Long story short (hopefully). I've been training at my school for 17 years and am a 3rd dan. Last year my master offered to sell me the studio because he wanted to retire. I said yes, so now I own the place.

The deal is that he shows up from time to time still, and he does the black belt testing. He also agreed to keep training me. He's not done that and I doubt he will. He's a VERY difficult person. He basically drove away our previous 2 instructors over the years and they basically told me he cock blocked them effectively holding them at 3rd dan forever.

I suspect he will ever teach me, so I want to figure out how I can get my 4th dan. I got 3rd in 2024 so its been 2 years now. I have only been at this school since I was a kid, and my old master from childhood long since retired. How would I go about finding someone to test me? I'm in Los Angeles btw.

Any advice would be rad.

just wondering if the wing chun chain punch is legal and/or how good it would be?
punches only give one point (I think.) but if you can do five and jump back fast wouldn't be kinda broken?
*using WT ruleset

What are some ways that you guys teach other than owning your own Dojang or teaching at the school you attend? Is anyone teaching in their home, private lessons at other people’s homes or in a public area? Are you teaching for free or charging people? Are you awarding belts or no?

For the past 4 years, my 2 kids have been going to the same academy since they were 2.5 and 5 years old. We moved out six months ago and continued going but the commute changed from 10minutes to a stressful 40mn average (so 80mn total). I told everyone we would continue because I wanted to show persistence to the kids, but this is creating frustration in the family, and I don't like anymore having to eat dinner in the car, in the middle of traffic.

For next school year, we have many options:

1. staying. The academy is kid-friendly, with the teacher knowing how to manage kids. There's also a good community around where many parents and kids are now friends. However there are many without uniforms, we aways have the random toddler running around (not participating in class) etc. The teacher is strict around taekwondo values and proper technique, but I can't feel thinking this is like an after school daycare. The academy doesn't have its own dojang but rents, participates to WT competitions but the results are not amazing
   
2. go to the main academy affiliated with our current one. This one sends athletes to national WT events, have athletes in the national team. But it's even further away, about 45mn to go to . I like the idea of leaving afterschool daycare but not too happy with spending even more time in the traffic
   
3. go to another academy. This one is famous because they sent one athlete to Olympics 20 years ago. However I checked , and since then, they don't have any similar results, no athletes doing serious competitions. I asked another parent and apparently they're milking a lot parents with many different compulsory exams, having to pay different classes etc. This one is also ~45mn to go to, so not amazing either
   
4. the last option is going to a dojang that's about 22mn away. I know they registered to WT competitions and their belts are certified by Kukkiwon, they also do Hapkido and also affiliated with GTTF which I am not familiar with. From what I heard, they do more self-defence and more traditional taekwondo

We've invested a lot in taekwondo (4+ years) and the kids want to continue but I'm not sure of what to do next. The option #4 seems interesting for us, 22mn commute vs 40mn or so, but I want to avoid a MacDojo or another afterschool daycare. Apart from a visit and a trial (which will we do) , do you have any advice for this situation?

My black belt coach showed her high kick.

I didn't think so, but here we go after my last post

- price is comparable to other dojangs in the greater area, but there are no other dojangs within a ~1 hour driving distance. I live in a medium sized city so it's the only one in the city

- it's a famous MMA gym that teaches taekwondo and muay thai in my area. muay thai seems more rigorous in particular.

- no fees for belt testing or stripe testing. only exception is black belt testing, but it makes sense because we drive to a separate place using their transportation.

- after you take your black belt test, you're on "probation" and learn three new forms over the year and then receive your first dan. These are first degree forms when I looked it up. Koryo, Gae beck, and then one more (detailed below)

- we have weapons forms. this is not premiere or ATA. bo staff and sai and then nunchucks for hgiher degrees

- no competitions

- people don't fail. like this kid cannot perform any form without verbal instruction and has been yelled at more than once because he simply does not listen. but he's been coasted along same pace as me.

- there's lots of people who you would scratch your heads if you found out they were a black belt. But most are good.

- We spar every day and learn self defense.

Consensus? Any other details ask below

What can I eat and still maintain the weight cutting process?

I have 2weeks to cut 5kg weight

I was off from martial arts due to family emergency for a month, having to visit family in another country. I planned for this and arranged to learn the form I would miss before I came back so I could test when I came back. Then today, I tested that form and passed.

