Why I Will Always Refuse To Teach Martial Arts For Free And Why You Shouldn’t Either
Every martial arts teacher should want to have high quality students who progress your art and give you a legacy. There is a lot of pride in your effectiveness at teaching. They should also want to be properly compensated for their knowledge and effort in instructing people.
I have come to the conclusion that anyone with instructor level skills in a martial art deserve compensation. I deserve to be paid. I no longer will do charity work for people and teach people for free anymore. Of course I may once in awhile do special events or seminars for community outreach or something, but generally no, I will expect to be paid what I am worth. If you are a high black belt rank or instructor qualified in the martial arts you should too! You deserve to make money or at least a fair trade off!
I used to feel like I should just teach people for free and give them pad drills or tips for fighting. I did this on occasion but every time I felt like the person did not give a shit that I was giving them something I trained my ass off for, something of high value. They took it for granted and basically just had a good work out and shrugged it off. People like that will never advance in the martial arts very well and are always bullshitters and will drop you like a hat when another opportunity comes along for training. Maybe a better or more popular instructor, or some guy who opens a gym. People for some reason automatically assume that a gym/building location automatically means high quality training. This is not true. Sometimes better training comes with lone instructors outside, or in a garage or at a community center. Problem is the general public is ignorant about martial arts and a sexy looking gym sells. This is fine because it is obviously my goal to own an official building location one day. It should be any instructor’s goal. But you work with what you have and you make the best of it and try your darndest to teach the most effective martial arts you can to students anywhere. Visiting houses, training in parks, driveways, garages, or sub leasing under another martial arts school for time on their mats.
Instructors trying to make their way as professional teachers of the fighting arts have to have a lot of perseverance and unwavering resolve. You have to get people to trust you in order for them to pay you for your services. You also have to find those kinds of dedicated students who do not bullshit you and show up and train and keep coming and keep paying each month. As a lone instructor trying to start his martial arts business you will run into all kinds of people. A lot of them are idiots, or flakes. An instructor should not be a whore for students. He should have a ton of self respect and not just teach anyone he runs into. He should study a person’s character first and talk to them and see if he would even want to teach a person. Then give a free trial for a week or so to test their character and attitude. You should only pick quality students who have the money or a fair trade off (maybe work on your house, car, or they teach you some important skill for compensation). Being a desperate instructor only turns you into a mcdojang loner and not a real fight coach and martial arts leader. Do not lower your standards EVER!
When people do not have to pay for something they do not respect it and they will not give a strong effort or be disciplined to get good and advance in skills. It is justs omething for fun to do because they are bored until something else comes along. Other people just take advantage of free training and will use you up as long as they can. Once you as for money they are gone.
What you need to do is demand payment for your teaching expertise because you are putting in work and effort and giving someone something so valuable that is worth far more than they will be paying you for it. Martial Arts in the long run are priceless. But we have to charge a standard amount for our economy and to make money. There is nothing wrong with making money off of martial arts! Instructors deserve it! They worked hard to get where they are at and are taking their time to pass down knowledge to new students.
NEVER TEACH FOR FREE! Make them pay you money, or work a fair trade off with that person. This will keep the martial arts you promote high quality with high standards.
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Why Training In MMA Shorts Is Important For Taekwondoin
As a Taekwondo fighter and life long Taekwondoin I have often stressed that most training should be done in the dobok of course, but I always saw the need to train in regular athletic clothes and shorts. We learn to kick wearing dobok pants, but many do not kick in shorts and the feeling is very different.
Training in MMA shorts is great because they are very mobile and allow you to kick high and the material wicks away sweat. I would often do a heavy bag routine in full dobok attire and kick the bag hard with my dobok pants on. This is good to do of course. When you kick with pants on you tend to really work the instep kicks using round kick It conditions the top of your foot really well. wearing pants lacks the tendency for you to kick with your shin. You can do it but you won’t want to as much as your brain usually uses the exposed skin of the foot as the landing weapon. When you do use your shin to kick a bag with your foot your pants cover your skin.
