When I became an ATA black belt back in 1981 the hyung were all Gen. Choi's forms. Apparently many years, perhaps after the passing of HU Lee, they changed completely. Other differences were that sparring was hand/foot pads only with no head contact and no schools provided any type of grappling or weapons training. Now it appears that the ATA does teach weapons but I think it's more of a sport aspect than traditional weapons. Also, I remember when tournament scoring went from 3 points to 5 points with changes to the scoring method for punches (1 point), kicks to the body (1 point), head kicks (2 points), and jumping head kicks (3 points). That was a change I liked, it made for great sport competition fighting.
This is currently inaccurate info. Obviously I mean no offense-merely attempting to correct the record. Now… I did stop training back in 2016, but I was active from 94-16. As best I know, yes, initially Gen Chois forms were used but the 9 color belt forms used currently were developed by HU Lee and implemented during his lifetime. As were at least the 1-4 degree black belt forms. I am unclear on 5-8 degree forms, but if I recall correctly it was Soon Ho, his brother who made the Grandmaster form. I am unclear on the in-between ranks, but can easily find out if you’d like me to. There are traditional weapons that were also implemented during his lifetime-principally by other family members adding their talented flavor to the mix. GK Lee principally among them. It wasn’t until well after Haeng Ung Lee died that creative competitions and weapons sparring were introduced.
Thank you so much for this information,I have obtained my first dan black belt from ITF under master James B C Yu of Ann Arbor Mich. Back in May of 1983 , since then I have been out of TKD due to open heart surgery in 2006, and now in 2024 I have returned to ATA TKD under Master Prosser,in Cuba, Mo.
@@Bypass321rtake a look at the class, participate and see how you feel during and after it😊if you learn good techniques that you can use wll, have a great master and a supportive team then you are going to be fine
I'm a 3rd Degree Black Belt in ATA and my husband is a 5th Degree Black Belt. While not all the information in your video is correct, it was educational to watch.
ITF black belt here, in all the ITF clubs that I know off, you must be a 7th dan before being seen as a master. And we certainly don't spar semi contact! Nice video :)
that depends on the school. unfortunately there are a lot of different divisions and schools of itf, which makes kinda a mess. in my tkd education center in argentina, we have two Sayonim (8th Dan), and my master is a Sabonim (6th Dan). So they are considered masters normally.
@@Madheim777 I am 1st dan since last May. I am 46 and finding it difficult at my age, but still training. I am debating if I will try for my 2nd dan. I will listen to my body, as it's not like it was when I was younger! Are you young yourself?
Worth noting is in the ATA, Grandmaster H.U. Lee and his team introduced the new forms in '83 or '84. The ATA used to do General Choi's forms (Chong-Ji, Dan-Gun, etc) until then. ATA wanted their own 'brand' if you will, and the new Poomse/hyungs are distinguished by everything being equal on the right and left, whereas the old style sometimes featured kicks mostly on the right.
@@daxbradley4346 Thank you so much! Even though I am an ITF practicioner I like to learn about other styles and arts to widen my horizon and try to share what I learned in a way that is objective, I am glad that it shows and people notice!
i do ATA. currently a red belt going for Red-Black. I've seen a lot call it a McDojo, i just wanna see the majority opinion? I don't think it is as i would probably beat most kids at school in a fight, but i just want to know what others think about ATA.
I've seen a lot of people crap on ATA for the style and all, calling it a McDojo especially when it comes to sparring, but seeing with this breakdown of the different styles it just seems to me that there's a major difference in how it's taught and really who the overall style is targeted towards. I've heard people say that the reason it's so padded with ATA sparring is because it's meant for a much broader range of people to be able to try. Little kids or older people might want to take it a bit easier with sparring so ATA's style might be a better option if they want to spar than say ITF and WT. This video has made me want to try these different styles of Taekwondo to see how different they really are from each other up close.
Believe what you want but ATA is a McDojo. There is no discipline but a black belt factory, just look at their belt ranks, CAMOUFLAGE? really? They were too much protection and all they care is about the money and quantity. So yes they are a McDojo. They don't compete with any other style and they don't let any other style participate on their events. By sayin that some people like little kids and older people may want to take it easier with the sparring, again that is an excuse. We have little kids training ITF TKD and they do fine even with the type of sparring ITF does. No Black Belt from ATA can survive or even measure to a BB in ITF or even WTF.
@@EmmanuelReyes you're allowed to have that opinion but don't force it on anyone. I agree the ranks are ridiculous like camo and red and black on one belt? But how do they wear too much protection? it's just the traditional sparring gear with occasional hand and chin guards. I agree they should let others styles compete but most other styles are outside of America so it'd be hard. The sparring in ATA compares to the sparring in any other style heavily, at least professional sparring, so idk what you're implying with that. And you should see some performances and sparring drills bb's at my dojo do. Also saying there's no discipline just shows you don't know what you're saying. Maybe a little bit less than other styles of Taekwondo but there's no visible difference, kids under 5 may not be expected to have as much discipline but that's common sense. Again, it's fine if you believe that but I disagree heavily
@@treblemaker1854 To be honest I think it really depends on your instructor with ATA. I've been to a couple events and got to meet some phenomenal sparrers but I also went to competitions where I dominated because people didn't even know their forms and that was all they competed in, and competitions where I got my ass whooped because the people I went up against trained a lot harder and their instructors took teaching those particular things a lot more seriously. There's some truth to some ATA schools being McDojos as it is a massive franchise and there's bound to be some bad eggs, but in all honesty it just depends on your instructor and what they teach. Either way seeing the best fighters associated with ATA is impressive, especially since a lot of the best fighters I've known have even branched out to learn things from other styles to better their own training.
I was/am an ATA blackbelt before switching to WT. WT and ITF are actually much more similar in practice. They draw much more heavily from Taekyeon. ATA practices Songham Taekwondo, which draws much more from Tang soo do (Korean Karate).
If I remember correctly, having earned my 1st degree BB in Songahm tkd in the 90s, that the ATA style is derived from the Chung Do Kwan, being that's the style that former Grandmaster HU Lee trained in.
@@brucemoose926 Tang soo do Hyundai (Katas) are virtually indistinguishable from Japanese katas true. And many of the movesets in WT Taekwondo are drawn from them. ITF and ATA developed their forms from the ground up.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, ITF competition sparring WAS basically full contact to the body for black belts (it was permissible) especially if the opponent showed poor technique or sloppy defence. A haymaker knockout punch or unsighted spinning backfist however WAS a disqualification - again depending on the belt level And the people sparring. I've done Thai boxing and Kickboxing too and I've seen more injuries in Semi Contact ITF, because there's no conditioning and usually a terrible defence. WTF (as you said) was far more realistic as the opponent had to be staggered to score the point but unfortunately punches were not often used because the judges really needed to see those staggering kicks and not punching to the face? I don't agree with it - I fought WTF proponents in kickboxing matches and to be honest they had no defence whatsoever, but their kicks were full commitment leaving them off balance and exposed (but if they caught you.... night, night). Nowadays, WTF is terrible to watch and should be replaced in the Olympics with WAKO Kickboxing.but... there's a lot of money invested in it at the moment .... ATA? .... sorry from what i've seen that is pure McDojo. The Best TKD exponents are mostly ITF because they can more easily transition into full contact kickboxing and many have done. But, an informative video. thank you.
@@KenMikaze I understand the reason. My KwangJangNim said WT is lack of strength (and punch) at some point also. He used to practise Gojuryu Karate sometime before but he adapted boxing tech & WingChun tech into teaching at the present.
