It seems that the World Taekwondo Federation is trying to make Taekwondo fairer and more interesting to watch. I guess that can be a good idea. A lot of times Taekwondo matches at the Olympics can be quite dreadful to watch.
One thing that the article mentions that I fully support is the use of video playback. Taekwondo is notorious for bad judges decisions, or judges getting bribed, or people just straight up cheating. Hopefully an instant replay could help remedy these things.
The article also went on to talk about how other Martial Arts are trying to jockey positions in order to become Olympic sports, while Taekwondo leaders are trying to cock block them.
The W.T.F. should be more proactive in trying to find solutions to include other martial arts. Taekwondo and Karate are nearly the same. Taekwondo and Karate leaders should try to develop a rules system that is fair to competitors from both arts. Also they should lobby so that a forms competition be added to the Olympics. Like gymnastics there could be creative and traditional forms.
Kung Fu practitioners would definitely have an advantage over Taekwondo and Karate athletes in the "Traditional Forms," category since Kung Fu forms are pretty awesome, but an international commission could be set up to determine which forms are usable. For example, the form Bassai dae, is an international form since the form originated in the Shaolin temple, migrated to Okinawa, and has also been practiced by early Taekwondo people. A form could just be an international form that may not be that traditional, but one that many people already know, like Taekwondo's Koryo.
A creative forms competition could be set up where individuals or teams put together martial routines that showcase their skills. Athletes could also perform traditional forms from their own martial arts, that aren't any of the "select international forms," but would be judged according to a similar criteria that is used for gymnastics or figure skating.
Forms competitions at the Olympics for all martial arts would definitely boost viewership. This would be a change to Olympic martial arts like Taekwondo, Grecko Roman Wrestling, and Judo, where people just kind of stand there for a long time without doing anything.
Anyway, we live in a modern age where with youtube people can learn other martial arts forms. It's also possible to both preserve the traditional while pushing the boundaries. Just because something was made up a thousand years ago doesn't mean that it is any better than something from today. But a system that can accommodate for both traditional and modern is probably possible if people would just put away their own selfish interests in promoting their "own martial art," out of national pride.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
A Few Classes at Home
I went home for a couple weeks in August. Five years ago I came to Korea to practice Taekwondo. Boy did I ever practice Taekwondo back in those days. I stayed for about a month at a High school in Sungnam that had a Taekwondo team. They kicked our asses with the training. These days I have little endurance in my right knee. I kick stuff with that leg a few times and then the knee starts to hurt. I think that month of training might have something to do with that.
After all that training I went back home, only to return to Korea again to become an English teacher. After I became an English teacher I stopped training Taekwondo. I've tried to pick it up again on and off, but I rarely can keep at it for more than a few months here because it is kind of boring to do here.
Then I went home and trained at my old school for a few classes. I had a good time. It's kind of funny how I end up going home to America to do a Korean martial art.
After all that training I went back home, only to return to Korea again to become an English teacher. After I became an English teacher I stopped training Taekwondo. I've tried to pick it up again on and off, but I rarely can keep at it for more than a few months here because it is kind of boring to do here.
Then I went home and trained at my old school for a few classes. I had a good time. It's kind of funny how I end up going home to America to do a Korean martial art.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Dieting
I've been dieting for the past few weeks. I guess that the month of June makes me want to diet more. I've found a few simple ways to loose weight.
1. Don't drink alcohol for a while. I think this time around my weight was as high as 87 K.G.'s . Giving up alcohol for a while is a good way to go. Since I got married, I've been trying to drink only on the weekends. Three weeks ago I decided to do something like phase one of "The Instinct Diet," that curbs drinking for two weeks. Beer has a lot of calories so cutting it off is good. When I'm not dieting I like to have beer and snacks, or wine and snacks. Pairing alcohol with some kind of snack isn't a very good idea. If you really like beer and wine, cutting back can be difficult, but if you aren't spending money on drinks, you aren't spending money, and that can be good.
2. For lunch, eat a salad. Salads are really great to eat in the summertime. When it is super hot out, all you have to do is pack a salad and throw it in a fridge, then later you have a nice cold salad to eat. If salads don't fill you up, also pack stuff like yogurt, a few almonds, some walnuts, a piece of bread, or even a baked sweet potato. Baked sweet potatoes go really nice with coffee.
3. Eat whole grains like barley, and oatmeal. They are high in fiber. If you live in Korea like me, you have the problem of having white rice everywhere. If you like rice, you can get around this by blending rice with barley. Or you can blend brown rice with barley and beans. In the past I have made curry fried rice where the fried rice was a mixture of barley and brown rice. I've also made Thai style fried rice with brown rice and barely. In America you can get a lot of different whole grains.