What happens when you have material over your skin as you kick is that sweat stays wet on your skin. You will not get a good skin conditioning to develop your pain tolerance to accept high impacts on your leg. Your feet will get conditions on the skin so the slaps of the heavy bag do not hurt anymore, but your shin won’t. The dobok pants stay wet with sweat and your skin will not get dry in the air as much. This is why you should also train while wearing shorts.
A good pair of shorts I like to use are the Elite Sports Star Series MMA Shorts. They fit well and feel great. You really want to kick when wearing them. They also work well for grappling, but that is besides the point. When I wear these shorts I can kick the heavy bag pretty well and my skin over my shin will be less moist from sweat as the air will dry the skin. When I kick the bag with my shin my skin toughens up over time and you develop the much needed callouses over the shin bone.
Kicking in the air with shorts is also different. When we wear dobok pants we can do poomsae well as we hear the snap of the clothing over our legs telling us when to stop. In the real world if we get into a fight while wearing shorts it may feel weird and the novice might not understand when to snap his kick or how to pull it without the “dobok snap” sound. When i was a color belt I had this issue. I felt so weird kicking in shorts. I got used to it. Also using shorts allows for the “heavy rotation” kicks like the downward angled kick pulling through to smash the enemy’s thigh or body. The full 360 rotation kicks often seen in kickboxing.
The reason like the Elite Sports Star MMA shorts is because of their functionality and fit. The feeling that I am free to kick and move my legs as much as I want without any restraint. They are secure and stay on you well and the material so very comfortable and less plastic feeling as other brands of MMA shorts.
I am a huge advocate of cross training in martial arts as well as training in doors, out doors, in the official Taekwondo uniform and also in street clothes as well as MMA gear. For more to see about Elite Sports gear for combat sports check this video out:
So Why Isn’t President Trump Being Given An Honorary Taekwondo Black Belt?
The WTF as it was known before they went PC and changed it to World Taekwondo has often given out honorary black belts to many famous people and politicians. Back in 2009 President Barrack Hussein Obama was given an honorary black belt in Taekwondo by then Korean president Lee Myung-bak. What did he do to earn it? Basically the same thing he did to earn his Nobel Peace Prize: nothing.
President Trump on the other hand has only done more than any president in history to bring a REAL peace and unity to North Korea and South Korea.
Even the Kukkiwon idiots like Conan O’Brien was given a black belt by the Kukkiwon in 2016.
Russian President Putin was given an honorary 9th dan black belt as I mentioned before on this blog. But he at least is a martial artist and promotes martial arts in his country (even if I do not like him and do not trust him). What pisses me off is how they are ignoring the historic progress that American President Donald Trump has actually done for Korea. The first time since the Korean war we see an actual chance for peace in the Korean peninsula. If it was not for President Trump, Kim Jung Eun would not be talking to South Korea and talking about denuclearization. It is an insult and outrageous that President Trump was not also given an honorary black belt rank when he went to Korea. What a joke the Korean president is and you can tell that there is a swamp that needs to be drained in Korea just as is in the United States within government there.
President Trump is a fan of combat sports “bigley.” He has been around in the boxing scene and MMA scene for a long time as a fan and supporter. He was a supporter of MMA since it’s early days and UFC.
The current president, Moon Jae-in is a leftist shill and a globalist. He most likely does not like Trump and does not want to give him the credit he deserves. The WT and Kukkiwon are very selective in who they give out honorary dan ranks to. It is obvious it is pure politics which have drained down into how the Kukkiwon and the WT are run currently. Instead of being objective they side with whoever supports their weak and watered down agenda. This is why Taekwondo is always being used to further a globalist agenda and believes they can help create a 1 world society and Taekwondo is somehow at the forefront of this. What I do not get is that so many Koreans are extremely nationalistic and biased about their nation, but have a facade of being inclusive. I imagine it is whatever benefits their government and leaders to give them accolades and money. Prestige within the world stage and power. But really inside they are Korean nationalists, yet are soft on communism and socialism. This is why President Trump is being ignored as a serious candidate for an honorary black belt. In my opinion he deserves and honorary 9th dan since these are not actually given out for any martial arts merit and the fact he got North Korea and South Korea to get together seriously and plan out a path to peace and unity. No other U.S. president was able to do that. Trump is more of a fighter than Obama ever was.
