This is probably a weird, specific thing, but I found out recently that my former taekwondo teacher was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls during a competition. The news said he was cuddling them, manipulating them, etc. (I also knew those girls, they were really sweet and corrected my poomsae a lot) Now I’m rethinking my 7 years of being inside that dojo. I quit just because of his conviction because I suddenly felt unsafe, but it seems that all the parents that sent their kids in that dojo thinks it’s all fake. Perhaps I’m being dramatic because he got convicted, maybe it wasn’t even true. But all I know is he’s able to still teach kids which makes me cautious.

I feel like I’ve seen this question posted before but I cannot find an answer.

Is there a webpage, book, or document that lists the actual Kukkiwon requirements for the various Dan ranks? I see on the Kukkiwon website they have some requirements for high Dans. What about all the other ones?

Thanks!

Sorry, just a rant and sharing an experience.

Been with my current ITF TKD club (in the UK) for 2.5 years now (been doing Karate and TKD on and off for 30 years), the latest grading we had just took the absolute biscuit for me, a young person, probably around 13-14 years old who did not answer any of their theory questions (except the meaning of red belt), had to ask for guidance for all 5 three-step sparring techniques (running out of time before any two-step could be done), messed up a number of their patterns, including the grading one for Toi Gye by doing one rotation too many (for stomping/W-shaped block), as well as not using the correct stances, also not saying, "Toi Gye" once the pattern finished. Furthermore, their speed/power when doing the pattern are on 0.5x level, there looks to be absolutely zero enthusiasm, it seemed like they were just going through the motions. They got awarded their red belt yesterday.

Since coming back, in the 2.5 years I've been at this club, not one person has 'failed' (for want of a better word) their grading, but yesterday was the first time that I saw I could just turn up to get the next belt. What happened to discipline, hard work, being ready for a grading; I know it's a new world compared to the 80/90s when I experienced what felt like true martial arts- maybe my true martial arts was taking the biscuit for someone who did it in the 50/60s.

For old timers, like me you might remember a differrent style of tkd, slightly more power, just as much speed, but more 'proper' techniquest rather than focusing on olympic style 'taps'.

Any question for me is, given how much the sport has shifted, why don't we come to see power kickers appear in the ranks. I'm talking like get a rugged muay thai guy and the guy just stands still and belts out 100% power kicks all day.

Imagine blue is up on points maybe 8-0 but they have copped about 8 full power shots to the body. Elbows bruised and butt, thighs and back and just hammered. You're not trying any spin moves anymore and your leg is numb so you've lost so much speed and it's only 1 round in. The other person is down on point but they are fresh as a daisy and obviously conditioned for the light taps you are sending out.

Thoughts?

Hello everyone!

So I recently moved to another city because of university and have started to practise Kyokushin. Before that in my hometown I practised under a WT dojang up to half green belt but left due to them becoming more point fighting focused. After that I practise Shotokan for up to orange belt until the school closed and finaly I did Tang Soo Do up to also orange belt (which for them is the 5th belt compared to other styles) until I saw that I passed in a university outside my hometown (my luck with dojos isn't the best).

Why am I telling you that tho? Well you see although I will continue to stay in the town I am in order to finish university, I will be moving houses. You see my rent was paid by my grandma who now due to her having to do chemotherapy will as natural stop paying my rent to cover her treament (we are also helping with that of course). But my parents don't have enough money to pay for said rent. Which is why I will be staying with my cousin who also studies here (we found a big enough and in a good price house for both of us whose rent will be paid one half by mine and one half by his parents). That house tho is too far from the Kyokushin dojo. Buuut there is in ITF dojang very close which I am considering. And I have a few questions:

1. How much more different is it from the other styles I have done (kyokushin not included)?

2. If. And I say IF! The other styles I mentioned have a close relation to ITF does that mean I will be keeping my belt? I don't really care since my previous Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan belts were the first two belts and I would like to revisite the material and techniques of those belts. But my cousin when he left for studies was a brown belt in Tang Soo Do (he started way before me). So I am more so asking for him since it would be a shame to start again (he will join whether if I will or not).

3. Finally! Any tip to give me going into ITF? Anything is fine!

Thank you all for your time and sorry for my mumbling!

My child recently started taekwondo, they are 7. They are enrolled in an NMAA gym and so far they have loved the experience. We are about two months in to a six month commitment. We are currently paying $100/ month for two 30 minute sessions a week. She’s also up for a graduation to a new belt which will cost $50.

