r/taekwondo

I started noticing this trend of doing competitions where ALL kicks in a poomsae are now as high as possible. Of course you want to demonstrate how good your kick is, but it seems like they are all becoming ap-chagui EXTREME HIGH, dolio EXTREME HIGH, etc. than different types of kicks at the correct original heights.

I do understand many kicks are aimed at the head. I just don't understand the point of exaggerating the height. Mind you I train TKD since 2008, and competed many, many times. I haven't competed in 10 years tho, but do watch the world championships.

TKD doesn’t formally have low-kicks but it does exist of course. What are your observations regarding these techniques? Personally, I've been trying to teach myself and use these the last few years and now add them in my new Kickboxing school. I really reccomend Master Jeong's book, Taekwondo Application, wherein he covers this and other lesser known TKD topics like elbows and knees which appear in Poomsae.

So, I want to please, hear about your annectdotes, e.g., I Spinning Hook Kicked an opponent like Andy Hugg and they said it hurt, or I low side-kicked and nothing happened. Are there any modifications you need make? E.g., In the aforementioned TKD book, I've read kick upwards on inside low-kicks with the lead leg to their front leg and down on the front with your back leg.

Examples: Roundhouse, Spinning Hook, Calf Kicks, Back Kick, Jumping Back Kick, Crescent kick and more.

I genuinely don't know why but I still struggle with side kicks as someone who is black belt first dan and its a lil embarrassing..

I am a red belt with 2.5 years experience in TKD and 3 years in karate. Recently, I was partnered up with a third dan who has 16 years of experience. I'd like to continue working with her because I like the challenge, but I'm thinking of ways to up my game to keep things interesting for her.

For those of you with experience sparring those of higher rank, what mindset do you go in with? Do you have any tips or tricks for the occasion? Maybe a victory story to share?

Hello!

I am a 41yr old female who has been doing Taekwondo for about 5 months and am a yellow belt. Back in Sept, I was diagnosed with BPPV (Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo), which is basically the version of vertigo that involves ear crystals being knocked out of place causing equilibrium offbalanses and extreme dizziness. I did PT and was able to get the ear crystals back in place, but I was told that a crystal can get knocked out again at any point, in which case I would have to go back to PT to have it put back (I know, it's a crazy concept lol).

Long story short, the last few classes we have been focusing on back kicks, and as you all know a back kick involves a bit of spinning your head around. I think doing this knocked a crystal out of place and re-triggered my vertigo. I immediately got very dizzy and almost fell over and felt like I had to puke the first time it happened, and it took me a few days to recover from it. Last night before my class, I told the instructor that I had vertigo and did not think I would be able to do back kicks at the moment b/c of the spinning, and he kinda dismissed what I said and told me that I was dizzy because I was "doing it wrong" and that if done correctly a back kick should not induce dizziness. Since i've only been doing TKD for 5 months, I decided to trust him and we ended up focusing the entire class on back kicks. Well, at the end of the class I was so dizzy that I almost passed out :(

My question is - is there anyone out there who has been able to continue w/ Taekwondo with BPPV? If so, how did you do it? I really want to stick with it, but I also need to listen to my body and not put myself in a situation where I am constantly retriggering my BPPV, as it impacts other aspects of my life when it is triggered.

I am also a little disappointed in my instructor, as it came across like he thought I was trying to get out of doing back kicks because I simply didn't like them, rather than having a legit medical condition that made them difficult to do. I know that as I get higher in belts that most kicks start including more spins, so I am worried that I won't be able to progress if any spinning triggers my BPPV.

Thank you for any and all advice!

I’ve searched YouTube high and low but all I can find is regular spinning heel kick tutorials, which is a kick I don’t have a problem with.

I’m testing for my red belt in 3 months and no matter how patiently my master breaks it down, I just cannot get this kick and I’m becoming very frustrated as it’s the only one of the extension kicks (I’m being testing on front, round, side, back, hook, spinning heel) that I can’t grasp the mechanics of. Any and all (actually helpful!!!) advice is graciously welcomed.

A few years ago (around 2019), I trained in standard WT Taekwondo for about a year. During that time, I was doing almost 6 hours of private lessons per week, and I felt like I improved a lot.

Now I’m thinking about getting back into Taekwondo, but I currently live in a different city, so the available schools are different from what I had before.

I found a Chang Moo Kwan Taekwondo school with a Kukkiwon-certified instructor.

Has anyone here trained in Chang Moo Kwan before? What are the main differences compared to regular WT Taekwondo?

Also, do you have any advice for someone returning to training after being away for several years?

What’s everyone’s favorite dobok brand? And do you prefer your dobok fitted or baggy? Just curious!

Judging by the forms he’s learning it’s WT style.

I do BJJ these days but feel nostalgic for TKD since I started martial arts with ATA as a kid/teen earning my 2nd degree about 30 years ago. I’m just excited about him getting started so thought I’d share it here. I’d like to get in there with him but don’t want to be the one weird adult in the class. I’ll just do kicks at home. Lol

I'm just curious if practitioners are willing to share any interesting training curriculum or methodologies that they do at their dojang.

For context, at my current dojang, we're a Kukki accredited club and we are associated with the Korean Taekwondo Moo Duk Kwan. During our training sessions, we implement Kyuk Too Ki (kickboxing) training methodologies weaved into our basic techniques (especially for punching techniques). For example, on the heavy bags, our combinations are pretty close to kickboxing except we add a lot of spinning techniques into the combinations. Such as jab, cross, switch kick, slide out, tornado kick. Or jab, cross, hook, rear leg low kick into jumping spinning back kick. Then on the paddles it would be purely WT specific sparring techniques like cutting, cut cancelling, clinch work, cover punching etc.