Why You Are Told Not To Wash Your Belt In Martial Arts
When you start training in martial arts you most likely will either be told not to wash your new belt that you got with your new uniform when you sign up or you have read instructions on something somewhere that told you not to wash your belt. There are reasons why you should not wash your belt, but they have nothing to do with fantasy stories.
The main fantasy story you hear is that ancient old masters of martial arts (yet the belt system was introduced only in the 1880’s) never washed their belt and did not have new belts given to them. They wore a white belt and through years of hard training with sweat, dirt, blood etc. it became black. That means the black belt is a symbol of that hard work. This sounds good and all but it is not true. No martial arts masters ever did anything like that, and if they did it would be gross.
It is a nice story and philosophy though. Working hard and your pure effort is what makes you the master. The concept is interesting but still, why not just more than one belt if it is pure hard work that matters? Like you could not buy a black belt, you had to earn it by sweating on a white belt and rolling on the dojo floor, fighting people in challenge matches, getting their blood and your own blood on it. To me that sounds very gross and unhygienic. Would you want to practice with someone with a belt full of nasty bacteria on? Judo, Jiujitsu, Karate, Taekwondo, Hapkido, whatever. Do you want to be grabbing on, or even close to another guy who has such a belt around his waist? It would be very gross and probably smell.
Some dork made up this story to sound very mystical and it is just a silly martial arts myth to attract students and sound profound. I was told this in my first Taekwondo gym and believed it. But growing up I realized this could not be true. Why would you wash only your uniform, but not your belt? Japanese, and most Asians, are very clean people who want to make things nice and hygienic. There is no way that they would think having a nasty belt is important or good. They had to have washed their white belts with their uniforms. When people trained in martial arts in the old days, even ancient days, nobody wore special colored belts. They wore whatever training clothes were used at the time. They obviously washed everything when it needed to be one. When Jigoro Kano who invented Judo and the martial arts belt system idea started out he only had white belts and later added the black belt. Over time he added color belts. People washed their belts. They wouldn’t want that filthy piece of cloth in their dojo rolling around. People always hung dry clothing because they had no dryer machines. They most likely did not wash dark black belts with white gis either. And color belts students probably washed their belts in a separate bucket or basin as to not mix colors into the white clothing. Most likely they did not have to wash their belts as often as their uniforms as the cloth is smaller, and a thicker piece that absorbs well and dries off. But still there had to be times they needed to wash it.
Now days we use washing machines and dryer machines. These things can cause shrinkage of cloth. One reason you do not want to wash your belt is because it will shrink. If it fits you well you do not want it to shrink. But if you wash it once in awhile and air dry it, it should not shrink. So only washing when necessary is important. Not every day.
Another problem is color fades. Some of the dyes for color belts are very strong and can spread in the wash into other garments. I remember the green and red belts in Taekwondo had very strong dye that would even stain the waist of my white dobok through my sweat. I could only imagine what would happen if they went into the washing machine with white shirts. Not good. I never washed my color belts. Also, in Taekwondo color belts are only worn for about 3-4 months if you are regularly training and testing for the next keup ranks. So the amount of times you would need to wash them are slim to none.
In is my opinion that martial arts uniforms should look clean and good. It is part of the discipline. If you are a color belt you want people to see the color easily. Why fade out your green belt? It looks ugly. Why fade out a yellow belt? You worked hard to earn that color so why make it white again so fast? It just does not look good to have an old faded color belt. In the military they make sure that your uniform is worn correctly, and up to standard and clean. They want it to look good. I think the martial arts uniform should also look good including the belt.
