We get a lot of questions from students, parents, and the general public. Here a some of the most common, but if we’ve missed yours, please call Master Chung at (847) 253-1161.
- What is the difference between Tae Kwon Do and other marital arts? Tae Kwon Do evolved from ancient Korean combat arts. Now an Olympic sport primarily known for its powerful kicking, traditional Tae Kwon Do is a powerful, well-rounded martial art, including strikes, holds, and self-defense skills.
- What are the various belt ranks in Tae Kwon Do? The colored belts vary from school to school, but black belts are designated by degrees, from 1st to 9th.
- What is the highest rank in Tae Kwon Do? 9th Degree (Dan) rank is the highest rank recognized by the World Taekwondo Federation. Our Grandmaster Kim holds this rank.
- I want my child to become a solid street fighter in six months. Why is contact so carefully controlled in class? This one isn’t so frequent, but it’s an important one. Sure, your children are small, but the techniques we teach are potentially dangerous. After all, martial arts originated in combat! We take our students’ safety very seriously, and still develop competent fighters. Tae Kwon Do is an Olympic sport, and tournaments are available to students that want an extra level of competition.
- Why are the classes structured so similarly? It seems like it would get boring. The middle part of class actually varies greatly between belt tests, but we keep a few things consistent for good reasons. First, by keeping classes similarly structured, you can miss one class and make it up the next day without feeling lost. Secondly, the repetition of certain movements develops muscle memory that can improve performance over time. Contrary to high-speed internet and next day delivery, valuable skills are developed by process and repetition. Any professional athlete will attest to the value of consistent, repetitive, practice.
- How often are belt tests for colored belts? Black belts? Colored belts typically test every two months. For black belts, it’s a bit different. As a rule of thumb, each degree (Dan) represents the number of years that person trained to move to that rank. So a 4th degree black belt had to practice for four years to move from 3rd degree to 4th. There are also age and experience requirements for the highest ranks.