What is Taekwondo Even Good For?

In this video we explore the common criticisms that Taekwondo practitioners face, and why some people still feel valid in practicing this art and even making it a lifestyle.

I have been practicing Taekwondo since 2001 and have seen the ups and downs that it faces. This is why I still do it. By Matt Hinkamp

Some gear I use:

[tommyreyes]

Taekwondo teaches us to train ourselves discipline confidence respect self-defense we must train ourselves not to be lazy

[akaragdollsvids]

Taekwondo umm... I did it for 5 years ... Body gonna be flexible and ur stamina will grow... U can learns flips easily.. u feel ur body is light

[sarahw.mcelyea]

To me, Taekwondo is a way to stay in shape, stay active, and still be an ordinary person. .. Im in school to be a nurse. Staying healthy will help me defend myself. I don't need the attention, and I'm not an aggressive person, nor am I competitive. But in class, I give it my personal best, and that is what matters to me. (I'll be 52 this month, and this one body has to last me the rest of my life.)
Also, my autistic son lives Taekwondo. I believe for him, he has the image that he's Chuck Norris when he's taking Taekwondo. He's 26 and doesn't get out for anything else. He is sociable with his classmates, and Taekwondo gives my son and I a bonding point.

[benrechakiewicz]

Im a third dan black belt in Taekwondo. After doing mma, muay thai and krav maga I still enjoy it. I think its a great component to ad to your muay thai training.

[regularguy]

Every single self defense person I have met has his/her beginnings in taekwondo. The kicks, punches and improved flexibility allows one to branch out into other disciplines (like Krav Maga) more effectively.

[floofyt]

I just started taekwondo 4 days ago and I love it

[emanualavery]

Longtime practitioner of tkd.I love the art.Why tkd?Honestly due to popularity.But have come to look beyond its popularity.I only love the self defense aspects, the drills, and weaponry.The acrobatics can't do and never tried to do.TKD came to my rescue when it was called during a situation I tried to avoid.The situation didn't end fast but it helped me subdue the guy.The guy inadvertently gave up.Thank you for sharing this video.I just subscribed to your channel.

[JuliannaHolmes]

I agree and disagree! Everything you said is spot on, especially regarding taekwondo and martial arts as a way of life and self improvement.
However i still believe that kicking prowess is extremely helpful in self defense… because A) the leg is longer and stronger than the arm. Even a female’s legs are strong enough to deliver a knock out kick. B) the reaction time, footwork, distance and timing learned is very valuable in a fight.
C) old school traditional taekwondo does have some valuable self defense techniques.

So is it perfect? No. But does it have value in self defense? I believe so.

[TheArchieTheory]

I started taekwondo about a week ago, and it's really fun to practice, and it also makes you more in shape, making it still somewhat benifitial

[malcolmarnsdorff]

Within any martial art there is the goal of mastery and that is a very high calling; I admit I stick to the older version of Tae Kwon Do. I am now 62 years old and acrobatic, Olympic style has never appealed to me, even as a teenager. But basic Tae Kwon Do is a strong, hard style that has not failed me in self-defense situations. And it has always required the qualities of flexibility, stamina and fitness. Tae Kwon Do as I learned it, traditionally was highly influenced by Japanese karate and yet Korean instructors always retained Korean attributes from the original Korean Kwans or schools...I was fortunate to have a Korean instructor who held firmly to self-defense integrity. So, for me, Tae Kwon Do has never lacked this. There are still old-school instructors

[Docinaplane]

I've been in the martial arts for a lifetime. My first black belt was in Chung Do Kwan before Korean Karate was even called TKD in the US. I learned from one of the first Koreans that came here. The TKD of today is far from what it was and not in a good way. The self defense aspects that are taught in most schools will give the student false confidence that will get them hurt or killed in a real situation. Many students never even spar, let alone learn how to fight.