In other martial arts styles like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you hold your belt colors for much longer and have more ground and intense sweating moment between 2 bodies. Very close contact and grabbing and jerking the belts during sparring. You probably have a white belt for about 2-3 years and same with the blue belt etc. It is much slower to rank in this martial art. Once in awhile in that amount of time your belt is going to get caked in salt and dojo mat filth that you will need to wash it. Throwing it in the washing machine is a good thing. If your belt is blue or purple just put it in with like colors, or by itself. Air dry it. But usually you do not want to wash your belt for reasons mentioned above. Another reason is the tape on your belt for stripes in BJJ. Most tape stays on in the washing machine, but over time will peel off easy and need to be replaced. During my time in BJJ I washed my white belt several times, especially during the hot summer in Korea when I was training there. The tape stayed on.
In Taekwondo washing your black belt fades it and makes it a lighter color. A lot of people think having and old black belt that is used up is somehow super cool and important. Somehow it “proves” you trained hard and are a master. As if your physical prowess does not prove it enough, they need some fashionable belt that looks gray, peeling off the surface, sides all tethered, tags missing and rubbed off, and almost white in color. They believe it has some symbol of working hard to turn your white belt black, then somehow, for some reason, not based on science, the belt then turns white again through more sweating, blood, dirty from training. This is impossible and also stupid. Why would you want that to happen? Do you really think that if you rubbed a white cloth in dirt for 20 years and other nasty stuff it would turn black then turn white? No…it won’t. How anyone came up with this is probably because they wore cheap black belts with a white layer underneath the black part. Through peeling, ripping, and washing and faded their belt the dyes washed out and underneath the layers became exposed. So they thought “Oh this must be some oriental philosophy of reincarnation and rebirth! So philosophical and so deep!!!” Probably some western dork made this up, or some Asian trying to take advantage of stupid foreigners gullibility for all things eastern and mystical. Emotional man!
There is no way this guy could have gotten belts to look this ratty and torn up from the few amount of years in between each belt without him purposefully ripping on them and washing them over and over. He is claiming that within 6 years or his black belts got this old looking! Impossible unless he buys the absolute most cheapest and poor quality belts on the market! If you earn a black belt or master rank wouldn’t you want your belt to last and be the highest quality? People have 1 belt the ends up this way but he has 6! Yeah right…
Like I said before, I think the martial arts uniform should look clean, pristine, bright in color with belts looking good. Of course tying a belt over and over may cause parts of it to tether but there is no reason the belt should look like it was found in a garbage bin. Some nominal fading will occur if you wash your belt once in awhile. I have probably washed my black belt 4 times in my life. Once because an older belt was cheap and thin and sweat caked up on it and it was gross. The latest belt I have I washed it a couple of times because it got very sweaty. So far it is still very black. Other people want to wash their belt over and over on purpose in hopes it faded and makes them look super badass like they trained for millions of years. I think this is silly and dishonest and makes you look like a tool. Especially if you are young. I remember seeing that blogger and youtube guy Karate by Jesse have almost a pure white belt on with a couple of black marks. What is that kid in his 20s? SO STUPID! No way it happened through training!
This belt was about $35 listed online. Mooto has some cool looking Taekwondo uniforms but this kind of stuff really angers me. I wear Mooto all the time, but I think they should stop making pre-worn out and made to look old belts
What is even worse is some companies sell faded black belts to look like grandmaster belts. I like my Mooto black belt, but this company actually sells an $85 belt made to look old that some suckers will buy to feel important. I hate this kind of stuff! How lame it is for people to buy a belt to look old. How fake! How pretentious! How idiotic and morally wrong!
The $89.50 belt.
Just wear the belt of your rank! If it is black then make sure it is black! If you need a new belt then get one! What are you doing to your belt, and what cheap lame quality of belts are you wasting money on, to make your belt look sooooo old and used up and nasty? You want an old belt that hardy keeps your dobok or gi closed because it is so tethered the knot never stays tight? What is the point? You don’t look cool! You look dumb! What is the point if other people can kick your ass if you have an old belt on? Make sure your skill is good!
