TKD flaws? TKD strengths?

One of the ways we improve not only ourselves, but our schools and our arts is by taking a close look at them and studying their flaws and strengths.

If you was the founding father of TKD and you looked down from the heaven and see how TKD is today and had the power from GOD, what would you do to those that have changed your Art and how would you correct it?

I would add more Hapkido and Groundfighting. But I love the speed I have aquired over the years of focus.

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Strengths= The speed and power of the kicks.

Weaknesses= Terrible defense, bouncy footwork, watered down training methods of WTF style ( no pain conditioning, ect ), no hands, no ground work.

Agreed, and I think that is true for any martial art that is "sportified". The more limitations one puts on what one can't do in the ring, (no this or that) the more these limits are also taught in the Dojo, on the idea that one is preparing for the ring and not the fight itself. Next thing you know, what was once an actual martial art can only be classified as a sport, and the comparison of it's original intent is lost.

There are other arts as well that have suffered some from concentrating too much on the ring and tournament fighting, to the point that those limitations can really hurt one's defensive ability in actual fighting on the street. I have seen many examples of what happens when someone from a tournament background fights for real and, unfortunately, the outcome is usually a loss, specifically where the TDK practitioner, for example, comes up against someone more classically trained.

However, I do agree that because they spend so much time with the techniques they do train (especially the kicks), those are exceptional, if at times a bit unrealistic for a real fight.

Ken

I still think that there are sport arts that are effective in a real life situation as well. Muy Thai, Shidokan, Judo, and Wrestling to name a few, even ITF TKD. WTF competitions are about as far away from a real fight as any form of fighting can get, but it is so simple to fix its flaws. Keep your hands up, keep your feet planted, condition your body for pain, and stop bouncing around and wasting energy.... all of a sudden WTF TKD looks like kickboxing, and you have a very streetable art.