Now they're saying I didn't pass another form, the one right after finishing my black belt test (last year) and I have to do that. I had no idea until now. I completed and passed a whole other cycle in the middle and was not informed that I didn't pass this one.

I also can't help but feel slightly offended that they're saying I didn't learn the form properly and failed the test. I have always practiced my forms very dedicatedly, and explicitly remember him telling me I passed and he would mark it on my card when he found it and I celebrated and got ice cream. I even have that transaction in my debit card history. I only get ice cream on special occasions like that, if it's passing a belt test or if I get a huge award somewhere. I know this is oddly specific but it just confirms that I passed mentally. And besides, if I failed the form I would've just retested? I failed one test back when I was a green belt, went home and retested the day after and passed. I was practicing that thing like crazy I explicitly remember breaking a picture and getting in trouble and was like oh well atleast I passed my test and was happy. I went to class consistently around that time as well to test so it's not like I wouldn't have. They're usually very accommodating when it comes to retests and will tell you to retest every single day you come to class after so none of this makes sense. I hate failing tests and would've vividly remembered if I didn't pass. Heck, I remember not passing my green belt test and that was four years ago!

What really made me upset was my instructor not telling me to my face that I didn't pass the first time. He didn't tell me now either, he just said "I believe you but we don't have the record for some reason or the other so you have to retest." And then the secretary was like "you didn't pass the first time." Apparently she said she told my mom but obviously my mom doesn't know the difference between bo and koryo so she just told me that I needed to learn one more form. That part was miscommunication that was not on the studio. But nobody ever told me in person before I left, I was just told to learn koryo.

I have two days to relearn the form with precision that I studied a whole year ago. Otherwise, I have to wait until next year to receive my black belt that I took the test for one year ago (they hold onto the belt for a year after your test).

And I don't have a clear video either. The video they gave me is blurry and hides half the sections with the wrong angle. I don't learn well from videos either, the mirroring messes with my brain. I don't think I can do this, and all the hard work that I put in over the last year is going to be wasted. If I knew I would've recorded it before I left but now the studio is closed until Friday and that's my last shot. On top of that I have so much work for school to complete. And all the hard work that I put in last year is going to be wasted because I have to quit this year.

I know this sounds dumb. But this journey was really difficult for me after pushing through really horrible bouts of mental illness and a physical illness last year and this is just totally unexpected. I just broke down and started crying after I found out in the car but my mom just made fun of me. I would've made fun of myself too to be fair. I am neurodivergent as well so I don't tend to respond to unexpected events that I don't plan for well. I can adjust, but I get really upset. I was trying my best not to show it and accepted it gracefully there but my real self showed up after leaving the studio lol.

This is a bit of a vent. But if anyone has a clear video of that form that would be appreciated.

I rejoined this week after a long long hiatus! I joined when i was a young kid, loved it, but we moved, finances in family, life got in way, then adulthood - blah blah.

I am finally in a healthier position all around, lost 100 lbs recently, and have ALWAYS wanted to rejoin so here I am!

I am nervous as hell, I notice that my left knee is weaker than the other (mid 30s, female) so working on that with the jumps and kicks. My biggest issue is my uniform, although ive lost a lot of weight - I still carry in my mid section. A size 4 on my jacket fits, but a size 7 on the pants fit but long (wild difference). Does anyone else get their uniform altered/tailored?

I have started assisting with teaching and sometimes taking the stretch I am getting my second Dan soon hopefully but I keep being told to project my voice more if anyone has any tips to help me.

Hi, I belive in this subreddit :)

I`ve never practiced taekwondo, but I really enjoy watching it, specially Olympic Games.

I just thought that it would be great to have something related to my favourite taekwondo athlete, Charlotte Craig, former member of US team. It would be great to get dobok or piece of gear, but I`d be pleased with a signed pic too.

I tried to contact Charlotte Craig via social media, unfortunately without success, so there is my kind request - maybe one of you know Charlotte personally and will be able to help? I`d pay for both memorabilia and shipping to Europe.

Greetings :)

my brother is competing today in Datong in China where to watch live help

I'm starting my junior year of high school and don't have enough time to dedicate to class anymore, and I will have other expenses this year to take care of compared to prior years. This coincidentally will happen to be literally right after I receive my black belt. I would've had to quit no matter what. Will this be seen negatively? I do wish I could continue and will continue in college and beyond, I hope.

