Taekwondo Fever

Black belts from the school of Chung Do Kwon hang out near High Street in downtown Morgantown, W.V.

Do you have Taekwondo fever? I know I do. After starting Taekwondo in January 2011, I have caught the addiction. But that’s not just because I like learning how to deal some serious damage. A lot of it is because of the people I have come to know.

Chung Do Kwon black belts pose for a group picture near Sunnyside in downtown Morgantown.

On extremely rare occasions, certain people I have met in my life have caught my attention as people deserving the highest respect. When I started Taekwondo last winter, I got the chance to work with the largest group of people ever to strike me as so full of character and completely deserving of that respect… And not just because they can kick my ass.

These people- many of the black belt instructors of Chung Do Kwon- are my teachers and my friends. They make the sport of Taekwondo about more than just learning martial arts. They are always there to welcome questions, concerns, and always ready to offer instruction on the side. Even beyond that, they accept everyone no matter what and make them feel part of something engaging, challenging and fun.

Then there are the people I started out with. Who have been learning with me since day one, witnessing all my successes and failures, laughing with me at one of my awkward learning moments or one of theirs, and supporting me during times of injury or frustration. These people have come to be my closest friends, The Scarlet Ladies (as is our current nickname denoting our current belt rank), and we fully intend on making the journey to black together, whatever it takes.

Michelle Taylor, a fierce young woman and proud Scarlet Lady, playfully pretends to fight a white belt student before a belt test in Stansbury Hall.

I feel a need to address a few martial arts instructors out there who believe martial arts is strictly for learning how to fight. A certain black belt at serpentstaff seemed to think that martial arts isn’t playtime. Maybe kids’ classes need serious structure, but for me, martial arts IS playtime, as it is for just about everyone at Chung Do Kwon. That doesn’t mean we goof around the whole time and get nothing done. It means that it is a positive, supportive atmosphere where everyone enjoys the activity as a group. I don’t consider Taekwondo a class, so much as a way to take a break from life with good friends through a challenging and fun learning experience.

I sincerely hope that other schools have the same kind of supportive atmosphere that allows for connections to be made and friendships forged. Otherwise, it’s an activity with only the mildest enjoyment. For anyone seeking a school to learn Taekwondo, I highly recommend Chung Do Kwon. If these schools are too far away from you, consider asking a potential school to try out several classes to get a feel for the way they are run. If it seems a bit militaristic or strict, it may be well worth it to try somewhere else. Trust me, I’m spoiled and could never settle for less than what I have now.

Taekwondo Supplement- Martial Arts Fitness

Taekwondo is a great martial art to learn, but often the focus on technique and skill doesn’t allow much time for physical conditioning, which is very important for practicing martial arts. At WVU, students can take martial arts fitness, a class devoted to conditioning your body specifically for martial arts.

Martial Arts Fitness involves a number of approaches to fitness that defines your workout around the practice of martial arts.

Punching Bags

Throwing a punch is not something that comes naturally. Just because you lift weights and have bulging arm muscles does not mean you can punch harder than someone smaller and less fit than you. Actually, a correctly executed punch draws power from the body’s core and shoulders, with your arm as the delivery device for that power. If you regularly practice on a punching bag, you can work on technique in addition to strengthening the muscles that actually do all the work when it comes time to punch someone in a fight. For examples of different punches to try on a punching bag, check this out.

Handheld Padded Kicking Targets

Image from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/heavy-bag-workout.html

It’s quite satisfying to kick a target held by a partner and hear the resulting POW that tells you that you got it right. There are a number of kicks you can practice on these targets, including, but not limited to, roundhouse, jumping roundhouse, wheel kick, jumping wheel kick, tornado roundhouse, fancy roundhouse, side kick, back kick, jumping back kick, check kick, double kicks, combo kicks, and more. Of course, the fitness element comes from practicing drills that involve numerous kicks done in quick succession, one after another after another. Kicking targets are also great if you want to slow it down and work on your technique.

Core Exercises

The body’s powerhouse is the core, and is especially important in martial arts. In martial arts fitness, doing exercises that target your abs is strongly encouraged. One example of a good core exercise is to lie down on your side, then repeatedly bring your elbow up to your hip. It’s a lot like a sit-up, but on your side instead of on your back.

All of these are a good place to start when it comes to training to practice martial arts. Just be careful to have an instructor or experienced individual help you out if you’re new to this kind of workout. It is too easy to hurt yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Taekwondo Supplement- Yoga

Yoga for Fitness is a class offered at WVU, and taught by the same man who teaches Taekwondo. This is no coincidence. As it turns out, yoga can give anyone studying martial arts a huge advantage. In fact, many educational systems are not only embracing yoga, but also starting an initiative to insert yoga into physical education programs for all age levels across the country. You can learn more about the initiative at yogabasics.com.

