What I Honestly Think About Taekwondo (Topic Tuesday)

This week on Topic Tuesday, Paul Van Schoyck of Taekwondo guide discusses the right and wrong reasons to do Taekwondo or any other martial art.
If you have a question for Topic Tuesday, submit it in the comments below.
Don't forget to checkout www.tkdguide.com for some excellent courses on Taekwondo.

[@rockymarcianobrasil317]

0:10 i am brazilian and a bjj practitioner and a Taekwondo black belt as well. I wish other Teachers or Senseis used the word "serve" every chance they had. Humans are born to serve. Thank you my friend.

[@blaisehimelrick1285]

What a stylish jacket, I can only aspire to have such a distinguished charisma of dress.

[@HighOhHello]

I considered other martial arts for my daughter and this video really embodied why i wanted her to join tkd! These are life practices that create amazing objectives in living a healthy well rounded life. Its a bit of a fantasy world to imagine we all need to be deadly fighting machines lol.

[@phillip2165]

I still need to hear these things now and then. Despite warning myself about ego and developing a macho attitude its difficult at times not to have that creep up on you when you kick through a board with a difficult kick or beat someone in sparring who you thought you couldn't beat. Violence should always be avoided if possible.

[@vammamies]

Hi! Thanks for this. Off topic but yesterday I realized that my QL (Quadratus Lumborum) muscles were holding me back. I found out a great stretch for those and later at the evening ALL my other stretches were improved. It is staggering how some puny lowerback muscles can affect basically every other muscle in your body. I would like to hear your input on stretching, warming up trough the day and dangers of sitting too much.

[@tkdguide]

Thanks! It’s amazing how you can find the simplistic solutions to some of the most challenging physical problems. I’m glad you found that stretch!

[@ericpyne-bi8gu]

Thank you for this clear statement about TKD! It reminded me of the the clear princples that i was so fortunate to have been taught. An idea for a topic Tuesday is- how does a TKD workout compare to other activities as far as aerobic benefits and stabilizing posture?

[@tkdguide]

Thanks!

[@Racham0]

I am the biggest person in my whole dojang , the second i got into taekwondo my master told me to hold back and not to hurt anyone because losing control can really be bad for my opponent, i don't really need to learn self defense because i am the one that can overpower people , i do tkd because it's a sport that is very safe and it's helping my weaknesses because i'm more of a study and brains kind of a guy, not an athlete , your videos have taught me more than just busting someone's nose , thank you ❤

[@tkdguide]

Well said

[@canned_bread_]

I started doing taekwondo when I was a teenager because I loved anime and I wanted to do martial arts like the characters. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I realized what I loved so much about anime and these characters was their Buddhist and Confucian values. So what you said about learning martial arts to serve others really resonated with me because the same thing is taught in anime whether people realize it or not!

[@antoniostrina82]

When I started to practice martial arts, some people told me that I started in order to protect myself from bullies and because I had a lower self-esteem. I started to practice just because I thought that they're a part of me and my self-expression. I've never been bullied, I even fought back when I was provoked during my youth. Also, I've never had low self-esteem, I strongly believed in myself. I was never attracted to the ladies, because they would be a great distraction from my training. Ladies after training, never think of them as a source of your focus or boost to improve your skills. My passion is pure.

[@mikeandlisabanjofiddle8280]

Thanks for the video Sir. I’d like to hear a topic on training as you age and not being able to perform all of the techniques but still persevering.

[@tkdguide]

Great topic, thanks!

[@combatlearning]

"Why don't you sign up for Muay Thai yourself? Are you scared?" This is SO good dude. I'm actually trying to improve the training methodology such that TKD can more easily transfer to other combat sports, but crapping all over other practices for being more based around exercise and balance is simply ridiculous. Sport TKD is its own sport, it's allowed to exist, and it's nobody's business if it's "realistic" or not. It's only the weak LARPer types that sit around complaining about how TKD should be more practical. They want "street cred" in merit of their association to TKD, but they don't want go out and do the work of getting it.

[@WaybackFencingClub]

My experience in the armed services was most unarmed training was about weapon retention and creating space to use defense tools instead of hands. We learned aspects of grappling so we had a chance to get back up with all the gear on. It seems all about space and time management to get to our tools. I wish I did tkd for the flexibility training alone. Question! Best practices for achilles damage and heel spurs?

[@tkdguide]

Thank you for the input! That is exactly what I would expect the unarmed training to look like. I’m sorry you are dealing with heel spurs. This is outside of my area of expertise but I would look into lifestyle changes that reduce inflammation such as dietary changes.

[@shaunpliva4916]

A topic I would like to see for next week would be, what it’s like instructing taekwondo classes and what some of the most effective drills/teaching methods you have.

[@tkdguide]

Thanks!

[@Docinaplane]

What style of TKD do you teach? Thank you! I read your bio, and I'm guessing WT.

[@tkdguide]

Yes, WT.

[@Sideways0J]

I have another selfish topic Tuesday suggestion. :) So far, I have been complimented on being able to learn poomsae quickly. However, I do have a problem with them. I seem to be easily distracted and will 'choke' or make mistakes depending on what's going on in the room, or even just the number of people that are watching. My best performance of a pattern is often when it is still fairly new to me, rather than after I have been practicing it for months. It doesn't consciously feel like 'stage fright', but maybe I have some unconscious performance anxiety. Not sure. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

[@tkdguide]

Great idea, thanks!

[@demonwolf570]

I have a question. Do you think it's possible to learn Taekwondo at a decent level without a Dojo or teacher? Like if I only relied on videos and apps to teach me? I've been practicing by myself for about a year and while I'm definitely better with my kicks, they're only basic ones. I haven't even attempted the fancy ones yet since I'm still in recovery from twisting my knee about 5 months ago. Also, I don't mean learn as in to become a black belt but maybe an upper or lower red belt in skill.

[@tkdguide]

Thanks for the topic!

[@fmcra]

Most koreans are christians

[@super9149]

I'd like to hear a topic on the value of leadership.

[@tkdguide]

Thanks!

[@R.ticul8s]

Is there a conflict between the Taoism influence of taekwondo and the beliefs of Christian practitioners?

[@tkdguide]

Ohhhh, very interesting question. Thanks!

[@R.ticul8s]

@@tkdguide , you are certainly welcome 🙏🏻