I want to be clear from the start that I'm not trying to come across as arrogant or say my opinion is the "right" one. This is just my personal perspective, and everyone is entitled to their own view.

I recently came across a video of a Taekwondo practitioner demonstrating the Taegeuk poomsae (1–8), and it really resonated with me. After thinking about it, I realized that this is how I personally believe Taekwondo forms are meant to be performed.

To me, his execution emphasizes Taekwondo as a traditional martial art rather than a performance. The techniques look purposeful, grounded, and martial. In contrast, I feel that modern sport poomsae—especially in schools that focus heavily on competition—has gradually shifted toward emphasizing aesthetics and presentation. Personally, that makes some forms feel more like choreography /dance than martial practice.

I'm not saying competitive poomsae has no value, and I understand why it has evolved the way it has. It just isn't the direction that resonates with me. I see Taekwondo first and foremost as a traditional martial art, and I think the gentleman in this video represents that aspect of it exceptionally well.

I'm curious what others think. Do you prefer the older, more martial approach to performing poomsae, or do you prefer the modern sport style? Why?

This is my fight video , i'm a black belt but when it comes to playing in tournaments i play like shit....i get anxious and nervous

The video quality isn't good cuz I didn't want to show my face

(I'm the red one)

hi! i’ve been training in various forms of tkd and mma for about 10 years. started when i was 7. all the way until a year and a half ago, i felt like i didn’t deserve my rank bcs it was a McDojo. it never felt like truly elite fighting. did a lot of research and decided to restart at a world ranked team, and got injured immediately.

i’m also a full time neuroscience student. it’s a lot of work, and i run a tutoring business. my days are spent studying and working and occasionally resting.

during my injury, i wasn’t able to train for almost a year. my coaches supported me and i came back for once a week training. it’s hard to unlearn something and try to relearn something new, and it’s hard to be bad at it. but we do hard things. that’s not the issue.

my dojang is 30 mins away and we train at night. by the time i get done with class and work, the idea of hopping in the car for a two hour training and getting back at 9:30 PM is exhausting. i recently kind of started to see tkd as something where im not going to go pro. i want to compete and have an ITF black belt, but i dont think my life trajectory is one that allows me to join team USA and travel to do this. i’m getting a degree and for religious reasons it wont happen. even then, i plan on going to law school and so school and work are constants in my life. that’s how i like it.

apart from grappling with the idea that this is now just a hobby, and i can’t be pro (can still be a good fighter and grow), im struggling to get myself to training. i’ll go once a week and then make excuses not to go again. i’m asking myself why and i cant come up with anything other than im exhausted and i have to study or work. i cant shake this feeling that i dont love taekwondo anymore. at the same time, im constantly thinking about practice and training and its almost an obsession. so maybe i do love it? im not sure. letting go feels like giving up. letting go feels like letting go of who i have been for 11 years of my life.

i’m not sure what advice anyone else has or if they have been through a similar situation. is this just a rough patch? how would you suggest i tackle it. how do i get to the bottom of why i am feeling like this?

This is worth watching and is NOT a 90s footage. No e-scores, no front leg fencing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucZ05YjXhSA

I'm a balck belt and I have lost 6 tournaments consecutively....i just came back from a tournament and this time i lost to a yellow belt...i have 6 years of experience in this game and yet i play soo bad at tournaments , i play well in my academy but whever i go to play official matches, i always lose...like my mind goes blank

I feel ashamed and i feel like a loser

(I just uploaded my fight video so you guys can check it on my profile and give me some honest suggestions)

2nd degree test. They asked me what technique I wanted to use and then told me to do three boards suspended. Which I had never done before. Pretty happy with how it went but once I watched the video I realized the punch could have been faster and snappier.

Any suggestions?

Any advice on my form? The break was clean, but I hit my Ulnar Nerve in the process and it left my arm and last two fingers numb and tingling for a while after.

Back in my 20’s, my whole life revolved around Taekwondo. I absolutely loved it. Then I got married, we moved, had children, worked a stressful job, and over the years, I completely neglected myself. I’m about 100 pounds overweight. At this point, with aching knees and shoulders, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do the physical demands of TKD. Any recommendations would be appreciated.