Over the years exploring other martial arts beyond Taekwondo I have found myself just wearing athletic clothes and training poomsae outside and wearing MMA clothes often to work on kickboxing. I still wear my dobok with pride, but what I am saying is many years I have not even worn a belt. The sweat and wear and tear will no be shown on my belt since I was not wearing it sometimes. But does it mean my skill is not there? The wear and tear on my body is what matters to me. Not a piece of cloth.
In this documentary an Okinawan Karate master tells a foreigner traveling to train under him to take off his belt and not care. The master himself is only wearing shorts and a tshirt. He is giving the foreign students a lesson in humility and destroying your ego.
This master does not wear an old worn out belt. He does not even wear a belt anymore!
Wash your belt to the absolute minimum, but make sure you wash it. Do not wash it over and over either. Only as needed and to make your uniform look good. If your black belt fades some it’s ok. If it does tether some and have rips after 20 years so be it. There is nothing wrong with that. I have seen grandmasters with older looking belts that are obviously worn. But they look nothing like some of the ridiculous things I have seen on the internet. Wearing the belt your master gave you when you reached your rank is a sentimental thing. But it is also okay to buy a new belt too. In my opinion a belt is great to wear. It is earned, it is sentimental, it is honorable, it is motivating, it identifies your mastery, and is an overall positive thing. But there are times you don’t need to prove anything with a belt either. But when you wear a belt why not wash it if you need to? Just make sure with like colors as not to stain other clothes. Make your uniform clean and nice! Over the years you most likely will have a slightly faded belt with some tears here and there and that is okay, but should not be your goal! your goal should be your physical skills and strong character from a life of martial arts training! You will be in your 60’s before your belt gets that tethered!!!
The ATA Claims Taekwondo Is Non-Aggressive And Ethical
I was randomly searching Taekwondo terms on google today and the first site that shows is a page from the ATA website that says,
“Like any martial art properly taught and properly practiced, Taekwondo is a non-agressive (sic) and ethical system of self-defense.”
I just thought this was kind of funny in the light of how the Kukkiwon’s president was arrested for corruption and the fact that it is the ATA!!!! claiming to be ethical. HAHA! Yes, like ANY martial art. You here that? ANY martial art…especially when it is properly practiced…you know the RIGHT way to practice ANY martial art in the entire world….Taekwondo is ethical and non-violent. That means the back kicks to the solar plexus, knife hands to the carotid artery, and side kicks to the knee are not violent. Make sure your instructor properly teaches you Taekwondo the right way which is to make sure you are not being violent…
Anyway, the brings me to another issue I have about people who claim to promote Taekwondo. The idiots who say that Taekwondo is non-aggressive or non-violent. I am sorry but I want my Taekwondo to be both violent and aggressive!!! What’s the point in learning a fighting style if it is non-aggressive or non-violent?
In the book A Killing Art by Alex Gillis we get a different picture of the founding of Taekwondo in all of its corruption and violence!!! I may not like some of the founders of Taekwondo as people, or some of the current leaders in Taekwondo who are corrupt, but I dang sure as heck want my Taekwondo to be a violent art! I didn’t sign up for yoga or Tai Chi as a kid.
We have got to stop the silly PC pandering of Taekwondo and simply teach a real fighting art. Obviously, with this fighting art we SHOULD teach ethics, morality, and that you are not supposed to use Taekwondo for evil. We should be protectors of the weak and people who fight for our nations when called to with our martial arts abilities. But how can you do it effectively if you are being weak? Fighting is violence!!!!
Taekwondo is violent. The sport is violent (not as much anymore with idiotic scorpion twisty tap kicks) but that’s why people love it! The poomsae may be artistic but the actual movements are totally violent! The groin ripping and knee busting in Koryo, the face smashing elbow strikes in Tae Geuk O Jang and more! Taekwondo is a martial art.
Martial Arts are combat traditions and inherently violent. Violence is not somehow immoral in itself. It is WHY you are violent and who you are violent to that matters. Self defense is violent. You cannot effectively save yourself or loved ones from evil people who wish violence on you unless you are violent to them more effectively than they are to you. Maybe we don’t fight fire with fire, but we do fight violence people with violence.
