Family TKD Classes for a huy thinking about amateur MMA

[Lacks Technique]

will you be taking the family.

Taking my daughter tonight. Split custody. Thanks for asking.
If nothing else, it should be fun for her.

I just did some more research and found out that they even have an MMA team. Maybe it will be more promising than originally anticipated. Their primary focus is definitely TKD, but it says they train in BJJ, MT and MMA. We'll see what happens.

Thank you all for your help, even if you think I'm a fictitious character trolling your forum

 

[Doughbelly]

Sure.
The town is Erie, PA.
Here is googles list of local MA schools. Mostly just "self defense" and fitness oriented.
Pennsylvania just this year started to allow MMA at all and it is very regulated (no head kicks, ground strikes...).
I am only looking to get into this for fun. I'm not trying to go pro. But I also don't want to get myself hurt because I have NO training.
The family program I'm thinking about is called Lund Martial Arts
We also have a BJJ school that I'm thinking about joining.

The issue of anti-TKD bias is too large to explore here, other than to state that you will not find a lot of people who will recommend it as an avenue to develop fighting skills or as an introduction into MMA. This is like playing basketball and expecting your skill at handling a ball to translate into American football. They're too far apart to have any relevance. If you want to do TKD for the sake of doing TKD, then go ahead, but it's not the best path to develop skills that are applicable to what you want.

If you want a martial art that's suitable for children that has much more applicability to MMA, I'd look into judo schools in your area.

As for this place Lund Martial Arts, the website lists none of the relevant information that I'd consider in recommending a school - instructors, their background and associations, curriculum and/or competition information. From the uniforms and general feel of the site, my gut tells me that it may well be the stereotypical McDojo. But I wouldn't be able to say that for sure.

You should consider taking the time to visit the schools in the area and watching their training. If they're not actually hitting each other, move on. The actual art itself matters less than the quality of instruction.

 

[seanshepard]

Basically, you came here and asked for opinions. Everyone told you to stay away from TKD (you said you wanted to fight in an amateur MMA bout). You defend TKD incessantly.

Is the purpose of you coming here to defend TKD or get opinions on what you should do? Get off the board and go do some TKD - I hope your next MMA event is against me.

 

[Lacks Technique]

Basically, you came here and asked for opinions. Everyone told you to stay away from TKD (you said you wanted to fight in an amateur MMA bout). You defend TKD incessantly.

Is the purpose of you coming here to defend TKD or get opinions on what you should do? Get off the board and go do some TKD - I hope your next MMA event is against me.

When did I "defend TKD"? I recall asking a lot of questions in the quest to learn about it. I did not defend anything... GFY

 

[Lacks Technique]

Ok, so I just got back from the family TKD thing I was talking about.

I'm very glad that I took the time to bug everybody here because I feel I had a real understanding of what to look for and what to expect.

You are all absolutely right (aside from the jackass who said i defended TKD). They are a "McDojo". Very kid oriented. More on the "yes maam", "no maam", bowing... than anything else.
Also seeing the lessons and the techniques that they were teaching, it was obvious that again, you were right - not good for what I'm trying to accomplish. Lots of floating the leg... Didn't really see any power kicks at all.

Now, as far as my 4 year old is concerned, it was great. No contact, all about respect and discipline. The kicks seemed challenging, but not dangerous.

Honestly, it was fun! I think that I may do as suggested and take the class with her, just for the sake of that in and of itself. It will obviously be of very little use to me other than maybe developing some balance, coordination and flexibility - not bad side effects for a fun family activity


Thank you all again for all of your input! It really helped me a lot!

 

[TenderLoving]

Good to hear you had fun. That was a family class tho, you might want to ask if you could watch an mma-class(as I believe you said they had) and see if they have better training there. Apart from that, have fun with your kid. I did TKD for year as a kid before I got bored of kicking in the air, and switched to Judo which I trained for 6-7 years, and is something I'd really recommend for kids.

You get to test yourself with against some opposition, and generally very safe. Where I trained(Norway) you were not allowed to use submissions until 16, so only throws, and pins during groundfighting. But anyway, best of luck to you and your kid.

 

[Lacks Technique]

Good to hear you had fun. That was a family class tho, you might want to ask if you could watch an mma-class(as I believe you said they had) and see if they have better training there. Apart from that, have fun with your kid. I did TKD for year as a kid before I got bored of kicking in the air, and switched to Judo which I trained for 6-7 years, and is something I'd really recommend for kids.

You get to test yourself with against some opposition, and generally very safe. Where I trained(Norway) you were not allowed to use submissions until 16, so only throws, and pins during groundfighting. But anyway, best of luck to you and your kid.

Thanks, Rolf. My daughter is only 4, so I think that the TKD is about perfect for her right now. If she gets into it, later, I think I'll take your advice and see if I can find a Judo school.
As far as the MMA goes, I didn't really get a chance to talk to the head instructor, but it seemed pretty obvious that they are VERY child oriented all in all. The girl that we were working with did say that I could work on MMA stuff while my daughter did the kid class, and hey, every little bit helps, even if it's just stretching or sparring with the main instructor for an hour a week.

Thanks again and I'll look forward to seeing you around.

