My flexibility is subpar at best I've been stretching every other day outside of my normal classes which I take about 3 days a week. I have a feeling of wanting to already be better and sometimes forget I am white belt and just started. What should I be focusing on?

I feel my flexibility is limiting my power during portions of training/even keeping up. Thank you!

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    – mattm
    Feb 14, 2017 at 20:46

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Whenever you come home from a class, be sure to practice what you remember when you get home. For this, spend no more than 5-10 minutes a day to help remember the details you were taught.

Since you mentioned "sport" taekwondo, I suggest you spend time at home also developing your flexibility. Walking, jogging, biking, jump rope - those are great activities to help get the blood going. After a few minutes of aerobic activity, practice your kicks or your forms.

From time to time, you may go through training plateaus. You'll either become bored, or feel things are too repetitive, or that you're not learning anything. This is normal, don't fight it. Take a few weeks off, and in that time, do some research on your style, or your instructor, or other styles. Change up your warm-up routines. Or read up on Korean culture - pop culture, traditional culture, customs, music, language. Then go back to class.

Most important is to listen to your instructor. Remember that there is no best style. If you trust your instructor, then train hard, and be serious about what you're doing.

In your comments about WTF and self-defense... Yes, you are right. Your style of taekwondo is called "Kukkiwon", and is the style used in the Olympics. WTF is the organization which manages competition and is the conduit for the Olympics. It is heavily sport-oriented, and typically, self-defense is not taught in most schools. The majority of self-defense which is taught is not taught well enough, and the students don't get a lot of practice with it. It is a rare school indeed which teaches good self-defense in the WTF/Kukkiwon system. That does not in any way mean the school is no good. Just know that Kukkiwon does not expect its students to have good self-defense skills: it's not part of their curriculum. They're into competition, not self-defense. As long as you know that going in, nothing to worry about.

That also doesn't mean the style is not good for self-defense (it very much is), but if you are not taught the principles of good self-defense, then what you are learning in your school will not help much. As you test, your instructor will focus on certain things, like forms, breaking, techniques, sparring, etc. But if self-defense is not practiced regularly, then, the quality of skills here won't help you much.

Having said that, let it rest. If you really want self-defense, talk to your instructor and see what is provided. If you don't care, then this is an area of taekwondo politics you don't want to get involved with. It is always the case that from someone else's perspective, taekwondo is horrible, or MMA is horrible, or muay thai is horrible, or boxing... yada-yada-yada.

Just train. Stay out of the politics, it will ruin your training if you listen to the yahoos out there. No best style, no worst style. Just good (or bad) instructors, and good (or bad) students.

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  • Thanks so much, thats very informative. Its funny how I've mostly been interested in the Japanese culture, but decided to learn TKD instead of Karate. Always loved the gracefulness of the Kicks. I'm sure in the higher level once the art is mastered it can most definitely be used as self defense, but as you said right now I'm just enjoying it thoroughly and i will definitely refrain from getting involved with the politics. Also in question to your bad instructors,my instructor is very knowledge and completes each exercise but it seems that some students there I kinda wonder how they got there
    – Trey
    Feb 14, 2017 at 21:28
  • Am I wrong to think that way? I dont necessarily assume black belt=super bad ass, just wondering what mentality should be had! Thank you again
    – Trey
    Feb 14, 2017 at 21:34
  • No - not at all! Your mentality should be to focus on what the instructor tells you to do - don't worry about what anyone else is doing. For all you know, those other students are transfer students from another school with different standards. You are right: blackbelt != bad-ass, but many people think that. Just a simple google for "crap martial arts" should settle the score LOL However, that they are black belts, you should definitely use them as a resource to help where ever you need it. They're not masters, they don't know everything, and the better ones will tell you that.
    – user6519
    Feb 14, 2017 at 21:40
  • And as anyone in any martial art style can attest to, there are some who wear a black belt and suddenly, their brains are... shall we say... "big". But by and large, those who wear the black belt have met a standard set by the school. If you trust that school, then, those students are to be commended, they worked hard to get where they are.
    – user6519
    Feb 14, 2017 at 21:42
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Work on the basic stuff- good stances, good blocks, and kicks... focus on the kick chambers especially, how to turn your feet, etc. Kick a lot, whether on a bag or in the air- make each kick have a chamber-extension-& retraction. You said you're stretching already- give it some time, you'll be surprised with your progress. Fair warning- this stuff can be addictive! What type of TKD are you studying (if you're not sure, have you started learning a form/hyung yet)? Welcome aboard!

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  • Thank you so much! Still having a bit of trouble processing all the different types of kicks and their Intentions I asked my instructor recently, I'm learning WTF, which I was kinda worried as I hear alot about TKD not being effective in Self defense. Is that a common misconception? Compared to other arts like Jiu-Jitsu or Boxing it may not have much effect but its so addicting like you said! Defintely glad I signed up.
    – Trey
    Feb 14, 2017 at 20:15
  • Also have been learning forms, my instructor has taught me the main white belt form up to the highest step which I believe is up to 16 steps? And ive begun learning the yellow belt form which encorporates the Front Snap kick between punches..I learn fast is my only saving grace but flexibility sucks lol!
    – Trey
    Feb 14, 2017 at 20:17
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    Sounds familiar! :) If you're doing WTF I am guessing you are learning the Tae Guk forms. Our school is an ITF school so we learn a different set of forms but our black belts have been learning the Tae Guks, too, for growth. I like them but probably won't be much in the way of help since I'm just learning them myself. As to effectiveness in self defense, I hope I never have to find out. We work combos for defense, designed to quickly disable or control, which is different than sparring. I definitely feel more secure or confident that I could fight off a bad guy, & I genuinely love what we do.
    – ksp08
    Feb 14, 2017 at 20:55
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You should be able to identify additional exercises to complement your specific training needs as your training progresses.

You've already identified that your flexibility is something you'd like to focus on. Therefore, on days where you're not training in class, you should focus on improving your flexibility.

As your training progresses you, or your instructors, may identify additional areas to focus on, and you can incorporate these into non-class days.

As absolute basics, cardio and strength training should be considered if you're not training with high-frequency. (I'd personally recommend getting a kettle-bell and doing some HIIT work (High-intensity interval training)).

For example, if you go to class 3 times a week, I would therefore expect that on at least 1-2 more days of the week that you're working towards your overall fitness (or on a specific area), so that all the hard work you're putting in isn't lost. Personally, a day of stretching is a great option.

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