Letter to Jake Cullens on advice for relocating and finding a new school.

Hi Jake,

Just so you know, we practice Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do. We do the ITF (International Taekwondo Federation) Forms and WTF (World TKD Fed) style sparring (also called Olympic style, or Continuous Contact).

In looking for a good school, try to find one that does those two things-- That will make your transition smoother as you won't have to learn new forms/sparring rules.

Here are some things to try to avoid -- look for these as warning bells;

1. More talking than moving in training. Some dojang don't really train that hard, but like to put on uniforms and talk about techniques rather than actually doing them. It's more of a social club for them, and they feel like they're training, but they're not.

2. Any really macho or tough-guy attitudes, or talking down to beginners. A true fighter knows that anyone can get beat, so watch out for "this is the ultimate fighting system" or techniques that are rough, unrefined, and dangerous. Are their women/kids in the school? If not, why not? Bear in mind though, that some teachers (mine included) believed in not coddling beginners too much, and since most people quit before green belt anyway, he often wouldn't even learn your name until green belt. But there was never any negativity towards the beginner, no "pulling rank" unless they were really out of line.

3. Avoid ATA (American TKD Assoc.) schools unless you are simply blown away by the teacher and top students. They're mostly for kids, and have a "McDojang" problem.

4. Avoid any school where the teacher brings politics into it. That sounds strange, but it's out there quite a bit. The founder of TKD (Gen. Choi, Hong Hi, recently deceased), who invented our forms, went on a goodwill mission to North Korea and the South Korean masters never forgave him for it. So some Koreans will call our forms/ style "Communist"! Communist or Capitalist, how does that improve your punch? It's ridiculous, avoid it altogether.

5. Avoid schools that tout their style as The Best, or "better than karate, taekwondo..." whatever. It only takes studying another art to realize that they're all good at their own thing, and none is better than any other. That's like saying one branch of a tree is better than another branch. Each one has strengths and weaknesses, and a good instructor would know that.

Things to look for

1. Do they let you watch a class? If not, wonder why not.

2. Do you want to be able to move like the teacher?

3. Can the top students move like the teacher? This doesn't apply if the school is new or young.

4. Are the people friendly, but train hard?

5. Do they do continuous contact sparring or point sparring? Go for continuous contact (like our club, though they may not wear the hogoo). Taekwondo is the art of the counter attack, so if you're being stopped after every point, how can you learn to counter attack? Bear in mind some schools teach point first, then move to continuous, which is fine.

6. Do they spar often?

7. The ratio of explaining to training should be 30/70. You can understand how spin hook kick works in great detail and still not be able to do one. Remember the Jamaican saying "Him know it, but him can't do it." Over-explanation does not ingrain skill. Only repetition does that.

8. Expect schools to be expensive. 90-125 a month is standard.

9. If their are no good taekwondo schools in your area, consider karate, which is very close, especially Shotokan. Style is important, but a good teacher is more important than anything.

10. Most importantly, just watch with your eyes and go with the general feeling of the dojang. This is where you'll be going to relieve stress, and a good dojang should be your home away from home. Listen to your instincts.

Please keep in touch and let us know how it's going for you. Always feel free to drop in and train with us whenever you're in town.

Good Luck,

Jason Hughes