4. Exercise. I exercise through practicing martial arts, riding my bike, and playing soccer matches on the weekend. If you are a person who is disciplined enough to do something wretched like going running, then do that. Personally, I enjoy combining exercise with an objective. If I practice martial arts, then I'm exercising while keeping my mind occupied. When I'm riding my bike, it is because I don't have a car, and I have to get somewhere. A few years ago when I was living in America and working at a Tae Kwon Do school and trying to graduate from college, I really enjoyed days when I could ride my bike to and from work, because on those days I didn't have to buy any gas money. Lastly, a few of us in Jinju enjoy a good football match on Sundays. I really suck at playing football (Soccer) but it gives me a chance to run around. As I mentioned before, running is hard to do everyday because it can be so boring and painful, but if you are chasing a ball it is a little better.
Soccer is good conditioning for martial arts like Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is mostly anaerobic requiring short bursts of energy and speed. Soccer is very much the same way. Also in soccer games you have to try to read situations and try to position yourself as to where the ball is going to be. When you are sparring in Tae Kwon Do you need to try to develop strategies to overcome an opponents defenses, or develop strategies to cope with an opponents attacks. So the two compliment each other well.
Exercise also makes you feel good too. That is a pretty important aspect that should be mentioned as well.
5. If you eat snacks, eat a piece of fruit or something. Also drink something like water, tea, or coffee. It will help you feel fuller.
6. Cook for yourself: If you have to loose weight, try to find good tasting healthy foods, and then cook them. You know what you like so if you can make something healthy and delicious it might be likely that you don't view dieting as a chore.
7. Have fun. If you see progress, it makes you feel better.
1. Don't drink alcohol for a while. I think this time around my weight was as high as 87 K.G.'s . Giving up alcohol for a while is a good way to go. Since I got married, I've been trying to drink only on the weekends. Three weeks ago I decided to do something like phase one of "The Instinct Diet," that curbs drinking for two weeks. Beer has a lot of calories so cutting it off is good. When I'm not dieting I like to have beer and snacks, or wine and snacks. Pairing alcohol with some kind of snack isn't a very good idea. If you really like beer and wine, cutting back can be difficult, but if you aren't spending money on drinks, you aren't spending money, and that can be good.
2. For lunch, eat a salad. Salads are really great to eat in the summertime. When it is super hot out, all you have to do is pack a salad and throw it in a fridge, then later you have a nice cold salad to eat. If salads don't fill you up, also pack stuff like yogurt, a few almonds, some walnuts, a piece of bread, or even a baked sweet potato. Baked sweet potatoes go really nice with coffee.
3. Eat whole grains like barley, and oatmeal. They are high in fiber. If you live in Korea like me, you have the problem of having white rice everywhere. If you like rice, you can get around this by blending rice with barley. Or you can blend brown rice with barley and beans. In the past I have made curry fried rice where the fried rice was a mixture of barley and brown rice. I've also made Thai style fried rice with brown rice and barely. In America you can get a lot of different whole grains.
4. Exercise. I exercise through practicing martial arts, riding my bike, and playing soccer matches on the weekend. If you are a person who is disciplined enough to do something wretched like going running, then do that. Personally, I enjoy combining exercise with an objective. If I practice martial arts, then I'm exercising while keeping my mind occupied. When I'm riding my bike, it is because I don't have a car, and I have to get somewhere. A few years ago when I was living in America and working at a Tae Kwon Do school and trying to graduate from college, I really enjoyed days when I could ride my bike to and from work, because on those days I didn't have to buy any gas money. Lastly, a few of us in Jinju enjoy a good football match on Sundays. I really suck at playing football (Soccer) but it gives me a chance to run around. As I mentioned before, running is hard to do everyday because it can be so boring and painful, but if you are chasing a ball it is a little better.
Soccer is good conditioning for martial arts like Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is mostly anaerobic requiring short bursts of energy and speed. Soccer is very much the same way. Also in soccer games you have to try to read situations and try to position yourself as to where the ball is going to be. When you are sparring in Tae Kwon Do you need to try to develop strategies to overcome an opponents defenses, or develop strategies to cope with an opponents attacks. So the two compliment each other well.
Exercise also makes you feel good too. That is a pretty important aspect that should be mentioned as well.
5. If you eat snacks, eat a piece of fruit or something. Also drink something like water, tea, or coffee. It will help you feel fuller.
6. Cook for yourself: If you have to loose weight, try to find good tasting healthy foods, and then cook them. You know what you like so if you can make something healthy and delicious it might be likely that you don't view dieting as a chore.
7. Have fun. If you see progress, it makes you feel better.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
My One Degree of Fame
The owner of this site is proud to further the cause of Taekwondo as taught by Grandmaster Chung Sun-Hwan's Moo Sool Do system with the endorsement of Master Kevin Nilson's poomsae (Forms, Kata) D.V.D.s entitled "Tae Kwon Do-a visual guide to forms." and "Tang Soo Do - a visual guide to forms."
Nilson, an incredible technical expert demonstrates his exquisite flexibility in breaking down step by step the poomsaes of Taekwondo and Tangsoodo. Practitioners of Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do will find these guides to be invaluable in their pursuit of black belt or advanced degrees of blacks belt Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do.
3gyupsal
aka
James Kruska 4th degree black belt
Nilson, an incredible technical expert demonstrates his exquisite flexibility in breaking down step by step the poomsaes of Taekwondo and Tangsoodo. Practitioners of Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do will find these guides to be invaluable in their pursuit of black belt or advanced degrees of blacks belt Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do.