That is enough comedy for today from the mcdojang ATA, and the end of my rant today. See ya later!
The “Cho Dan Bo,” or “Chodanbo” rank is often heard of in Korean martial arts. I first heard it when I was a high color rank belt. I was told there is a belt rank before black belt called Chodanbo. It was a black belt with a re stripe going through the middle of it. I was told by my instructor that it means “temporary black bet.” I eventually earned this rank before I tested for full black belt.
Later when the internet was more popular and more martial arts websites were up I heard of chodanbo being a rank in Tang Soo Do. Some people said chodanbo was like the poom (or pum) rank, which the Kukkiwon considers a children’s “junior black belt” rank before receiving full dan grades as an adult. Some websites show the poom belt which is half black and half red, with black being on top and red on the bottom of the belt. I have seen it reversed as well. Other Taekwondo school’s websites would show the black belt with red stripe down the middle like I had, but others switch out a red stripe for a white stripe going down the middle. And lastly, some schools use a red belt with a black stripe going down the middle and call that chodanbo.
Various examples of “chodanbo” belts:
But typically most schools use this color scheme as the guy on the left:
I always thought this was weird as so many definitions for this rank exist such as “temporary black belt,” “pre black belt,” “probationary black belt,” and “deputy black belt.” If you try to find a Korean person who can tell you what the heck “chodanbo” actually means in Korean they won’t know. So far every Korean friend is confused and clueless except they understand that “chodan” means first degree. In Korean you can say “cho dan” or “il dan” for 1st dan. But nobody knows what the “bo” part means. Is “bo” even a Korean word? I thought it was possible it means “bu” as in how kicho forms are called “kicho il bu, kicho yi bu, kicho sam bu” etc. But no, I was told it made no sense. So it is not Cho Dan Bu. So where did this term come from and why do Taekwondo masters use it for their students? The obvious answer people will claim is “to make more money on an extra belt test” which is true in many cases, but I do not believe it exists simply for that. It is a transitional rank between the color belts and black belt. It is usually the rank of 10th keup which is right before the dan grades. Did Tang Soo Do start this fad?
As I was talking to my Korean buddy who is an MMA fighter he told me if you were going to say something like “previous or pre” you should say “yebi.” So a term that Koreans would ACTUALLY understand it “yebi chodan.” So preliminary, or reserved 1st dan is the exact translation. It makes way more sense and Koreans would understand what you are saying.
Now if you want to be suer technical you could say “yebi chodan gum eun” which means preliminary 1st degree black belt in English literally translated.
I do not think the concept of the Cho Dan Bo rank is a bad idea in itself. I had to go through it and earn it (by the way my instructor in the 1990s did not charge me a crap ton of money for the rank either) and I had to wait 6 months before testing for black belt. But from now on if I am going to promote that philosophy and concept for a belt rank before black belt I will use the term “yebi chodan.” It is a real Korean term in their language.
If anyone knows the history or where the term chodanbo came from please let me know in the comments. Personally I think the color of the belt SHOULD be a black belt with a red stripe going down the middle since you are transitioning from a red belt rank into black. A white stripe looks dumb to me, and half red and half black is reserved for the Junior Black Belt rank which is called a poom grade.
The President Of The Kukkiwon Was Arrested Last Night
President Oh Hyun Deuk of the Kukkiwon was arrested last night on corruption charges. Read about it here at the Korea Herald. The allegations of obstruction of business and violation of political funding law were the charges. So whatever that means.
It does not surprise me that something like this would happen. The Kukkiwon as always had a lot of corruption in it’s ranks and it always made me angry. I really hope the Kukkiwon reforms and focuses on actual martial arts and developing Taekwondo as a fighting art and only hiring 9th dan black belts who are legitimate martial arts grandmasters to be presidents of the Kukkiwon.
Oh Hyun Deuk was the president when I was doing my Foreign Master Instructor certification in Korea at the Kukkiwon in 2016. He gave us a big speech about promoting Kukki-Taekwondo. Anyway, whatever.
