Question 104: Many questions

Reader has many questions.

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Q1: Is your website a complete resource site for all the patterns (kata) that exist in Taekwondo?

As you may have noticed, it is difficult to find much real information about the martial arts, or anything else, online without paying for it. Periodically, I surf the net looking for new information or ideas, but as I once saw in a cartoon, “I think I have reached the end of the Internet.” Most sites are school sites or retail sites that are promoting their businesses rather than offering information. What little they do offer is usually just the same basic things seen on any site. Books usually are just collections of photographs showing basic techniques with a few words printed in a large font on pages with wide, side margins. Most books and website take a single thought and then expound on it for pages and pages. It is similar to reading a high school term paper where there is a one-sentence original thought and then pages of fluff. I look through all kinds of resources looking things that may be related to the martial arts in some way and then present them in TKDTutor.com in a straight-forward manner with a skeptical-eye. I have never found a site that offers as much as TKDTutor.com offers.

Q2: Is TKDTutor a complete resource for all TKD patterns?

No, and there is probably no site that does. I list a lot of the various TKD pattern sets, but I specialize in the Chonji /Changhon pattern set. Even those patterns have been changed by different organizations. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of glory so they “reinvent” a pattern or a martial art and then claim it to be new and innovative. When in Rome do as the Romans do. Whatever art or organization you are specializing in at the time; concentrate on perfecting its patterns.

Q3: What is the significant difference between ITF VS. WTF?

I write more about this in various areas of TKDTUtor.com Basically, the difference is a power struggle between two politically motivated organizations; each claiming to be the true representative of TKD. The WTF is Korean controlled, uses a different pattern set, and has changed its version of TKD to a crowd-pleasing Olympic sport. In an effort to nationalize TKD and make it unique, they made it kicking art where the competitors look similar to river dancers, only moving their feet with their arms hanging at their sides. The ITF stays more with the traditional roots of TKD and is more international in that it is not controlled by one country, but it as it own power struggles and weird ideas.

Q4: How professional or reliable is the Action International Martial Arts Association, as created by found Hee Il Cho?

I don’t know much about the AIMAA. One thing you will find is that many organizations exist only to make the founders rich, give them more power, and increase their egos. Students are merely sheep to fleece in every way possible. Students get little to no return for their time and money.

Q5: Do you recommend any resources for home-study of Taekwondo such as textbooks, books, DVDs, etc?.

If in need, would you go to a doctor or lawyer who was home-trained? Home-training is the same as what is commonly known as homework; it something you do in addition to your formal training; not in place of formal training. You need a skilled, watchful eye observing you to point out problems before they become engrained. Ever notice all the weight benches, treadmills, etc, setting unused in basements and garages. All the owner’s originally thought they could train at home just as well as they could in a gym but they found that without the motivation of a paying a fee and having an instructor push them, and being around liked minded people, they quickly lost interest in home training. Use home training and resources to enhance your training and check facts, but use formal training to increase your skills.

Q6: During my last enrollment in a WTF dojang (2003 to 2005), we were asked to pay for Belt testing fees, separately from the monthly tuition. Is this common?

Most every martial art class, club, or school will have testing fees in addition to tuition fees. The question should be how much is the testing fee. Some schools and organizations use the natural quest for rank and recognition as way to rip-off students by charging outrageous testing fees. You have to visit many schools to find one that best suits all your needs. Sometimes you just have to settle for a school that comes closest to suiting your needs. Independent classes taught in gyms, community centers, colleges, etc. usually have the least fees, but there are pro and cons to any choice. If a school owner is teaching full-time as a business, he or she has to make a reasonable profit. Some part-time instructors teach for free. Sometimes you get what you pay for, other times you do not.

Q7: Is the Sine-Wave theory a new science exclusive only to ITF Taekwondo or is it common in any other martial art?

The sine-wave theory is mostly unique to the ITF. I discuss the bogus science used in the theory in more detail in TKDTutor.com. The sine-wave movement is unnatural and a waste of time and energy.