 

[Doughbelly]

You are all absolutely right (aside from the jackass who said i defended TKD). They are a "McDojo". Very kid oriented. More on the "yes maam", "no maam", bowing... than anything else.
Also seeing the lessons and the techniques that they were teaching, it was obvious that again, you were right - not good for what I'm trying to accomplish. Lots of floating the leg... Didn't really see any power kicks at all.

Now, as far as my 4 year old is concerned, it was great. No contact, all about respect and discipline. The kicks seemed challenging, but not dangerous.

I hope you did not sign a contract or make any commitments, as there are BETTER avenues for a 4 year old girl. There are very many serious schools out there that are just as capable, if not more capable of teaching children in a safe, controlled environment where they will additionally learn something useful.

2nd, forget about the MMA there. That's what they're calling it because MMA is the buzzword fad of this era to get people to sign on for class. Anything you learn there will be taught by people who DO NOT know what they are doing. You know this already because you know that they do not actually pinch or kick each other.

My suggestion of judo seems to be right out because I looked into it and there is no active judo club in your area.

Personally, if I were you, if you are determined to do TKD, go to the other school in Erie. At least there, they teach the competitive sport style as well and you might get some sense of distance and timing.

It looks likes there are a number of other non specified martial arts schools. You should visit all of them, at least twice each, on different class nights. Then make your decision. If you're taking this as seriously as you say you are, then you should take the time to make the right decision, not the most convenient one.

 

[Lacks Technique]

I hope you did not sign a contract or make any commitments, as there are BETTER avenues for a 4 year old girl. There are very many serious schools out there that are just as capable, if not more capable of teaching children in a safe, controlled environment where they will additionally learn something useful.

2nd, forget about the MMA there. That's what they're calling it because MMA is the buzzword fad of this era to get people to sign on for class. Anything you learn there will be taught by people who DO NOT know what they are doing. You know this already because you know that they do not actually pinch or kick each other.

My suggestion of judo seems to be right out because I looked into it and there is no active judo club in your area.

Personally, if I were you, if you are determined to do TKD, go to the other school in Erie. At least there, they teach the competitive sport style as well and you might get some sense of distance and timing.

It looks likes there are a number of other non specified martial arts schools. You should visit all of them, at least twice each, on different class nights. Then make your decision. If you're taking this as seriously as you say you are, then you should take the time to make the right decision, not the most convenient one.

I definitely got that feel about the MMA there. I did a little searching and found an MMA section of their site that their current site doesn't link to. It hasn't been updated since July and lists one of their fighters to compete in a local MMA comp we had soon after that. He didn't compete. Not sure what the story was there...

I did like that this school seemed very child oriented. There were even a few kids that she knew there and some children of friends of mine. I'll still definitely check out other schools, though. Which one was the "other school" that you'd mentioned?

 

[Doughbelly]

I did like that this school seemed very child oriented. There were even a few kids that she knew there and some children of friends of mine. I'll still definitely check out other schools, though. Which one was the "other school" that you'd mentioned?

There are probably other good child oriented programs in the area.

I was referring to this place, which I also have my doubts about (for a number of reasons) but to a lesser extent than the other TKD place.

:: Welcome to Park's TKD Academy ::

Again, check out the other schools before you make a decision. Enrolling your child at the first place you go is a lot like buying a car at the first car dealership you go. It might sound like a good deal, but you're never going to know.

You keep saying that this is for your child. At least give her the gift of due diligence. Check out all the other ones before you come back to this/these TKD schools.

 

[Lacks Technique]

Again, check out the other schools before you make a decision. Enrolling your child at the first place you go is a lot like buying a car at the first car dealership you go. It might sound like a good deal, but you're never going to know.

I'll bet that's why they gave us free uniforms... It's like getting a customer to test drive a car - instilling a feeling of commitment

Honestly, if it weren't for you pushing me, I probably would just go back there next week and sign up, but since you're so insistent on shopping around and your opinion seems worthwhile, I'm going to go check out some other schools. Not to say I won't end up back there, but I'll definitely check around anyway.

Thanks again.

 

[TenderLoving]

There are probably other good child oriented programs in the area.

I was referring to this place, which I also have my doubts about (for a number of reasons) but to a lesser extent than the other TKD place.

:: Welcome to Park's TKD Academy ::

Again, check out the other schools before you make a decision. Enrolling your child at the first place you go is a lot like buying a car at the first car dealership you go. It might sound like a good deal, but you're never going to know.

You keep saying that this is for your child. At least give her the gift of due diligence. Check out all the other ones before you come back to this/these TKD schools.

Damn Doughbella, can I enlist you into pushing me aswell to study harder for my exams?

 

[Doughbelly]

Damn Doughbella, can I enlist you into pushing me aswell to study harder for my exams?

School is a waste of time and you should drop out now. :icon_chee

 

[True2KungFu]

I am from pittsburgh, I do taekwondo as well as some other arts. I wouldnt recommend it for mma unless you have already been proficient in it and wanted to crossover.

Parks Tkd seems ok, I have competed at the same tournaments as some of their people and they did good.

I would recommend Mancino's academy. They dont have a website but I know from people Ive talked to that used to compete alot that he himself is a solid fighter and produces some damn good tkd practitioners.

I would second the judo recommendation though, I wish i would have started that when I was younger.