ATA had to have gone downhill in the past couple decades. Back in the 80's and 90's ATA was essentially an ITF clone but 100% based in America. The art focused on punches equal to kicks and used the same exact belt system as ITF. Sparring was full contact in competition using protective gear, and semi-contact in class. They also cross-trained into grappling and basic ground submissions (this was not common but trained for the self-defense aspect). I hate that the ATA seems to have gone downhill, but thankfully we still have the ITF for traditional TKD.
Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo also transitions well into Kickboxing: Scott Masterton and Cristian Nelson were very famous American Kickboxers that came from Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo.
@@mott1992as someone who does ATA from what I can tell it’s been improving since it had a pretty bad decline in the 2010s and 2000s in regards to mcdojo activity
Great video lady, awesome info, I’m not sure you mentioned the breaking boards or bricks, I’m not sure if or how ATA do breaking, but WT i think mostly does more acrobatic, jumping or flying, flashy kicks for breaking were they break many boards one at a time as quickly as they can, and I see mostly ITF do power breaking like Karate where they break many boards at once stacked together with one strike to break through as many as possible
@@Thecon3head The Lee brothers have done some impressive breaking demonstrations back in the 90s when I was training. The WT demo teams break 1/4" boards, while the boards that we broke in Songahm tks were 1" boards.
Ata is focused on sparring to the point (not damaging the opponent) that is my explanation for the pads in the chest, but in my academy we do both (only for tournaments we use all the equipment)
@@robert.von.l Back in my day, the ATA did not use chest protectors, but light contact was allowed, hard contact or lack of control could get you a penalty point in tournaments.
It's interesting to hear the comparison. I'm a former ATA student, but that was in the 90's and I'm sure it's different now. In fact, modern WT olympic sparring looks considerably different to what I remember of ATA. In the 1990's, at least at my dojang, sparring was hard. When I first joined, there was also no chest protector. No punching to the face of course, and the camouflage belt was just added. My master emphasized power and technique.
ATA has schools all over the world. In Canada and Europe and other places, the organization is known as W.T.T.U, and in South America, the organization is known as STF.
Howdy, I was contemplating getting back into the sport, but in WT this time as I did ITF at age 16. There are uniform differences from what I can see (ITF - korean wordings on the back of the dobok go from top to bottom and WT is left to right). I'm not sure how I would do now as I'm unable to do the splits anymore and also had a sprained knee injury a couple of years ago (95% recovered but still)
Hello! I hope that you can find a good martial arts club near where you live and can get back into practicing! It is great that you are recovering well from your injury, you will do well in training but be careful and build up to the more difficult techniques. You can do it!
Splits or not, many people can't even if they practice tkd. That doesn't have to hold you back. I have a classmate recovering from a leg surgery, and I have been working around a pulled hip flexor/groin. You know your body and if training would be more harmful than beneficial to your knee. If it's just about what other people might think, just look for a school that has decent manners. Everyone is on their own journey and there should be room for you on the mountain if you want to be there.
I am a red belt decided in ATA, and state champion this year in multiple areas. Sparing, combat weapon sparing, traditional forms, creative forms, xtream forms, traditional weapon ( mine is the sword), creative weapons, and xtream weapons. Some parts are all in traditional forms of form and weapon. The other are the students imagination to create thier own form to present. The xtream forms and weapons allow acrobatics and weapon releases from body. Excellent video.
All these rules and styles in taekwondo are very very unique each of them has a sport in self-defense programs that teaches the fighter how to relate and also utilize these type of techniques and battle and in fights it's all about knowing how to use it the right way and knowing how to use it the correct way I just wish I should have had stayed in karate in 2011 and learned so much more about it and get into it more than any other way possible 🥋🇰🇷🙏😌🙏🇰🇷🥋
I had a red belt (ITF). After 20 years I started practicing WT (black belt version). Now I have an orange belt (WT) and can say there are differences. The main difference for me is while ITF has slow but powerful kicks, WT has quick and weak ones. My best assumption is that they simplified moves as much as possible to make them quicker. However, some kicks are more powerful in WT (like naeryo chagi, no idea why).
@antonsyd7070, Ви абсолютно праві про стару/нову школу. Нещодавно мав кілька порад від майстра (5 дан) і від грандмайстра (8 дан) WT. Якщо коротко, то за 20 років багато чого змінилося. Тепер обвішують бійців цифровими лічильниками пропущених ударів на змаганнях. Відповідно, для виграшу потрібно бити швидко і часто. Коли вони змагалися, багато боїв закінчувалися нокаутами чи нокдаунами (інформація від переможців чемпіоната країни і Європи). Але, чим довше навчаюся, тим більше нівелюється фокус лише на швидкість. Думаю, тренерам і самим нова система не дуже подобається.
Have you ever seen movies that are about TKD, or emphasize or use TKD, like an old movie called When Taekwondo Strikes starring Jhoon Rhee, known as the father of American TKD (not ATA)for teaching TKD in U.S., and an 80’s or 90’s movie called Best of the Best starring Phillip Rhee and his brother Simon Rhee (I think not related to Jhoon Rhee) and Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones
Hello Nora, thanks for the extensive information! I am a 26 year old man interested in taekwondo. I trained until blue belt as a child in the past. Is it too late for me to be a good taekwondo practitioner because of my age? I aspire to receive my black belt and maybe to serve as an instructor in the future.
Hello there! It is great that you are thinking about doing TKD again! There is always time to come back and start over. The fact that you are looking at videos about it proves that you have the mindset and is ready to be back at it! I am not sure if they can count in your blue belt in the dojang when you go again (you might have to start over but you might be able to keep it or be green belt etc. Depending on the instructor) and you may want to take it easy in the beginning to get back in shape for doing it. The fact that you practiced it before as a child and managed to reach blue belt is great! You have the ability to continue and get to black belt if you put in the work 😊👊🏻🥋
In the video, I am showing you the complete set of protectors for each style. ITF does not use chest protectors at all but the men do put of groin protectors.
I was practising Kukkiwon (WT) but I would liked to practise Chang'Hon (ITF) also. Unfortunately, Chang'Hon has been settle only one place in my country which is a bit far away.
So i wanna put my kid in taekwondo... Thing is... He folows this girl from the cobrakay tv show..rayna something... And he sees a lot of staff videos,sword videos etc... Im telling him to pratice with swords only after she is a grown up🤣... But after i go to some taekwondo dojos i still hace no idea if all the taekwondo schools teaches that kind of weapons... Can someone clarify that too me? Thanks in advance
I trained under a student of Jhoon Rhee in the US. He claimed traditional style, and we weren't part of any federation. I'm up to purple. Now in Germany I'm looking for a new school to continue. Based on this video I think ITF comes closest. Except, females were required a chest guard, males a cup, of course everyone had a mouth piece, helmet, gloves, and feet protector. We had forms, weapons forms, and all the other things. Our forms were also more upright with exceptions. God Bless America being my favorite form. Belt system is also different... none, white, gold, green, purple, blue, red, brown, brown senior and then black. Kids wear plain belts, 14 or 16 and up have black stripe belts. Except for kids with senior brown belts, they also have the black striped belt. Also, as females we were allowed to wear black pants regardless of your belt degree.
That sounds interesting. If your club was not part of one of the federations that might be an indication why they did things differently. In ITF, women do wear chest protectors and men wear cups for sparring. I am sorry but ‘God Bless America’ is not a real ITF pattern😅 or any other poomsae/tull/pattern for other TKD federations if they have the traditional Korean roots. I hope that you will find a good dojang in Germany where you can start training again! Good luck!