Here’s the kicker and where I’ve become concerned, they want to advance her to the leadership program which means more money and longer commitment. Here are our options:

12 month commitment for $175 down and then $175/month or a pay in advance of $2100 for a discount. We get up to four 45 minute sessions/week.

36 month commitment for $150 down and then $150/month or pay 12 months in advance for $1800. Same sessions available just a longer commitment.

We can also pay all three years in advance but I’m not doing that for a 7 year old.

Gear would cost us an additional $410 and each new belt would be $50.

We have been here a short time, I’m completely unfamiliar with the world of Taekwondo, and I’m just looking for advice. We live in a bigger city in the southeast US, but not a crazy cost of living area. I looked at some posts about people with similar concerns but they seemed too old to rely on pricing info from 5-8 years ago. Should I be concerned about this place or is this typical pricing? The FAQ said be wary of long commitment times.

I've trained a few different martial arts in a few different schools. It's been about 50/50 whether the school has music playing during training.

There are times where it helps me find my rhythm, but more often than not I personally find it gets in the way. I think the rhythm of the uniforms popping, pads getting hit, breathing and kiyhaps. That's the music of TKD for me. Additional music on top tends to muddy things, make it harder to hear, become a distraction.

I'm curious what others think and prefer. I'd love to hear thoughts and experiences on how music running during class has either helped or hindered your progress.

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I’ve been doing taekwondo for 4-5 years now. I’m an adult in my early 40s and on course to grade for my black belt this coming year but am finding the pressures and expectations from the instructor to be bordering on extreme. He says I need to be in class 3-4 times per week to train, has added additional tests to the standard ITF black belt syllabus, and told me that preparing for this grading should be my primary focus for the next 6 months. I get the need to train hard but as someone who has a job, kids and a life, I’m finding that this approach is actively dampening my once passion and interest in taekwondo. Is this a normal way to act?

So I have recently hit my black belt and I had to pay 400 aud(Australian dollars) and now I am going for my grading for my first poom dan that is kukkiwon certified and I have to pay 500 aud so I want to know if my dojo is scamming me or is this just regular prices?

If you have anything you want to celebrate with the r/Taekwondo community - here's your chance.

Link to any pictures or videos of you doing cool things, or with cool people or whatever. Publicly shout about your shiny new belt or grade. Share competition clips without asking for feedback, just saying "look how well I did!".

We'd love to celebrate with you, but please keep them to these Kudos threads!

Hello, I was wondering if anyone can shed light on ITF headquarters Korea and if it’s the lead dictating organization on ITF style Taekwon-do?

I’m thinking of becoming a member and paying the organization fee because I want to earn rank in ITF and compete in some ITF style tournaments. Does anyone have any experience in this area or advice?

I come from a Olympic Kukkiwon taekwondo background and Tang Soo do.

Hello I'm in a Taekwondo school in France and I'm a bitt puzzled that from white belt we have to know most of the techniques names and stances in Korean. At first it looked logical, as we do in all Japanese martial arts. But I start to get more and more confused as we simply cannot follow and know what to do if we don't learn those complicated and totally different language, and it's really a problem for belt tests, as we have no idea what techniques they ask and then we do wrong or we don't do and loose points in the exam.

Also, I followed an uncountable number of very decent Taekwondo schools in YouTube and they NEVER say the Korean names. They can know the names but they don't use it so much.

The masters of my academy practice since before 1980 so maybe they want to keep the traditions but I don't see it anywhere else, so it really feel like a chore to learn...

Started TKD this year and have my yellow belt. I'm under TAGB so it's 8th kup. I was thinking of starting a podcast for TAGB students. I'm wondering if there would be interest? Thinking of it as a learning aid for each belt. Talk about the patterns, the words you need to know. It something that I'm hoping may be a learning aid, listen in the car or wherever to help theory for testing. Any thoughts? Is it a stupid idea?

Regardless of effectiveness in competition or real life situation. What do you guys think is the most visually appealing/flashiest/coolest kick in taekwondo?

Hey guys, who are some high level players that I can look up online and watch? Also any good documentaries or movies/vlogs about taekwondo you could recommend? Thanks :)

Recently got 1° Dan, i need tips for anything like how to be more elastic, tips for kicks or techniques, etc.