3gyupsal
aka
James Kruska 4th degree black belt
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
How to Win Friends and Influence People
I recomend this read to martial arts instructors or teachers of any type. It is a good starter book for developing ideas to get the best out of other people. I read the book last week and found myself nodding in agreement many times. I don't have much practice in employing the techniques described in the book, but I noticed that people who employ those methods are good at leading other people.
If an instructor is naturaly confident and charismatic, the book doesn't have much to offer. But it does give tips on how to get other people to want to listen to what the instructor might have to say.
If an instructor is naturaly confident and charismatic, the book doesn't have much to offer. But it does give tips on how to get other people to want to listen to what the instructor might have to say.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Breaking Boards
One of the finest and most fun rites of passage in martial arts like Tae Kwon Do or Karate, is the practice of breaking stuff with some kind of kick or punch. If you have done it enough then it is generally an easy thing to do. (That is if you are breaking a simple test piece of pine.) There are a few basic principals for breaking a piece of wood.
1. Aim for the middle.
2. After aiming for the middle, actually hit the damn thing.
3. Hit it hard enough so that you break it.
These are guidelines for a simple side kick break, but they are generally applicable to other techniques as well.
Now I tried to make these principals easy because when breaking boards there is a lot of other stuff that gets all messed up in the heads of people breaking boards. It is usually pretty funny to watch over bearing parents stress out their kids when the kid is trying to break a board.
"Tyler now just focus."
"Hunter, just think that the board is your sister."
"Porter, you aren't screaming loud enough, just do what master Lee told you two weeks ago when he had that balloon."
It is also kind of interesting to watch people try to break boards with speed breaks. A speed break is when someone holds a board in one and tries to break it with the other, or they try to hold the board with two hands and try to break it with their foot. Basically, one side of the board isn't supported by something. Anyway, I remember watching a poor guy attempt one of these breaks one time.
He was a big strong guy with a military hair cut. (I don't think he was ever in the military though.) He grunted, hemmed, hawed, and screamed, but he never broke the board. The reason for this was a mental block.
Sometimes we make or own martial arts endeavors harder than they have to be. Attempting a speed break by grunting and making faces at the board, only gives the board too much respect. In reality, a speed break is really quite easy after you have done it once or twice, however if you attempt to do it five to ten times and then don't break the board, your hand will hurt for about a week later. Most importantly you have to decide that the board will break.
There is a difference between hoping that the board will break, and deciding that it will. This decision is made before you even pick the board up to break it. It doesn't require any psyching up or anything. Don't make any faces, grunt, or try to stare the board down, just break the damn thing. It goes back to the three principals from before, hit the board in the center, actually hit the thing, and hit it hard enough so that it breaks.
1. Aim for the middle.
2. After aiming for the middle, actually hit the damn thing.
3. Hit it hard enough so that you break it.
These are guidelines for a simple side kick break, but they are generally applicable to other techniques as well.
Now I tried to make these principals easy because when breaking boards there is a lot of other stuff that gets all messed up in the heads of people breaking boards. It is usually pretty funny to watch over bearing parents stress out their kids when the kid is trying to break a board.
"Tyler now just focus."
"Hunter, just think that the board is your sister."
"Porter, you aren't screaming loud enough, just do what master Lee told you two weeks ago when he had that balloon."
It is also kind of interesting to watch people try to break boards with speed breaks. A speed break is when someone holds a board in one and tries to break it with the other, or they try to hold the board with two hands and try to break it with their foot. Basically, one side of the board isn't supported by something. Anyway, I remember watching a poor guy attempt one of these breaks one time.
He was a big strong guy with a military hair cut. (I don't think he was ever in the military though.) He grunted, hemmed, hawed, and screamed, but he never broke the board. The reason for this was a mental block.
Sometimes we make or own martial arts endeavors harder than they have to be. Attempting a speed break by grunting and making faces at the board, only gives the board too much respect. In reality, a speed break is really quite easy after you have done it once or twice, however if you attempt to do it five to ten times and then don't break the board, your hand will hurt for about a week later. Most importantly you have to decide that the board will break.
There is a difference between hoping that the board will break, and deciding that it will. This decision is made before you even pick the board up to break it. It doesn't require any psyching up or anything. Don't make any faces, grunt, or try to stare the board down, just break the damn thing. It goes back to the three principals from before, hit the board in the center, actually hit the thing, and hit it hard enough so that it breaks.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sorry
I took a few weeks of from training. It looks like the training by the river was just a Novermber thing so far. Next week I'm going to go to the home of the Hwarang spirit, the Korean city called Gyongju. Gyongju was the ancient capital of the Shilla kingdom and later Shilla dynasty. I have been there twice before. Once was just a simple visit, the next time was to train at Go Gool temple. This time I will train in the ancient art of ESL (English as a Second Language). Hopefully I can master the sacred techniques of total physical response, and the transmission of information in L2. (Sorry martial artists, you might have to briefly study applied linguistics to get an idea to know what the hell I am talking about.)
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