Why do you think that a lot of people in Martial Arts start to loose interest or motivation when they are black belt and stop practicing or training, have you seen or experienced this, what would you do or say to help someone who is thinking of giving up and quitting, have you ever felt this in your TKD journey or have you stopped for a while and come back to training or have you not stopped since you started
It is indeed difficult to keep going. But once you reach black belt level, you realise that there is so much more to learn. I never want to stop practicing martial arts since that is part of who I am and I can practice anywhere. It is best to practice with others to motivate you but when you reach a certain level, you must be able to push yourself and practice alone. Never give up!
The main reason kids quit when they get to black belts rely on the parents a lot. When the parent lose interest the student lose interest as well. Sometimes is a combination of home versus Dojang. If you have parents that let their children do whatever they want and you have a Dojang that is tough on them, of course they first thing that come to their mind is quit. Other parents look for money, since you don't get a scholarship by doing TKD, the parents feel is a waste of money and time.
I stopped training in ATA tkd in Canada because once I got my BB I also graduated from uni and had to work to pay off student loans - TKD is just too expensive! later on, about 5 years later, I started training in karate and later, when teaching ESL in Korea, I started training WTF TKD under the KTA. Lots of fun!
@@NoraTKD Yeah, I think Kuk Sool Won is the better style for you to practice, Nora. Krav is much more aggressive and deadly than Taekwondo while Kuk Sool Won teaches all aspects of the Korean martial arts.
Do you watch other martial arts videos to perhaps see something that could be helpful or useful like maybe Chloe Bruce, Alex Wong, or Samery Moras or others
Do you have a favorite martial art movie or show, and do you have a favorite martial art movie star or actor or actress, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Liu, Cynthia Rothrock, or any other
Within the ITF style there is also "traditional TKD" which is still ITF (same patterns and everything) but practices it the original way General Choi taught it. For example it has no sine wave, in fact you were trained to keep your body at the same level as to not bob up and down. They also keup (shout) on every attack in patterns. I'm curious what you said about earning your white belt? I've never heard of this in ITF TKD. Here when you join the club you are a white belt the first belt you earn is yellow stripe. The very meaning of white belt in ITF says "A beginner who has no previous knowledge of TKD.
I also trained in ITF in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. Got as high as second degree black belt then gave it all away when TKD became an Olympic sport....which basically killed it. But that’s just my not-so-humble opinion. Our chief instructor was a former All Army Korean Champion and the style he taught reflected his army training. We never had the sine wave in our patterns, but had to keep our head at the same level. Bobbing up and down looks stupid and serves absolutely no purpose. If people knew anything about physics they would know that the energy that is put into the vertical direction by moving up and down has a zero component in the horizontal direction. So why do it? I think some "bright" spark just dreamt it up one day, thought it was a good idea and the mindless masses just went along with it without questioning in first.
yes, you can, they do have some Self-defense techniques that you could develop for your own. only problem with WT schools are they are mostly preoccupied with contact sports.
not the WTF style no, they only concentrate on the sport part of TKD. Unless the instructor like self defense and wants to include that in the curriculum, the majority of the WTF schools only teach kicking, not self defense. That is why ITF is different cause the main purpose is self defense first and then the sport part.
@@EmmanuelReyes Not entirely true. I am a belt in WTF. One step sparring, self defense and take downs were part of our curriculum and drilled. If you were an adult, we learned finishing techniques. At first Dan, we started with Nunchucks and Boken / Katana forms. At 3rd Dan, they are starting Hapkido and Knife defense. They do Olympic Style sparring, but it's really just to fulfill the requirements. Learning the footwork and how to evade kicks is the real value there. So it really just depends on the school. Having a high emphasis on family is just part of the game. Schools have to stay in business, and suburban real estate is expensive. I myself don't endorse "Foot fencing" but we never learned that. So it really depends on the school. Ours is part of the World Class Tae Kwon Do group.
@@EmmanuelReyes No, any knowledge or training can possibly be useful in a street fight. You have to know how and when to apply your knowledge and training, the best tactic for any martial artist is knock your opponent down and then run! Because who knows? He might have a friend with a knife coming in to join, or a gun! But martial art training greatest use is the development of your character so that you avoid nasty things like street fights.
ATA is a waterdown version of TKD, they will never compete on anything outside of their circle of schools. This is for the parents not to realize the BS they are getting and paying for, as well they don't let any other style participate on any of their ATA events. ITF is not in the Olympics because Gen Choi always said that Taekwon-Do is not a sport is an art of self defense and when South Korea present to Gen Choi the opportunity, he refused because of all the changes that needed to be done to the TKD in order to be in the Olympics, like as you can see not using punches and use chest protections, that is not TKD.
@@EmmanuelReyes if you can forgive ITF for not being in the Olympics why is ATA not being there such a big deal? WTF is arguably much worse than ATA. It's not BS, it's a great style. And you need to get a life
@@EmmanuelReyeshey bud, we actually have a lot of people in the ATA who compete outside of the tournament circuit. And they beat the crap out if most WT people in the weight class. I can list off many names of poeple in the ATA who do tournaments in the ATA and at WT tournaments.
@@treblemaker1854 True! I competed in the Tiger Balm Internationals in Vancouver, Canada in 2000 and won gold for my sparring division and I'm a WTTU Black Belt (WTTU was the international arm of the ATA, in case you didn't know)
Talk about weapon training in TKD is rarely heard. At some point, I think it should be some weapon training as well. PS, especially WT. (Short Stick or Baton Stick may be better as self-defense)
@@tm114paul The meaning of Taekwon-Do is = Destroy or hit with the Foot, Destroy or kit with the fist and the Way of life. In other words ITF Taekwon-Do is designed to be a self defense martial arts with a combination of kicks, punches, throws, arm bars and more. No need for sticks or bamboos.
the wt belts are wrong, the order is the same as what you showed in itf, there are very few schools that occupy the other grade system, normally it is white, yellow, green, blue, red and black, with their respective stripes between degree and degree
Good info, would you ever look into, do a video on, or try any other Korean martial art like, Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, Tukong Moosul, Hwa Rang Do, Moo Duk kwan, Kuk sul wan, Chung Do Kwan, or Chang Moo Kwan, Taekkyon or Choi Kwang Do, Kwon Bup, or Song Moo Kwan, Yun Mu Kwan, Soo Bahk Do, or Kyuk Too ki, Gwonbeop, Won Hwa Do, Hankido, Yongmudo, Ssireum, Han Mu Do, Kong Soo Do, Shippalgi
In WTF (PH), Belting system is as follows: While -> Yellow (2 classes) -> Blue (2 classes) -> Red (2 classes) -> Brown (2 classes) -> Junior Black (Red/Black belt) for less than 13yo -> Black. Sadly, I do not like the direction of WTF as it seems to be like foot fencing. Less power and it tends to be more on sport than self defense. Modern WTF TKD seems not applicable for defending yourself on the streets unlike the old school TKD. Old school WTF TKD was faster and powerful compared to the modern style WTF TKD Sparring.
ITF was formed in 1956 not 1966 and im sorry to say it is sport based and not traditional. I am ranked 8th degree and teach traditional korean TKD which is not competition based, we focus on the application of the technique using every strike and kick
It almost sounds like ATA is the best of all 3 but I’ve heard ATA is garbage. I have only ever been in ITF my whole life. I like the traditional old school method and wouldn’t switch unless I wanted an Olympic medal
@@NoraTKD You did a great job with your video explanation Nora. Hopefully, the ITF style of Taekwondo will add chest protectors for sparring matches. The more safeguards in place to prevent potential injuries the better.
