Updated Program Page on the Web Site

Today I updated the “program” page of the web site and made sure everything was current.  I have made some minor changes here and there: moving a strike to a different belt level, for example, and wanted the page to accurately reflect the information I have given out in class.  These changes to the traditional curriculum are so small they are barely worth mentioning.

A striking change, however, is apparent in the self-defense.  Many of the required techniques after green belt have been changed.  The self-defense portion of the art is almost a sandbox where we can play a little bit.  My instructor had his own required self-defense that he made up.  It was largely based on his Aikido training, and was meant to round out his students’ knowledge of fighting in ways that were not always addressed in traditional Tae Kwon Do.  It is, in other words, a “non-traditional” portion of the training where he and I both have made discretionary decisions about the material that will best benefit our students.  The additions and clarifications I have made over the past two months or so will, I believe, give my students a much broader range of information as they experience a small taste of some of the most effective elements of Aikido as they mix with Tae Kwon Do.

That said, this is not an Aikido program.  As a student of mine, you are not learning Aikido.  It is the equivalent of eating a teaspoon sized sample at Costco versus eating a whole meal.  However, the principles I have brought over from my other training may help you to enjoy and understand your own art a little bit better.  Check out the new self-defense.  I think you’ll be excited by what you see!