So there was a Kukkiwon fashion show a few weeks ago in Korea. Just as you thought the kpop attitude of Korea can’t get any more apparent they thought it was an important and good idea to host a fashion show.
New definition of Taekwondo uniform!
Kukkiwon Taekwondo clothes design fashion show
태권도 도복의 새로운 정의를 내리다!
국기원 태권도 도복 디자인 보고회!🥋 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Last Thursday, November 29, Kukkiwon held a ‘Kukkiwon Taekwondo Apparel Design Conference’ to improve the problems of existing Taekwondo uniforms and to present clear standards for the production of uniforms. Let’s look at the picture of the scene
지난 11월 29일(목) 국기원에서 기존의 태권도 도복의 문제점을 개선하고 도복 제작의 명확한 기준을 제시하기 위한 ‘국기원 태권도 도복 디자인 보고회’가 진행 되었는데요. 그 현장을 사진으로 살펴볼까요?😍 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 국기원 공식 블로그에서도 확인 가능합니다👀
▶️https://blog.naver.com/kukkiwonblog/221410589122
Their reason for the fashion show they claim was to “improve the problems of existing Taekwondo uniforms.” Well they did not mention much in English about this and that is the problem with the Kukkiwon. Practically everything they announce is in Korean or very bad English that often does not make much sense. So most foreigners have no clue what they are doing. There is a lack of transparency going on with the Kukkiwon and it is annoying to a lot of people. What are the things they vote on? What reasons do they have for doing things and even existing?
Last I checked the major concern for Taekwondoin worldwide was not fashionable doboks. Yes, there often are problems with doboks. Often the sizing and not adjusting for different nations with larger or smaller people. Putting out one group of sizes everyone has to get and then pay extra money to have a seamstress hem the pants and arms of the jacket top. Another problem is all they care about are WTF approved doboks. Why should we only have WTF approved doboks and not simply Kukkiwon approved doboks? More than half of Taekwondoin do not even participate in the WTF. Oh well I should be calling it WT since they changed their name. But I like the oldschool so I will always call them WTF.
You see they only make doboks made for tournament competition and extra thin material that does not last long with aggressive martial arts training. They make light and thin material for releasing heat so competitors won’t be as hot in the event they participate in and they can move faster. But this does not allow for proper martial arts training in general. There are more things to Taekwondo than Olympic rules competition and poomsae. The main purpose is for actual martial arts and combat. In Karate they have a heavy weight gi that one can grab that will not rip. So many times a Taekwondoin has practiced hoshinsool only to rip his new expensive over $100 dobok at the collar because the stitching is weak and material thin. They need to make a heavy weight basic student dobok that allows for grabbing for self defense practice. A sturdy uniform that will not rip. No it does not have to be an extra thick Judo gi. Just make the material like the heavy weight Karate style but make it Taekwondo. If you insist on a hanbok style, v-neck collar then please make the stitching unrippable!
But no, it seems they insisted on fashionable and trendy looking doboks that will cost a ton of money with extra colors. We only need white! Tradition!!! Why do we need yellow pants? They also showed the referee, coaches, and more uniforms. Just stuff the normal Taekwondo student does not care about. Why not just admit you should have stuck with a Karate style dobok with open robe? The y-neck uniforms are interesting, but you made them all fancy and thin material and only for performance of poomsae. Why? We need a tough and durable dobok. I am also sick of doboks with a low crotch that restricts legs from kicking high unless the student pulls up his pants legs and hikes them up to do high kicks.
So the “problems” they addressed with the dobok apparently had to do with aesthetics and not practical use. I find this disappointing.
Every time I read about the Kukkiwon all I see are business meetings, pop music, dancing, expensive dinners, guys in suits, giving out random certificates, watches, and gold cuff links, and a bunch of politicians and business people. Where is the training? Where is the talk of combat training? Where is the self defense development? Where is the fighting? Why did Korea create a martial art that refuses to behave like it is a real fighting art and instead is ambiguous?