I'm a 3rd Dan Certified Instructor in WTF; Poomsaes are not only self defenses put together, but have History. For an Example: Poomsae Koryo comes from The Koryo Dynasty. We also have Self Defenses for each belt level, as well as Kicking Techniques; 1 Step, 2 Step, 3 Step, & Advanced Step Sparring for each belt level. We also have a breaking technique such as front kick for white belt to yellow belt. My Great Grand Master in in his 60s, is from Seoul, Korea, and served in the Korean Army. I also have Blackbelts in Shudokan Karate & Judo, and have trained under my Great Grand Master (9th Dan), off and on since I was a teenager up into my 30s. We teach real self defenses and then we have Tournament Classes for Sparring. Tournament Sparring is different because it's using proper technique, not actually trying to hurt your opponant. I used my Martial Arts in the US Army, and was even a Hand-To-Hand Combat Instructor for 2 Operations. Please do some more research. Especially on WTF! By the way, where I live now, we only have an ATA Do-Jang. My daughter is 3 years old, in the Tiger Program (ages 3-6 years). They do start with their White Belts. However, for kids 3-6, the Test for half a level, so they actually test for their second half of their White Belt (and stay as a Turtle). Then test first half of orange to earn their Tiger, then the second half at the following test. And so on until they turn 7 years old. ATA has longer Poomsaes than WTF, especially White Belts. My daughter is under a 7th Dan Senior Master. Still, not too bad of a Taekwondo video on the 3 major differences. 😎👍🥋✝❤
Very interesting, thank you for sharing this information! It is great that you encourage your daughter to learn martial arts, good luck to her in the future :)
@@user-it7rk6bw6j i dont know about WT. but in ITF our forms (called Tuls) have each one history behind, always related to historical Korean figures. So he is not wrong. the martial art is new, but the symbolic and cultural figures of Korea referenced on them aren't.
Traditional taekwondo wasn't developed by Choi hong Hi . He was merely one of the developers among many. These kinds of outrageus claims make me dislike itf taekwondo Also, WT taekwondo also includes all those aspects you mention: forms, board breaking, forms, self defence and one to three step sparring! Only difference is that WT has different set of tournament rules and doesn't include sine-wave, theory of force or the breathing technique . It is based on sport science It is a shame that WT style doesn't in itself produce efficient fighters anymore. You have to complement it with something that includes throws and punches to the face.
You are missing a lot of information about the politics and split. You totally bypassed the Korean Tae Kwon Do Federation and the Association which is part of the real TKD before they watered it down and heavily commercialized it as sport martial arts. Anyway! Keep working on it. Grandmaster Lucky Riley.
The video is titled: different TKD organisations and styles explained, therefore it is NOT about the politics and the split. I am sure that you can find a video about those too or videos depending on who made it and how they want to explain the politics.
I will earn my blackbelt tomorrow in WTF. I do punch.. a lot. I love this style but WTF does not teach a lot in punching at all. If u want to win against a WTF student.. PUNCH! I also practiced Kung Fu for 8 yrs.. so.. ya. It always throws my cassmated off.
Good video ma'am. If I may say in my opinion no disrespect at all. The ATA yes mainly American . However they are not really a cross between WT and ITF. Their gear is consider is over-protective. An ATA competitor would not have much of a chance against ITF . No disrespect to H.U. Lee but ATA is their own "world" I grew up learning ITF but did WTF sparring before the electronics
You might consider watching some recent ATA sparring at higher levels. The gear is over protective because there is no pulling kicks or punches or touch sparring in ATA competition sparring. No kicking to the legs and no punches to the face or legs. This is my 2nd martial art after studying Shaolin Kempo which was full sparring with limited contact.
@@treblemaker1854 Really? Because that is not I was taught in Songahm TKD in Canada, it was always Light Contact. But that was back in the 90s and things could have changed, I guess.
When I became an ATA black belt back in 1981 the hyung were all Gen. Choi's forms. Apparently many years, perhaps after the passing of HU Lee, they changed completely. Other differences were that sparring was hand/foot pads only with no head contact and no schools provided any type of grappling or weapons training. Now it appears that the ATA does teach weapons but I think it's more of a sport aspect than traditional weapons. Also, I remember when tournament scoring went from 3 points to 5 points with changes to the scoring method for punches (1 point), kicks to the body (1 point), head kicks (2 points), and jumping head kicks (3 points). That was a change I liked, it made for great sport competition fighting.
Very interesting, thank you so much for sharing this information!
This is currently inaccurate info. Obviously I mean no offense-merely attempting to correct the record. Now… I did stop training back in 2016, but I was active from 94-16. As best I know, yes, initially Gen Chois forms were used but the 9 color belt forms used currently were developed by HU Lee and implemented during his lifetime. As were at least the 1-4 degree black belt forms. I am unclear on 5-8 degree forms, but if I recall correctly it was Soon Ho, his brother who made the Grandmaster form. I am unclear on the in-between ranks, but can easily find out if you’d like me to.
There are traditional weapons that were also implemented during his lifetime-principally by other family members adding their talented flavor to the mix. GK Lee principally among them. It wasn’t until well after Haeng Ung Lee died that creative competitions and weapons sparring were introduced.
Thank you so much for this information,I have obtained my first dan black belt from ITF under master James B C Yu of Ann Arbor Mich. Back in May of 1983 , since then I have been out of TKD due to open heart surgery in 2006, and now in 2024 I have returned to ATA TKD under Master Prosser,in Cuba, Mo.
@@roberttaylor2760 thank you for your comment! Happy to hear that you are back and doing TKD
Greetings from Ann Arbor. I’m considering ATA nearby . Really not sure because the internet seems to dislike ATA so much
@@Bypass321rtake a look at the class, participate and see how you feel during and after it😊if you learn good techniques that you can use wll, have a great master and a supportive team then you are going to be fine
I'm a 3rd Degree Black Belt in ATA and my husband is a 5th Degree Black Belt. While not all the information in your video is correct, it was educational to watch.
Thank you for letting me know! Please let us know more what you think I missed!
@@NoraTKD one thing is that in ATA sparring we don't allow a punch to the head.
ITF black belt here, in all the ITF clubs that I know off, you must be a 7th dan before being seen as a master. And we certainly don't spar semi contact! Nice video :)
that depends on the school. unfortunately there are a lot of different divisions and schools of itf, which makes kinda a mess.
in my tkd education center in argentina, we have two Sayonim (8th Dan), and my master is a Sabonim (6th Dan). So they are considered masters normally.
@@Madheim777 Interesting, clearly there's a lot of difference between organisations across the world, within IFT.
@@brendanoconnor9196 true, it's a shame, tbh. By the way, which dan you are? Im a red belt recently.
@@Madheim777 I am 1st dan since last May. I am 46 and finding it difficult at my age, but still training. I am debating if I will try for my 2nd dan. I will listen to my body, as it's not like it was when I was younger! Are you young yourself?
@@brendanoconnor9196 im 29 😁, used to play basketball for 12 years and then changed to taekwondo. Honestly best idea ever.
Worth noting is in the ATA, Grandmaster H.U. Lee and his team introduced the new forms in '83 or '84. The ATA used to do General Choi's forms (Chong-Ji, Dan-Gun, etc) until then. ATA wanted their own 'brand' if you will, and the new Poomse/hyungs are distinguished by everything being equal on the right and left, whereas the old style sometimes featured kicks mostly on the right.
That is very interesting, it does make sense why they changed the patterns and won't do the traditional patterns anymore, thank you for explaining.