[carasmussen]

my daughter learned Tae Kwon Do for 5 years and she earned a black belt. But then she lost interest. Her teacher was excellent and very patient with the kids

[abouahmed]

I always had the thought of started tae kwon do in the back of my head since I used to love martial arts as a kid. I used to practice Karate as a kid and made it to the third level (orange belt), however I'm 22 now and the thought about doing TKD came back. I always found the martial art impressive especially once you get to a certain level. Looking around for local dojos as we speak! Can't wait to start.

[Sensei_Gaz]

I've just started ITF TKD again, going for my yellow belt in October. I really enjoy it.

[tommyreyes]

Taekwondo teachers us
Respect for others is peace
Respect for oneself is happiness
Two versions of Taekwondo military or civilian

[stevejungdo]

Hi, thanks for your video. I started ITF TKD style in 1980, more for exercise, fitness and social activities. I was taught traditionally by a Korean Master instructor. The students had all the techniques explained and demonstrated by the instructor at each belt level. Non-contact free sparring was introduced at green-belt. The deliberate reason for non-contact sparring was/is rational. "Do you really want to puposefully want to injure your sparring partner/friend? It made sense to me then and still does as I'm not a sadistic person. I love training to push myself to be more flexible and faster. Everyone has their own physical and mental limits. Of course, demonstrations are for promotion aspects and acrobatics achieve good audiences. The performers skills are real but yes practised and choreographed. TKD will prepare a person in life skills and self-defence. As you go from white to black belt and beyond you learn new techniques at each stage. So of the 100's of these, you may only use 3 in a real fight. In my case it was 2 and 3 respectively. In both real fights my first technique were a rising block against a) large stick and b) a Dropping fist. 2nd techniqe I used in both were a wrist twist to put my attackers off balance. The first fight ended there as he was too surprised to continue. The 2nd fight continued with my attacker trying to get me in a multitude of wrist locks.. my 3rd techniques were releases. There was a 4th technique but nit TKD.. it was out of sheer boredom that I dug my finger nails into his forearm that led to him stopping his attack on me. Those were what TKD has given me. The ability to defend myself without a punch or kick. After training hard for a long time, time will slow down in when in a real fight and your decisions on which attack or defence tool to use will come very quickly. All those technique repititions over the years become hard-wired into your brain and become automatic by your autonomous nervous system. I believe the Japanese call it Mushin, "no mind".
Good luck with your journeys 🙏

[grungethunder]

Dude I 100% agree instead of looking down on tkd look at what’s good about it you can’t learn a 720 hook kick in mma if you enjoy it and aren’t taking it for real self defense you shouldn’t be looked down upon for it

[olumideayorinde]

I do wtf taekwondo and i will say it again it depends on what the instructor teaches you. My instructor taught me joint locks, strikes to delivate parts of the body and yes knee kicks for shocking. Olympic style taekwondo has eroded those deadly apects but i still practice traditionally which makes it lethal.

[pst]

It pretty much depends on your teacher. Imagine you practise at a competitive school Then your whole training will be focused on competition and how to score points.

If you train for self defense then you train for applying TKD accordingly and sport rules are secondary.

However at some point your reflexes are adapted to your training and that may be dangerous in some situations. But that applies for Karate as well.

In any way everybody should ask himself how often he might encounter a life threatening situation and of those how probable is an MMA level adversary?

Any amateur or semi professional competitioner can handle idiots in "real life".

In fact everybody can handle them if the person has encountered high stress situations. Handling mental pressure will keep more ppl alive and safe than practising how to break necks in 4 different ways.

And trust me, 1 lead leg kick to the body without protection can knock any1 down. Most ppl do not know how less it takes to incapacitate a human.

[kevinbellock]

Is the belief that martial arts should always be to improve self defense and fighting skills an American idea? Like, if it’s fun, teaches you discipline, improves your fitness level, etc. why would that ever be a bad thing? I’d personally rather learn how to do a spinning kick than ‘practical’ fighting because I intend to never get into a real fight.