Image from http://deserthorseyoga.com/blog/

Yesterday in Taekwondo practice, I approached one of the assistant instructors, complaining about a hip issue that I’ve had off and on since starting Taekwondo. His solution? A number of yoga poses.

He introduced me to some basic tree poses, including the pose in the picture to the left. I’m no yoga expert, but I definitely could feel the stretch right where I needed it.

I’ve talked before about the importance of stretching and flexibility in martial arts, and yoga seems to be a great way to attain a high level of flexibility. It’s no wonder that head instructor Tony Artice recommends it so highly to his students.

One of those students, WVU senior Sabrina Mcauley, has had a taste of both worlds. She took Yoga for Fitness and Taekwondo together under the tutelage of Tony Artice.

“It really helps you learn how to control your breathing,” said Mcauley. “It’s a good pre-exercise to go before a more intense workout like Taekwondo.”

London Olympics Changing the Rules

From http://fights-caught-on-tape.com/Taekwondo_photo1.html

According to sportsillustrated.cnn.com, the London Olympics should have fewer knockouts this year in the Taekwondo competition. That’s because the Olympics has decided that for the safety of the competitors, all kicks to the head can now earn points simply by connecting a foot to an opponent’s head, no force necessary.

While a loss of consciousness is certainly undesirable, there are mixed feelings about the new rule. It is a point of pride to be able to say that you knocked someone out with a flying kick to your opponent’s head.

And, according to a study by Konstantinos Beis and George Abatzides of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki located in Greece, a knockout only occurs 8-10 times out of 1,000 fights. Of those knockouts, 46% had to be admitted to a hospital. However, injuries suffered were all short-term in nature and had no long-term consequences for the fighters.

If knockouts are so rare and have no long-term consequences, why should Olympic-level fighters be encouraged to hold back? Taekwondo masters everywhere must be shaking their heads in shame. Taekwondo is a fighting sport! If you don’t do full-force, you lower the sport into little more than a dance with irrelevant safety pads as the costume.

Tournament Victories!

On St. Patrick’s Day this past weekend, many of WVU’s students were partying way too hard and getting themselves in trouble.

Others were kicking ass and winning awards in a Taekwondo tournament in Maryland. You can learn more at the AAU’s Maryland website here.

Vlad Jean-Philippe and Sean Eye strap on safety pads in preparation for the sparring portion of the competition.

Vlad Jean-Philippe and Sean Eye, both black belts, were two of WVU’s representing competitors. The tournament took place in Waldorf, Maryland, and consisted of competitors from all around the region. At least eight other students from the Morgantown branch of the Chung Do Kwon School competed.

Jean-Philippe and Eye are both black belt instructors within the Taekwondo School of Chung Do Kwon, with locations around the northeast including Washington, D.C. and Morgantown, W.V.

Eye placed 1st and Jean-Philippe placed 2nd in their division. The tournament was a regional qualifier, which represents one step toward the national tournament. Eye and Jean-Philippe can now qualify for the next leg of the Amateur Athletic Union’s (or AAU’s) competition.

Sean Eye, Vlad Jean-Philippe and Bryan Lake hang out between events.

Bruce Lee- Actor, Not Badass

Bruce Lee is known as a martial artist famous for his roles in several Kung Fu movies. You can see a list of movies he has starred in at imdb.com.

However, Grand Master Choi, the father of Taekwondo schools in the U.S. and head instructor of a number of sister schools, including the school in Morgantown, W.V., has had some experience with Bruce Lee’s career.

Grand Master Choi once sparred with Bruce Lee, an experience he didn’t remember very well because Lee’s fighting style did not make much of an impression on him. Two years later, when Bruce Lee first became famous, one of Choi’s students had to remind him that he once sparred with the movie star.

Grand Master Choi’s teacher, Grand Master Lee, the man who was the founder of Taekwondo, arranged for Bruce Lee to have lessons with one of Grand Master Choi’s high ranking students, JunRhee. However, these lessons were not meant to teach Lee Taekwondo, but instead to teach him enough moves to make it appear as though he was a master of Taekwondo.

It is clear then that while Lee had some experience learning martial arts, he should not be considered one of the greatest martial artists ever to have been on or off screen. He simply learned enough for the movies, and should be recognized more for his weight lifting ability rather than his abilities in martial arts.

Still not a Badass- Chuck Norris

Grand Master Choi was an 8th degree black belt in 1968 when he came all the way from Korea to bring the martial art of Taekwondo to the U.S. His first studio was in California, where he taught Chuck Norris back when he was a low-ranking student.