Look at other martial arts styles and their world headquarters. It is much different looking. In the Kodokan for Judo you see people in white gis training their asses off. In the Japan Karate Association headquarters they have kicking bags, makiwaras and more martial arts things. In the World Hanbu Dojo for Kyokushin you see people training for full contact fighting. What do you see in the Kukkiwon? kpop looking boys and girls dancing and drama and the business suits and board meetings that never seem to end.
These are just some questions and feelings I have right now. If anyone else has anything to say please chime in in the comments!
Rash guards are basically surfing shirts used by surfers to protect from getting rashes from their boards. It is made out of spandex type material and usually thicker than regular spandex. These are like half suits for the torso. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu martial artists in the 90’s made these things very popular for martial artists who want to do full contact fighting. The early days of the UFC allowed all kinds of uniforms to be worn in the cage and a lot of practitioners were grapplers. They stopped wearing the traditional Jiujitsu gi because the opponent could grab it and pull on it. So they started the whole “o-gi” Jiu Jitsu style or also sporting competition. This translated well for MMA and kickboxers who train in the gym because it is very functional clothing. You do not have loose clothing like a wet t-shirt, or gi or dobok that soaks up sweat. The rash guard material repels it and wicks it away from your body. They are also hygienic and protect your skin from a lot of skin diseases and bacteria that can be transferred with skin to skin contact and also from the sweat on the mat you may roll in.
With that being said, I am still a traditional martial artist and love to wear my dobok for Taekwondo, but I think that the Taekwondo practitioner needs to also practice in other kinds of clothes and do kickboxing and MMA training. So donning MMA shorts/kickboxing shorts and a rash guard is something you should do every week once or twice at least. I have trained with rash guards for many years doing my intense striking work and conditioning work. I also love to wear one when I roll and do grappling sometimes. I prefer the bJJ gi when I do my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training but I also believe to be an efficient and street ready fighter you need to train in both the gi and without the gi. So the rash guard is the best choice for attire when not rolling in the gi.
I have a few rash guards, but I will tell you the absolute best rash guard I have ever worn is the Elite Sports Star Rash Guard. Elite Sports is a maker of a lot of martial arts gear with an emphasis on MMA, but they also make Taekwondo uniforms too. The Elite Sports Star Short Sleeve Compression Rash Guard is extremely comfortable and feels great.
The material is thicker spandex and slides well on the mat. The stitching is very strong. What I like about this rash guard compared to others is that the shirt fits my wider frame and does not feel tight in my armpits like other brands do. My shoulders and armpits are not restricted and I can freely move. I am a bigger guy around 220lbs and I wear an XL size. Another important thing about this shirt is that it does not at all choke my in anyway. Almost every rash guard I have worn in the past has given me a slight uncomfortable feeling on the front of my throat. The tight spandex usually gives slight discomfort but nothing that keeps me from working out, breathing, and giving it my all. This Elite Sports Star rash guard has a small v-neck shape that does not choke me at all!!! It feels amazing! I was so surprised.
Probably one of the coolest features of this rash guard is that the waist has a band that keeps the shirt conformed to my waist. It is form fitting and stays down. When I roll with other rash guards they usually would slide up and expose my belly. It was annoying as I want to be modest when I train as well as be hygenic and not have parts of my torso rubbing the mat or someone else’s skin. This rash guard by Elite Sports stays around my waist and does not hike up! I love it!!! It has this cool band sort of like a rubber band keeping it down. Nothing about this rash guard is too tight either. It just overall feels comfortable.
The design of this rash guard is also really cool. This is a ranked rash guard and white symbolizes by BJJ white belt status. I am almost to blue and when I get blue belt I will get a blue rash guard like this as well. So I feel great and also look great with a very fashionable design!
So as a Taekwondo fighter I will practice my punches and kicks and also do my Jiujitsu in this as well. It also is a great overall active shirt for general fitness. Jogging, weights, jump rope, push ups and everything else. I recommend this rash guard. You can get it on Amazon for $24.99. The price is very nice!!!! Other rash guards cost 50 or more dollars! So Elite Sports is making high quality gear for a low price the average martial arts man can afford!
White Dragon
White Dragon Dojang 