@@NoraTKD thank you for the original video essay, it's quite enlightening! I like how it's objectively respectful to each of the quans/schools
@@daxbradley4346 Thank you so much! Even though I am an ITF practicioner I like to learn about other styles and arts to widen my horizon and try to share what I learned in a way that is objective, I am glad that it shows and people notice!
i do ATA. currently a red belt going for Red-Black. I've seen a lot call it a McDojo, i just wanna see the majority opinion? I don't think it is as i would probably beat most kids at school in a fight, but i just want to know what others think about ATA.
Morning Nora, great video and history breakdown!! I practice WT
Awesome! Thank you Carlos 😊👊🏻
I've seen a lot of people crap on ATA for the style and all, calling it a McDojo especially when it comes to sparring, but seeing with this breakdown of the different styles it just seems to me that there's a major difference in how it's taught and really who the overall style is targeted towards. I've heard people say that the reason it's so padded with ATA sparring is because it's meant for a much broader range of people to be able to try. Little kids or older people might want to take it a bit easier with sparring so ATA's style might be a better option if they want to spar than say ITF and WT. This video has made me want to try these different styles of Taekwondo to see how different they really are from each other up close.
Believe what you want but ATA is a McDojo. There is no discipline but a black belt factory, just look at their belt ranks, CAMOUFLAGE? really? They were too much protection and all they care is about the money and quantity. So yes they are a McDojo. They don't compete with any other style and they don't let any other style participate on their events. By sayin that some people like little kids and older people may want to take it easier with the sparring, again that is an excuse. We have little kids training ITF TKD and they do fine even with the type of sparring ITF does. No Black Belt from ATA can survive or even measure to a BB in ITF or even WTF.
@@EmmanuelReyes You're entitled to that opinion.
@@EmmanuelReyes you're allowed to have that opinion but don't force it on anyone. I agree the ranks are ridiculous like camo and red and black on one belt? But how do they wear too much protection? it's just the traditional sparring gear with occasional hand and chin guards. I agree they should let others styles compete but most other styles are outside of America so it'd be hard. The sparring in ATA compares to the sparring in any other style heavily, at least professional sparring, so idk what you're implying with that. And you should see some performances and sparring drills bb's at my dojo do. Also saying there's no discipline just shows you don't know what you're saying. Maybe a little bit less than other styles of Taekwondo but there's no visible difference, kids under 5 may not be expected to have as much discipline but that's common sense. Again, it's fine if you believe that but I disagree heavily
@EmmanuelReyes I'll put you up against some of ATA's best lol we'll see how long you last.
@@treblemaker1854 To be honest I think it really depends on your instructor with ATA. I've been to a couple events and got to meet some phenomenal sparrers but I also went to competitions where I dominated because people didn't even know their forms and that was all they competed in, and competitions where I got my ass whooped because the people I went up against trained a lot harder and their instructors took teaching those particular things a lot more seriously.
There's some truth to some ATA schools being McDojos as it is a massive franchise and there's bound to be some bad eggs, but in all honesty it just depends on your instructor and what they teach.
Either way seeing the best fighters associated with ATA is impressive, especially since a lot of the best fighters I've known have even branched out to learn things from other styles to better their own training.
I was/am an ATA blackbelt before switching to WT. WT and ITF are actually much more similar in practice. They draw much more heavily from Taekyeon. ATA practices Songham Taekwondo, which draws much more from Tang soo do (Korean Karate).
Which one train with weapons and you would recommend for a kid?
If I remember correctly, having earned my 1st degree BB in Songahm tkd in the 90s, that the ATA style is derived from the Chung Do Kwan, being that's the style that former Grandmaster HU Lee trained in.
@@Elurin Chung Do Kwan was one of the schools/governing bodies that taught Tang Soo Do.
Tae Kwon Do borrows katas from Shotokan (due to the Japanese Occupation/Colonization), same as Tang Soo Do.
@@brucemoose926 Tang soo do Hyundai (Katas) are virtually indistinguishable from Japanese katas true. And many of the movesets in WT Taekwondo are drawn from them. ITF and ATA developed their forms from the ground up.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, ITF competition sparring WAS basically full contact to the body for black belts (it was permissible) especially if the opponent showed poor technique or sloppy defence. A haymaker knockout punch or unsighted spinning backfist however WAS a disqualification - again depending on the belt level And the people sparring. I've done Thai boxing and Kickboxing too and I've seen more injuries in Semi Contact ITF, because there's no conditioning and usually a terrible defence. WTF (as you said) was far more realistic as the opponent had to be staggered to score the point but unfortunately punches were not often used because the judges really needed to see those staggering kicks and not punching to the face? I don't agree with it - I fought WTF proponents in kickboxing matches and to be honest they had no defence whatsoever, but their kicks were full commitment leaving them off balance and exposed (but if they caught you.... night, night). Nowadays, WTF is terrible to watch and should be replaced in the Olympics with WAKO Kickboxing.but... there's a lot of money invested in it at the moment .... ATA? .... sorry from what i've seen that is pure McDojo. The Best TKD exponents are mostly ITF because they can more easily transition into full contact kickboxing and many have done. But, an informative video. thank you.
I'm practicing WT to develop my kicks then go back later on to karate, either kyukushin or shotokan
@@KenMikaze I understand the reason. My KwangJangNim said WT is lack of strength (and punch) at some point also. He used to practise Gojuryu Karate sometime before but he adapted boxing tech & WingChun tech into teaching at the present.
ATA had to have gone downhill in the past couple decades. Back in the 80's and 90's ATA was essentially an ITF clone but 100% based in America. The art focused on punches equal to kicks and used the same exact belt system as ITF. Sparring was full contact in competition using protective gear, and semi-contact in class. They also cross-trained into grappling and basic ground submissions (this was not common but trained for the self-defense aspect). I hate that the ATA seems to have gone downhill, but thankfully we still have the ITF for traditional TKD.
Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo also transitions well into Kickboxing: Scott Masterton and Cristian Nelson were very famous American Kickboxers that came from Jhoon Rhee Taekwondo.
@@mott1992as someone who does ATA from what I can tell it’s been improving since it had a pretty bad decline in the 2010s and 2000s in regards to mcdojo activity
I only just started my sixth year in the ITF. Thank you for the informative video!
6 years is a lot already, good job👊🏻
Corrections ATA is world wide not just USA, also weapon style is incorporated differences of ITF
ATA member for 35 + years. I love learning about the other styles and strengths. Thsi was great. ATA is now worldwide.
Great video! I study ITF and I’m in the one under Choi Jung-hwa. Keep up the great videos!
Thank you! Keep up the good work!
Great video lady, awesome info,
I’m not sure you mentioned the breaking boards or bricks, I’m not sure if or how ATA do breaking, but WT i think mostly does more acrobatic, jumping or flying, flashy kicks for breaking were they break many boards one at a time as quickly as they can, and I see mostly ITF do power breaking like Karate where they break many boards at once stacked together with one strike to break through as many as possible
I do ATA and we break boards like ITF just less extreme
@@Thecon3head The Lee brothers have done some impressive breaking demonstrations back in the 90s when I was training. The WT demo teams break 1/4" boards, while the boards that we broke in Songahm tks were 1" boards.
Interesting, very informative, of the forms, patterns Or poomsae, which ones do the Songham, Taegeuk or Palgwe
In ATA we are not allowed to punch the face, but we can kick it, that is another thing to add. Good video, I would like to try ITF o WT one day :)
Ata is focused on sparring to the point (not damaging the opponent) that is my explanation for the pads in the chest, but in my academy we do both (only for tournaments we use all the equipment)
Sounds interesting, thank you!
@@robert.von.l Back in my day, the ATA did not use chest protectors, but light contact was allowed, hard contact or lack of control could get you a penalty point in tournaments.