The only thing we dont do is any form of hosinsul or any form of hanbon kyorugi as my master is a specialist in K1 and WT sparring. Not that he has an issue with self defence but he believes pressure testing through the use of basic techniques against moving opponents probably translates better in real life than a compliant partner doing a series of self defence techniques. However we still do taeguk poomse as part of curriculum.

In some sessions, we do olympic style sparring and the following round we trade our hand protectors for 16 oz gloves and move to a modified K1 ruleset (no low kicks). We still have our hogus (in the interest of time) but we have more agency to trade blows, and stand and bang. It really challenges us as students to adapt to these situations and get us comfortable of using both our hands and feet.

I know some ITF dojangs do something similar to us but im wondering if any WT dojangs do this.

What does your dojang do?

My feet are currently hurting, blistered, and cut up from sparring on the gym floor last night. We unfortunately rent a spot that doesn't have mats.

The problem last night was we had to wear our foot protectors. The bands that wrap around them dig into my feet and the bottom of my feet are exposed. Can anyone recommend regulation foot protection with more coverage for the bottom of the feet?

During regular practice, I wear old school Kung Fu shoes, but they are a bit slippery. Any recommendations for lightweight, affordable women's martial arts shoes with good traction?

Thank you! :)

Hey everyone! My son started TKD about two years ago, and I joined him about a year ago. We both love it. It has been great for my physical and mental health, and it has also been awesome watching my son grow and challenge himself.

We train at a small, family-owned dojang, which is a big part of why we like it so much. It does not feel like a money-making business. It feels focused on the kids, their development, discipline, respect, and confidence.

Overall, I think their belt testing process is very professional. In the weeks leading up to testing, they pull students aside and run them through portions of the test to make sure their kicks, forms, knowledge, and overall readiness are where they need to be. If they are ready, they receive a testing form for the student, parent, and teacher to complete, covering things like courtesy, respect, behavior, and effort.

My only concern is with testing day itself. Once testing starts and students step onto the floor, there are no water breaks until testing is completely finished. I understand the importance of conditioning, discipline, and resilience, and I do not think it affects the kids as much. However, as an adult in my 30s and around 230 pounds, after two hours of testing I am definitely feeling dehydrated, no matter how much I hydrate the day before or that morning.

Is this common in TKD or martial arts testing? This is our only experience with the sport, so I am just trying to get some perspective.

Hello!

I started Taekwondo in about december 2024. Started at an ATA dojang, but I didn't last as it wasnt a very good place and they had me do a switch spin jumping back kick (unsure of the name) with barely any prior knowledge of basic kicks and techniques - but I digress, that's just me still appalled they had me do that so early.

Either way, thankfully it was a minor fracture, I healed well, and found an ITF dojang which I loved.

Unfortunately this year I had to switch jobs due to my previous company downsizing and essentially imposing schedules on me which would prevent me from training. I thankfully found a much better company, but I was hit with a lot of unexpected bills and was set back and was unable to train for a few months, during which I've been working very hard and long days and have been doing very little in the way of exercising. I've kept in touch with my instructor and it's looking like I'll be able to return to training in the next couple months!

My question here is, as I mentioned, I'm incredibly out of shape. I'm worried I'll instantly get short of breath right on warmup. Since I still have some time before I can afford to comfortably pay the club where the dojang is located's monthly fees, I'd like some tips on what I can do to get back into shape in some capacity.

Of course once I get back into training that'll be best, but I'd like to not keel over during warmup at least 😅

I did talk with my instructor about this as well, he recommended I practice my tul every day as well as pushups and sit-ups/crunches. But if anyone has any more input I'll be more than thankful to hear it. I'm mainly limited to home stuff, but I have pushup bars and two 8.8lb weights (4kg, I'm not in the US, had to convert).

Thank you in advance to anyone who gives me additional tips and/or support!

Hi guys, so im a yellow belt (19F) and have my first taekwondo tournament on Saturday. I’m actually very anxious and a little scared because I haven’t sparred without anyone outside of the people in my club. I know how to do front, side, middle, cut and drop kicks. I think I block fairly well unless it’s a head kick which I tend to get panicked by. Are there any tips or stuff I could do this week to better my chances?? I know there’s a high chance I’ll lose but my coach keeps telling me I need to start competing otherwise I won’t make any progress.

Edit: also my flexibility isn’t crazy good so I can only kick upto my coaches shoulder (he’s around 5’8~5’9) so if I get an opponent with a height advantage I probably can’t do head kicks, I also struggle with balance a little and can’t do many kicks in a row without losing my balance. This is all the stuff that’s making me anxious.

At the recent event, TKD full-contact sparring (continuous) in the "Combat TaeKwonDo" style was a big part of the competition. For any TKD folks who've seen it, what do you think about the "new" full-contact, continuous sparring version of what appears to be Old-School TKD?

I’m wondering about some tips for taekwondo

Are you guys also competing in flag sparring?

At first, it seemed so simple and even juvenile to me, but there are some people from my school who get really into it. I thought having long limbs was the biggest advantage, but one of our best flag sparrers is a short lady with a larger build in her 40's. She's a red belt and consistently beats younger black belts in better shape.

Have you figured out any techniques? I usually keep some distance and try to wear out my partner, but I need to get aggressive enough to grab that back flag.