Chuck Norris fans, prepare to be offended. Grand Master Choi introduced an effective kick to martial arts, known as a wheel kick, which is a 360 degree kick usually aimed at an opponent’s head or torso. According to one of Grand Master Choi’s highest ranking students, Chuck Norris was not flexible enough to master this kick. See a youtube video here.

Instead, Norris’ attempt at a wheel kick resulted in a quasi-wheel that did not make a full rotation. Apparently, he didn’t want to admit to his lack of skill, and claimed to have “invented” a new kick, one that is similar to a crescent kick.

Unfortunately, martial arts seems to have a tendency to make some people feel the need to develop a big reputation, regardless of the self-appreciative fluff needed to build it up.

 

Chuck Norris- Sorry, Not A Badass

This is the part where I get swarmed by angry Chuck Norris fans.

Last week, I introduced some basic information about Chuck Norris’ fame from his movies and martial arts skills. However, it turns out his fame has largely kept the martial arts community too star-struck to notice his lack of skill. You can see one of his many biographies speaking loudly of his many “accomplishments” via the United Kingdom’s biography channel website here.

Sixth-Degree black belt XXXX, who wished to remain anonymous and therefore free of the swarms of loyal Chuck Norris fans who might hunt him down as the result of sharing what he knows, said he once witnessed with his own eyes how Chuck Norris lost to a worthier foe during a tournament, but his arm was raised in victory anyhow just because of his movie-star status.

There is no doubt that Chuck Norris is an accomplished man- don’t get me wrong. But he is not actually a very good fighter.

XXXX said, “He’s a big mouth. Really in martial arts he’s a big fake.”

No doubt this comes from the fact that while Chuck Norris may be talented at scoring points in a tournament, perhaps even one of the best at scoring points, he cannot actually fight full contact very well, according to XXXX.

This means that while he may be skilled at landing blows on opponents in all the right places during tournaments to maximize point winnings, these blows count for almost nothing. It might as well be a martial arts-style pilllow fight for all the force and power he can place behind his kicks and punches. To claim that you are a truely good full-contact fighter in martial arts, you have to put real power behind every move. This is not Chuck Norris’ forte.

As for all his black belts in multiple martial arts, once again there is a need to be disappointed. Some were “honorary,” meaning that he didn’t spend all the time and patience learning the martial art to achieve true mastery of it. They were basically given to him.

While Chuck Norris might be a disappointment in the full-contact area of martial arts, XXXX pointed out that some stars have actually earned their stripes when it comes to real fighting. He complimented martial artists such as Jet Lee, Stephen Vick and Ginny the Jet.

Who in Their Right Mind Would Cross Chuck Norris? Slovakians Would!

Insert Chuck Norris “Fact” here.

According to news.yahoo.com, Slovakia, located in central Europe, has decided to take a tally from its citizens to determine the name of a new bridge. With 74% of the votes, currently the name, “Chuck Norris” is in the lead.

The bridge, a combination pedestrian and cycling bridge, will connect Slovakia to Austria.

Photo from cristian-m.deviantart.com

Chuck Norris is a famous martial artist and has been known for proficiency in Karate, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do and even a martial art of his own invention, called Chun Kuk Do. (That is, if you can believe what his wikipedia page says.)

Born Carlos Ray Norris, he rose to fame from a career in martial arts turned into acting. With several martial arts movies and the series “Walker: Texas Ranger” under his multiple black belts, he has risen from the role of actor and martial artist to a pop icon for ultimate toughness. Just look at the dozens, if not hundreds, of fan sites dedicated to celebrating the endless supply of Chuck Norris “facts.”

Photo from smosh.com

Mapping out Morgantown Taekwondo

I’ve been talking about my Taekwondo studio here and there for a while now, but never really explained in depth exactly where we spend our time. Here is a map detailing places where Master Artice’s students frequent for Taekwondo practice, conditioning and more.

View Larger Map

E. Moore is where most of us spend our time, participating in formal practices and hanging out between classes just to talk Taekwondo. There is always a handful of black belts around, and usually someone who wants to learn something. As a result, there is teaching happening all day, even if it’s just a one-on-one session with a single black belt instructor.

Stansbury Hall is where we get tested for our next belt rank. Usually a lot of people test, and family and friends will come along to watch. Grand Master Choi, the man responsible for bringing Taekwondo to our region, comes out all the way from Washington, D.C., to supervise the testing.

After practice, students sometimes go to the Mountainlair to talk Taekwondo over some food. We share tournament strategies, sparring stories and talk about what we individually need to work on to progress.

Finally, the WVU Recreation Center is the best place to work out and to practice. Although Stalnaker Hall is often used for the convenience of the students who live downtown. In either case, usually groups of equal rank or groups of low rank with one high-ranking helper will work out technique and skill. One of the things I love about my Taekwondo School is how it is simply understood that everyone helps everyone.