It's interesting to hear the comparison. I'm a former ATA student, but that was in the 90's and I'm sure it's different now. In fact, modern WT olympic sparring looks considerably different to what I remember of ATA. In the 1990's, at least at my dojang, sparring was hard. When I first joined, there was also no chest protector. No punching to the face of course, and the camouflage belt was just added. My master emphasized power and technique.
ATA has schools all over the world. In Canada and Europe and other places, the organization is known as W.T.T.U, and in South America, the organization is known as STF.
Howdy, I was contemplating getting back into the sport, but in WT this time as I did ITF at age 16.
There are uniform differences from what I can see (ITF - korean wordings on the back of the dobok go from top to bottom and WT is left to right).
I'm not sure how I would do now as I'm unable to do the splits anymore and also had a sprained knee injury a couple of years ago (95% recovered but still)
Hello! I hope that you can find a good martial arts club near where you live and can get back into practicing! It is great that you are recovering well from your injury, you will do well in training but be careful and build up to the more difficult techniques. You can do it!
Splits or not, many people can't even if they practice tkd. That doesn't have to hold you back. I have a classmate recovering from a leg surgery, and I have been working around a pulled hip flexor/groin. You know your body and if training would be more harmful than beneficial to your knee. If it's just about what other people might think, just look for a school that has decent manners. Everyone is on their own journey and there should be room for you on the mountain if you want to be there.
I’m glad to know that not all big tkd names aren’t all about foot fencing like ATA or WT, both CTF and ITF focus on the original aspect of tkd
Thanks for valuable information Nora !..
I am practicing WTF.
You are welcome!
I am a red belt decided in ATA, and state champion this year in multiple areas. Sparing, combat weapon sparing, traditional forms, creative forms, xtream forms, traditional weapon ( mine is the sword), creative weapons, and xtream weapons. Some parts are all in traditional forms of form and weapon. The other are the students imagination to create thier own form to present. The xtream forms and weapons allow acrobatics and weapon releases from body. Excellent video.
Thank you for sharing your experience doing ATA! Awesome job! 👊🏻🥋
Wow ata has changed a lot since I got my belts there 30 years ago. They always varied quite a bit between schools though.
All these rules and styles in taekwondo are very very unique each of them has a sport in self-defense programs that teaches the fighter how to relate and also utilize these type of techniques and battle and in fights it's all about knowing how to use it the right way and knowing how to use it the correct way I just wish I should have had stayed in karate in 2011 and learned so much more about it and get into it more than any other way possible 🥋🇰🇷🙏😌🙏🇰🇷🥋
You can always restart doing Martial Arts :)
Brilliant video! I do ITF !
Thank you Mike!
Martial arts are not just sports, they are lifestyle, too!
Do you prepare others videos about flexibility or musculation?
Very true! 💪🏻yes, many videos are coming!
I had a red belt (ITF). After 20 years I started practicing WT (black belt version). Now I have an orange belt (WT) and can say there are differences. The main difference for me is while ITF has slow but powerful kicks, WT has quick and weak ones. My best assumption is that they simplified moves as much as possible to make them quicker.
However, some kicks are more powerful in WT (like naeryo chagi, no idea why).
Interesting, thank you for the information as a practitioner of both sytems!
Я займався за системою WT (старої школи) і не сказав би, що удари слабкі (загалом з такими можна й в лікарню відправити). У вас можливо не той тренер
@antonsyd7070, Ви абсолютно праві про стару/нову школу. Нещодавно мав кілька порад від майстра (5 дан) і від грандмайстра (8 дан) WT. Якщо коротко, то за 20 років багато чого змінилося. Тепер обвішують бійців цифровими лічильниками пропущених ударів на змаганнях. Відповідно, для виграшу потрібно бити швидко і часто. Коли вони змагалися, багато боїв закінчувалися нокаутами чи нокдаунами (інформація від переможців чемпіоната країни і Європи). Але, чим довше навчаюся, тим більше нівелюється фокус лише на швидкість. Думаю, тренерам і самим нова система не дуже подобається.
How about how there's 3 itfs and also sinewave
Have you ever seen movies that are about TKD, or emphasize or use TKD, like an old movie called When Taekwondo Strikes starring Jhoon Rhee, known as the father of American TKD (not ATA)for teaching TKD in U.S., and an 80’s or 90’s movie called Best of the Best starring Phillip Rhee and his brother Simon Rhee (I think not related to Jhoon Rhee) and Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones
Best of the Best is awesome!
Hello Nora, thanks for the extensive information! I am a 26 year old man interested in taekwondo. I trained until blue belt as a child in the past. Is it too late for me to be a good taekwondo practitioner because of my age? I aspire to receive my black belt and maybe to serve as an instructor in the future.
Hello there! It is great that you are thinking about doing TKD again! There is always time to come back and start over. The fact that you are looking at videos about it proves that you have the mindset and is ready to be back at it! I am not sure if they can count in your blue belt in the dojang when you go again (you might have to start over but you might be able to keep it or be green belt etc. Depending on the instructor) and you may want to take it easy in the beginning to get back in shape for doing it. The fact that you practiced it before as a child and managed to reach blue belt is great! You have the ability to continue and get to black belt if you put in the work 😊👊🏻🥋
En Paraguay ya tenemos alto grados en Taekwondo Ata, american taekwondo, es el GM Agustín Garay 9no Dan.
Also did TTA a different Kwan
From what I've read. ATA style, Songahm, is derived a lot from Chung Do Kwan, HU Lee's original style back in the 50s-60s.
In the itf don't use a hogu chests our groin protector?
No, in most cases don't.
In the video, I am showing you the complete set of protectors for each style. ITF does not use chest protectors at all but the men do put of groin protectors.
@@NoraTKD do you use shin and arm guards?
@@KenMikaze Yes I do use them during sparring practice
@@NoraTKD used to be from kyukushin then transferred to wt. I'
M still a whitey. I do spar with shin guards only.
Good job Nora, I don’t think you mentioned if any of these train in weapons
ATA has weapons training (mentioned in the video)
Itf and ata are best for self defense and combat ata seem like a kick boxing
Agreed but ATA is more of a hybrid rather than pure kickboxing. You have some drills practicing WTF and others practicing ITF
Ata no es kick Boxing, es taekwondo 🥋.
Is wtf taekwondo olso effective in a self defens situation im asking becaus i am doing wtf and i want to be abl to protect my self
Self defense requires different skills which need to be practiced well.
I was practising Kukkiwon (WT) but I would liked to practise Chang'Hon (ITF) also. Unfortunately, Chang'Hon has been settle only one place in my country which is a bit far away.
Just practice where and what you can!
I’ve heard that TKD is a mix of some karate and Taekkyon, how true is it
ITF was a combination of Karate and Taekkyon that is correct, but ITF was evolved to be more than those two now.
So i wanna put my kid in taekwondo... Thing is... He folows this girl from the cobrakay tv show..rayna something... And he sees a lot of staff videos,sword videos etc... Im telling him to pratice with swords only after she is a grown up🤣... But after i go to some taekwondo dojos i still hace no idea if all the taekwondo schools teaches that kind of weapons... Can someone clarify that too me?
Thanks in advance
I trained under a student of Jhoon Rhee in the US. He claimed traditional style, and we weren't part of any federation. I'm up to purple. Now in Germany I'm looking for a new school to continue. Based on this video I think ITF comes closest. Except, females were required a chest guard, males a cup, of course everyone had a mouth piece, helmet, gloves, and feet protector.
We had forms, weapons forms, and all the other things. Our forms were also more upright with exceptions. God Bless America being my favorite form.
