Well, in keeping with all the other threads in the “Ask the…” genre, I’ll offer my services ( 
) to try and answer martial arts questions.
I am a 4th Degree Black Belt with the American Taekwondo Association. I’ll do my best to answer what I can; if I can’t, I’ll pass your question on to others more knowledgable than I am and relay their answers.
What brought you to ATA, versus WTF or ITF?
How do you HONESTLY feel it rates verus those other Martial Sports?
Have you trained in other arts, or have any interest in other arts?
How long did it take you for each Dan?
Is the ATA certified by the Kukkikwon? I’ve asked a few ATA students, and they had no idea what I was talking about.
I have a black belt in WTF TKD but I left it after a while. While in school, I was helping teach a TKD on campus and really started to get annoyed with my instructors. I felt we were focusing too much on stuff that, while looking impressive, would not be effective for people in a dangerous situation. I branched out and studied a little Brazillain Jiu Jitsu for a while until I found an art that I truly enjoyed: Krav Maga.
KM is an excellent self-defense system that was developed by the Israeli Defense Forces and is now used by a number of US military agencies and local law enforcement (i.e., state police, cities). If anyone here is looking for an excellent workout as well as a self-defense system that focuses on practical applications, I highly recommened Krav Maga.
My worry with Krav is this: One of our local McDojo’s has a Krav Maga program. the instructor was a black belt in his art (a TKD knockoff, I’m not sure what he’s calling it these days) and then went to a Krav Maga seminar, learned Krav for a week, and came back Certified to teach. This is crap.
As with all Martial Arts, research before you train… a good instructor should have nothign to hide.
That is the one problem with KM. However, there are enough instructors out there who really do know the art well and are quite capable of teaching. Encountering shitty instructors is something you might face in any MA, not just KM. Unfortunately, it’s hard for a beginner to know what to look for in an instructor and how to know whether what they are learning is really effective.
My advice to those wanting to start a MA is to research what style fits in with you want to learn from the art. Do you want to lose weight? Do you want the discipline in a traditional art? Or are you looking for something more practical?
Also, never ever be persuaded by how many 6 foot trophies are in the window - they hand those things out like water in most competitions. Also, a realistic, practical art that involves serious training is not likely to engage in competitions because the methods they teach are for serious defense, not for scoring points.
I started originally with Jhoon Rhee’s organization back in 1966. Got almost to Black Belt but didn’t test for a variety of reasons, then sat on my butt for many years and got back into Taekwondo with ATA in 1987. It was what was available (I was on the island of Kwajalein in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, doing contract work at the time), but I liked the teaching style and the philosophy and I’ve stayed with it.
How does it rate? Well, ATA has the best support system by far; I personally think that is one of the great things about it. If I have a problem or a question, I can pick up the phone and get in touch with any one of about a dozen Masters right off the bat, most of whom will have seen my problem in some form and have a solution for me. I can call headquarters and talk with the Powers That Be, all the way up to the Grand Master, if I need to. I don’t consider Songahm Taekwondo (the name of our style) to be a martial sport; it is a very traditional martial art.
I have cross-trained with sticks (Escrima), groundfighting and joint manipulation (BJJ), long staff, and nunchaku among others. I look at that similar to college - TKD is my major, the others are electives that support and enhance my major. I’m not expert in them, just knowledgable.
Time in rank - our rule of thumb is that it takes 30-36 months to make First Degree Black Belt. Everyone progresses at their own rate. I personally did it in 19 months, but that was because of my prior training; I was able to do most of the techniques immediately, which cut down my learning curve considerably.
At Black Belt, there is a minimum time in rank equal to the rank. First Degrees have to wait 1 year before testing, Second Degrees 2 years, etc. To test for Third Degree and higher, there are additional requirements that have to be met over and above the time requirements.
Kukkiwon certification is really not an issue with ATA. We have a comprehensive history of every student’s testing from White Belt on up. I suppose I could apply for Kukkiwon certification, but I don’t see the need for it.
Thanks for the question!
I’ve always held the opinion that it is not the martial art that matters, it’s the martial artist. TKD works for me; KM works for you. Which is better? Neither.
Good luck in your training!
Good points. And the questions you brought up should be asked by the instructor or staff during the initial visit to the school. Most schools will start people off with free instruction. I bring everyone in for an introductory lesson so that they can get a feel for the teaching style, what we are trying to accomplish and how we are going to go about doing it. If they still can’t decide, I’ll give them a month for free. If I haven’t got them dying to train in my school after that month, then shame on me as an instructor.
I will, however, disagree with your last statement of “Also, a realistic, practical art that involves serious training is not likely to engage in competitions because the methods they teach are for serious defense, not for scoring points.” Tournaments have their place; I encourage my students to go to them. However, they are quite aware that tournament competition is unrealistic; that it is the sport aspect of training. They get the practical aspect when I walk out on the floor and say, “Okay, guys. Let’s hurt each other for a while.” They moan and groan, and then start twisting joints and whacking pressure points with a vengance, because that is what will keep them alive some dark night.
Is your new fighting technique unstoppable?
Perhaps my last point wasn’t as clear as I meant it to be. Competitions can be a valuable learning experience. However, what I was trying to say is that schools that emphasize point competitions over practical defense systems are not likely to help you much in dangerous situations. Conversely, schools that emphasize realistic defense systems are less likely to focus on competitions.
I don’t know who this is addressed to - and maybe it’s just sarcasm, but I’ll bite.
No technique is unstoppable, and if I ever had an instructor who claimed otherwise I would immediately stop training with them. MA training should provide students with tools to help them in dangerous situations, but can never guarantee success. While some may advocate that some techniques are more effective than others, there are too many variables and unknowns in such situations that any claim of “unstoppable” would clearly be erroneous. Further, any instructor who leads their students to believe that a certain technique is unstoppable does a great disservice to those students. Fights, muggings, and other such activities are dangerous and opponents must be respected. Those who enter such a situation believing the outcome is predetermined are likely to get hurt.
There is no such thing as an unstoppable fighting technique, regardless of how many chop-sockee movies you watch.