Anything counts

I'm not new to tkd, doing since 10+yrs but mostly in poomsae, competed a few in cadet and spar weekly but nothing serious, but now I want to do fights full time, so my questions that will my height be a huge issue for me,

it's 5.6 and half and compete in under 58 Kg if that helps. Thanks in advance

edit I'm a male

Any good easy kicking combinations for sparring a higher belt rank I am a red belt and I started sparring few months ago.

So for context I just started taekwondo this summer and I am loving it but the belt testing is happening this week. Don't know if this is done somewhere else but where I am from we have pre-tests to see if we qualify to take the actual final test which is this up and coming weekend but I don't know if I want to continue taking the test. I just finished taking one of three pre-tests and I don't think the me participating in the test costs but I'm not sure. I also just started high school and have to study for some final exams before winter break starts. I joined taekwondo because I wanted to participate in some sport that I found fun, exciting and get some sort of movement done but not for the test which is making me stressed on top of the finals at school. My question is should I/do I have to continue with the testing or should I wait until I'm ready to take it?

Anyone got any tips on calming my nerves during grading? Practiced like crazy because I know I am not very good at practical exams. Felt like I've tried everything, taking a deep breath, closing my eyes at the beginning. Then it was time to do my patterns and then: complete panic and blank, had to repeat a couple of times. Felt more comfortable doing it whilst the other people in the grading had finished their patterns. Got there eventually though.

If you have anything you want to celebrate with the r/Taekwondo community - here's your chance.

Link to any pictures or videos of you doing cool things, or with cool people or whatever. Publicly shout about your shiny new belt or grade. Share competition clips without asking for feedback, just saying "look how well I did!".

We'd love to celebrate with you, but please keep them to these Kudos threads!

Got my 4th dan yesterday and im so happy 😭😭😭 in the past its taken up to 10 months to get my kukkiwon dan certificates in the mail, is that still the typical turnaround time for north America? I got my 3rd dan 8 years ago so im not sure if its changed since then.

I've been to multiple different schools within the past year alone and what I'm seeing is a difference in how they let their students know what to learn and expect for their testing. For example one school had their curriculum posted on their walls kind of like a poster so every student knew what to work on. One of the schools I am going to presently has every belt color including 3rd Dan doing the same workouts and rarely 1 on 1 time to work on what you need to learn for your belt like forms. Which is odd because then you have a 1 year green or blue belt that doesn't know their new form or the previous form cause they haven't done it during class in a very long time.

So how do you let your students know what they need to learn and what do you look for them to know if you don't lay out the curriculum for every belt?

Couple of months back there was an infographic that had floated around indicating how many splinter groups the ITF had fractured into. Anybody have that saved randomly?

Is it normal for someone who does taekwondo to want to get hurt or be in pain when they haven't been in awhile? I'm worried that it might not be and I'm worried about my friend.

I see many posts about sparring advice, but I believe asking for distinct tips, especially on Reddit, on the nuances of what you're doing isn't effective. The best way to improve is through school, repetition, and real-time guidance from your instructor. That said, here are three unconventional ways to enhance your sparring outside of class:

1. Plyometrics and Explosive Training. Many (99%) fighters I see posting their videos lack explosiveness, especially for key moves like the roundhouse kick. Improving your chambering is critical—treat it like a sprinter's start off the blocks, same concept, your roundhouse, axe kick, should be shooting out with the explosiveness of a sprinter pushing off the blocks for a hundred meter dash but most of the time you don't see that. Consider speed and plyometric training sessions offered for other sports. My son does them for soccer at $30–$40 per class, they can provide a solid foundation, potentially offering better returns than some regular Taekwondo sessions. I would even say taking these classes in replacement of some TKD classes might be a better ROI than going to TKD classes in terms of sparring enhancement.
2. Watch a lot of Olympic and National level fighters (in person or Youtube). Training with elite fighters is ideal, but realistically many of you aren't training with national team members or Olympians, but watching videos of top-level athletes and study their flow. Mimicking their optimized techniques will benefit you far more than copying average dojo peers. Video tape what you do and compare their mannerisms compared to yours, eventually you'll start adapating the flow of an elite level fighter.
3. Run, run, and run some more. Ideally anaerobic sprint training is best but even establishing a base by running 3–4 times weekly for 30 minutes. Even aerobic running sets you apart by improving endurance. Once this foundation is built, explore anaerobic sprint training or specialized classes to enhance stamina further.

My 7th Dan instructor gave me the okay but I still feel like I could use improvement any tips?

I'm having a hard time doing a 540, either i fall down face-first or i just can't jump high enough to do the kick and stick the landing.