Belt system is also different... none, white, gold, green, purple, blue, red, brown, brown senior and then black. Kids wear plain belts, 14 or 16 and up have black stripe belts. Except for kids with senior brown belts, they also have the black striped belt. Also, as females we were allowed to wear black pants regardless of your belt degree.
That sounds interesting. If your club was not part of one of the federations that might be an indication why they did things differently. In ITF, women do wear chest protectors and men wear cups for sparring. I am sorry but ‘God Bless America’ is not a real ITF pattern😅 or any other poomsae/tull/pattern for other TKD federations if they have the traditional Korean roots. I hope that you will find a good dojang in Germany where you can start training again! Good luck!
Nice. Maybe next explain how many ITFs are nowadays, what happened to GTF and which ITF is the trve one...
osu
Why do you think that a lot of people in Martial Arts start to loose interest or motivation when they are black belt and stop practicing or training, have you seen or experienced this, what would you do or say to help someone who is thinking of giving up and quitting, have you ever felt this in your TKD journey or have you stopped for a while and come back to training or have you not stopped since you started
It is indeed difficult to keep going. But once you reach black belt level, you realise that there is so much more to learn. I never want to stop practicing martial arts since that is part of who I am and I can practice anywhere. It is best to practice with others to motivate you but when you reach a certain level, you must be able to push yourself and practice alone. Never give up!
The main reason kids quit when they get to black belts rely on the parents a lot. When the parent lose interest the student lose interest as well. Sometimes is a combination of home versus Dojang. If you have parents that let their children do whatever they want and you have a Dojang that is tough on them, of course they first thing that come to their mind is quit. Other parents look for money, since you don't get a scholarship by doing TKD, the parents feel is a waste of money and time.
@@EmmanuelReyes those are excellent points!
I stopped training in ATA tkd in Canada because once I got my BB I also graduated from uni and had to work to pay off student loans - TKD is just too expensive! later on, about 5 years later, I started training in karate and later, when teaching ESL in Korea, I started training WTF TKD under the KTA. Lots of fun!
3:25 ITF the most practiced in the world??? I don't think so...
Loving This Very Much 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Thank you😊👊🏻
@@NoraTKD 💚💚💚
Do you only practice ITF or also another discipline? Have you never practiced krav maga?
I only practice ITF. I tried some krav maga too
@@NoraTKD Yeah, I think Kuk Sool Won is the better style for you to practice, Nora. Krav is much more aggressive and deadly than Taekwondo while Kuk Sool Won teaches all aspects of the Korean martial arts.
There's another ITF instructor also practise Taekkyon as respect of Korean Martial Art from ChoSeon era.
Thanks for explaining each type of TKD.
Thank you for watching! Taekwon!
Thanks for this. Very informative and respectful. Ryan Oevermann 5th Dan ITF
Thank you Sabumnim Ryan🥋🙏🏻
Do you watch other martial arts videos to perhaps see something that could be helpful or useful like maybe Chloe Bruce, Alex Wong, or Samery Moras or others
That’s me! 12:59 😂😊
Really? That is great! :)
That is him(Mr. Brandon Johnson) on the left.
What got you into martial arts, why Taekwondo and not another different martial art, and why ITF and not WT
Check out my Q&A videos: th-cam.com/video/of2vzMhTxdc/w-d-xo.html
Do you have a favorite martial art movie or show, and do you have a favorite martial art movie star or actor or actress, Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Liu, Cynthia Rothrock, or any other
Yes I do! I made a video about them: th-cam.com/video/UkXgvEWmzaQ/w-d-xo.html
Within the ITF style there is also "traditional TKD" which is still ITF (same patterns and everything) but practices it the original way General Choi taught it. For example it has no sine wave, in fact you were trained to keep your body at the same level as to not bob up and down. They also keup (shout) on every attack in patterns.
I'm curious what you said about earning your white belt? I've never heard of this in ITF TKD. Here when you join the club you are a white belt the first belt you earn is yellow stripe. The very meaning of white belt in ITF says "A beginner who has no previous knowledge of TKD.
Solid video
Thank you
I studied ITF and WTF both but not ATA
I studied ATA style in Canada and WTF in Korea, and the ATA style is much more fun!
I also trained in ITF in the late 1970s and through the 1980s. Got as high as second degree black belt then gave it all away when TKD became an Olympic sport....which basically killed it. But that’s just my not-so-humble opinion. Our chief instructor was a former All Army Korean Champion and the style he taught reflected his army training. We never had the sine wave in our patterns, but had to keep our head at the same level. Bobbing up and down looks stupid and serves absolutely no purpose. If people knew anything about physics they would know that the energy that is put into the vertical direction by moving up and down has a zero component in the horizontal direction. So why do it? I think some "bright" spark just dreamt it up one day, thought it was a good idea and the mindless masses just went along with it without questioning in first.
But if world taekwondo is a sport can you still use that taekwondo style in street fight?
yes, you can, they do have some Self-defense techniques that you could develop for your own. only problem with WT schools are they are mostly preoccupied with contact sports.
@@KenMikaze I agree.
not the WTF style no, they only concentrate on the sport part of TKD. Unless the instructor like self defense and wants to include that in the curriculum, the majority of the WTF schools only teach kicking, not self defense. That is why ITF is different cause the main purpose is self defense first and then the sport part.
@@EmmanuelReyes Not entirely true. I am a belt in WTF. One step sparring, self defense and take downs were part of our curriculum and drilled. If you were an adult, we learned finishing techniques. At first Dan, we started with Nunchucks and Boken / Katana forms. At 3rd Dan, they are starting Hapkido and Knife defense. They do Olympic Style sparring, but it's really just to fulfill the requirements. Learning the footwork and how to evade kicks is the real value there. So it really just depends on the school. Having a high emphasis on family is just part of the game. Schools have to stay in business, and suburban real estate is expensive. I myself don't endorse "Foot fencing" but we never learned that. So it really depends on the school. Ours is part of the World Class Tae Kwon Do group.
@@EmmanuelReyes No, any knowledge or training can possibly be useful in a street fight. You have to know how and when to apply your knowledge and training, the best tactic for any martial artist is knock your opponent down and then run! Because who knows? He might have a friend with a knife coming in to join, or a gun! But martial art training greatest use is the development of your character so that you avoid nasty things like street fights.
I wonder why WT is in the Olympics but not ATA or ITF
ATA is a waterdown version of TKD, they will never compete on anything outside of their circle of schools. This is for the parents not to realize the BS they are getting and paying for, as well they don't let any other style participate on any of their ATA events. ITF is not in the Olympics because Gen Choi always said that Taekwon-Do is not a sport is an art of self defense and when South Korea present to Gen Choi the opportunity, he refused because of all the changes that needed to be done to the TKD in order to be in the Olympics, like as you can see not using punches and use chest protections, that is not TKD.
@@EmmanuelReyes if you can forgive ITF for not being in the Olympics why is ATA not being there such a big deal? WTF is arguably much worse than ATA. It's not BS, it's a great style. And you need to get a life
@@EmmanuelReyeshey bud, we actually have a lot of people in the ATA who compete outside of the tournament circuit. And they beat the crap out if most WT people in the weight class. I can list off many names of poeple in the ATA who do tournaments in the ATA and at WT tournaments.
@@treblemaker1854 True! I competed in the Tiger Balm Internationals in Vancouver, Canada in 2000 and won gold for my sparring division and I'm a WTTU Black Belt (WTTU was the international arm of the ATA, in case you didn't know)
Us federation did request Grand master to be the association for Olympics! But requirements set by Olympic did not suit the ATA at the time.
ATA has weapons style as well
Yes, that was mentioned and showed in the video.
Talk about weapon training in TKD is rarely heard. At some point, I think it should be some weapon training as well.
PS, especially WT. (Short Stick or Baton Stick may be better as self-defense)
@@tm114paul The meaning of Taekwon-Do is = Destroy or hit with the Foot, Destroy or kit with the fist and the Way of life. In other words ITF Taekwon-Do is designed to be a self defense martial arts with a combination of kicks, punches, throws, arm bars and more. No need for sticks or bamboos.
the wt belts are wrong, the order is the same as what you showed in itf, there are very few schools that occupy the other grade system, normally it is white, yellow, green, blue, red and black, with their respective stripes between degree and degree
Interesting, it seems like this belt order changes a lot withing the WT sytem depending on the country, thank you.
ITF was founded in 1954 wasn't it?
I practice itf und gm vb
Good info, would you ever look into, do a video on, or try any other Korean martial art like, Tang Soo Do, Hapkido, Tukong Moosul, Hwa Rang Do, Moo Duk kwan, Kuk sul wan, Chung Do Kwan, or Chang Moo Kwan, Taekkyon or Choi Kwang Do, Kwon Bup, or Song Moo Kwan, Yun Mu Kwan, Soo Bahk Do, or Kyuk Too ki, Gwonbeop, Won Hwa Do, Hankido, Yongmudo, Ssireum, Han Mu Do, Kong Soo Do, Shippalgi
Weren't the different Kwans unified to create TKD?
I'm a white belt in WT.
Keep up the good work!
@@NoraTKD Thank you for your encouragement, ma'am.
I used to be in itf taekwondo 🥋
That's stood for Traditional Tae Kwon do Association
ITF❤❤❤
ITF and Hapkido all the way ❤
With a Mixture of PKA
In WTF (PH), Belting system is as follows: While -> Yellow (2 classes) -> Blue (2 classes) -> Red (2 classes) -> Brown (2 classes) -> Junior Black (Red/Black belt) for less than 13yo -> Black. Sadly, I do not like the direction of WTF as it seems to be like foot fencing. Less power and it tends to be more on sport than self defense. Modern WTF TKD seems not applicable for defending yourself on the streets unlike the old school TKD. Old school WTF TKD was faster and powerful compared to the modern style WTF TKD Sparring.
olympics butchered the sport! i practice itf
ITF was formed in 1956 not 1966 and im sorry to say it is sport based and not traditional. I am ranked 8th degree and teach traditional korean TKD which is not competition based, we focus on the application of the technique using every strike and kick
Is taekwondo wtf Olson effectiv for real fights
It almost sounds like ATA is the best of all 3 but I’ve heard ATA is garbage. I have only ever been in ITF my whole life. I like the traditional old school method and wouldn’t switch unless I wanted an Olympic medal
Thank you.
Thank you for watching!
@@NoraTKD You did a great job with your video explanation Nora. Hopefully, the ITF style of Taekwondo will add chest protectors for sparring matches. The more safeguards in place to prevent potential injuries the better.
I'm a 3rd Dan Certified Instructor in WTF; Poomsaes are not only self defenses put together, but have History. For an Example: Poomsae Koryo comes from The Koryo Dynasty. We also have Self Defenses for each belt level, as well as Kicking Techniques; 1 Step, 2 Step, 3 Step, & Advanced Step Sparring for each belt level. We also have a breaking technique such as front kick for white belt to yellow belt. My Great Grand Master in in his 60s, is from Seoul, Korea, and served in the Korean Army. I also have Blackbelts in Shudokan Karate & Judo, and have trained under my Great Grand Master (9th Dan), off and on since I was a teenager up into my 30s. We teach real self defenses and then we have Tournament Classes for Sparring. Tournament Sparring is different because it's using proper technique, not actually trying to hurt your opponant. I used my Martial Arts in the US Army, and was even a Hand-To-Hand Combat Instructor for 2 Operations. Please do some more research. Especially on WTF!
By the way, where I live now, we only have an ATA Do-Jang. My daughter is 3 years old, in the Tiger Program (ages 3-6 years). They do start with their White Belts. However, for kids 3-6, the Test for half a level, so they actually test for their second half of their White Belt (and stay as a Turtle). Then test first half of orange to earn their Tiger, then the second half at the following test. And so on until they turn 7 years old. ATA has longer Poomsaes than WTF, especially White Belts. My daughter is under a 7th Dan Senior Master.
Still, not too bad of a Taekwondo video on the 3 major differences. 😎👍🥋✝❤
Very interesting, thank you for sharing this information! It is great that you encourage your daughter to learn martial arts, good luck to her in the future :)
@@user-it7rk6bw6j i dont know about WT. but in ITF our forms (called Tuls) have each one history behind, always related to historical Korean figures. So he is not wrong. the martial art is new, but the symbolic and cultural figures of Korea referenced on them aren't.
Similar to WTF
wta & ata
Traditional taekwondo wasn't developed by Choi hong Hi .
He was merely one of the developers among many. These kinds of outrageus claims make me dislike itf taekwondo
Also, WT taekwondo also includes all those aspects you mention: forms, board breaking, forms, self defence and one to three step sparring!
Only difference is that WT has different set of tournament rules and doesn't include sine-wave, theory of force or the breathing technique .
It is based on sport science
It is a shame that WT style doesn't in itself produce efficient fighters anymore. You have to complement it with something that includes throws and punches to the face.
AKA: American TKD or Soccer mom fighting
WT: Olympic TKD or Foot tag
ITF: Traditional TKD or Korean Karate
We never had to earn our white belt. White belt just means you have no previous knowledge of Taekwondo; first belt we earn is yellow striped white.
You are missing a lot of information about the politics and split. You totally bypassed the Korean Tae Kwon Do Federation and the Association which is part of the real TKD before they watered it down and heavily commercialized it as sport martial arts. Anyway! Keep working on it. Grandmaster Lucky Riley.
The video is titled: different TKD organisations and styles explained, therefore it is NOT about the politics and the split. I am sure that you can find a video about those too or videos depending on who made it and how they want to explain the politics.
I will earn my blackbelt tomorrow in WTF. I do punch.. a lot. I love this style but WTF does not teach a lot in punching at all. If u want to win against a WTF student.. PUNCH! I also practiced Kung Fu for 8 yrs.. so.. ya. It always throws my cassmated off.
Thanks for the info. Will join WTF as a white belt and start unleashing hand techniques once I get to spar!
It's very hard to score a point in WTF sparring with a punch!
That is awesome! How did your exam go?
You miss GTF
Good video ma'am. If I may say in my opinion no disrespect at all. The ATA yes mainly American . However they are not really a cross between WT and ITF. Their gear is consider is over-protective. An ATA competitor would not have much of a chance against ITF . No disrespect to H.U. Lee but ATA is their own "world" I grew up learning ITF but did WTF sparring before the electronics
You might consider watching some recent ATA sparring at higher levels. The gear is over protective because there is no pulling kicks or punches or touch sparring in ATA competition sparring. No kicking to the legs and no punches to the face or legs. This is my 2nd martial art after studying Shaolin Kempo which was full sparring with limited contact.
@@crystalclark2256I 100 percent agree. There is a lot of gear in ATA because they HIT each other HARD unlike a lot of other sparring styles.
@@treblemaker1854 Really? Because that is not I was taught in Songahm TKD in Canada, it was always Light Contact. But that was back in the 90s and things could have changed, I guess.
Wtf taekwon doe is the funniest shit ever
Used to be pretty good in the 70s-90s
Wtf
WT and ATA suck. ITF is the best