My thoughts on things I wish I’d known before I started learning Tang Soo Do! Hopefully these little tips will help you too and avoid some of the basic mistakes I made!
I’ve been doing Tang Soo Do now for about 2 years and I love it. However, I sometimes think I would’ve been further ahead in my learning journey if I’d have know a few things before I started.
First and foremost is having patience. No matter how old you are or what athletic background is, you won’t kick like a black belt right away. If you’re pushing 50 then you won’t kick like a 20 year old! Your muscles need to learn to stretch and if you are patient and practice you will find it incredible how much higher and faster you will be able to kick.
Proper technique takes time and repetition to master. With regular practice, I’m seeing small gains in flexibility, balance and form. Over time, I know my skills will develop.
After a few months of doing Tang Soo Do, I found that I just wasn’t seeing my kicks getting any better so I decided to join a local Yoga class to see if more stretching would help (short answer is yes it does).
However, I learnt as much at Yoga as I did in the Tang Soo Do classes and found that I would take a skill from Yoga and bring it to karate and vice versa. One thing I do now in every karate class is practise breathing - breathe out when striking and try to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth to keep ‘calm’. I don’t always do it, but practive over time helps (see patience!)
The reason why I think breathing helps is that it sets your body up to be able to do a “Ki Hap” (shout) when striking. It also helps me maintain focus and prevent strains and injuries.
If you go straight into karate thinking you can kick above your head, you’re going to injure yourself. Slow down, take it easy and build up slowly. Don’t do what I did.
After two moths of training, I did a jump front kick and boosted by confidence and just excitement I went too far and pulled a muscle. Literally a 2 second kick took me about 6 months to fully heal. It was disappointing but taught me not to rush progress. Enjoying the journey is what matters, not pushing yourself to destruction!
Now I take care to listen to my body. The classes themselves also start slow and gradually increase in intensity. There’s no need to push too hard too soon. Embracing the incremental growth is rewarding.
One of the things I missed about football was the changing room banter. The laughs, chats and sometimes people sharing personal problems was like nothing else and I don’t think I’ll ever get that ‘bond’ like I had with my team mates. However, I’ve found the next best thing and that’s lots of great people who I train with.
Everyone else in the Dojang (training hall) will have a story about why they ended up there. Talk to them! People with higher belts will help you and you can help those who are beginning their journey! I’ve found it overwhelmingly welcoming and whilst a room of white-suited karate uniforms might look intimidating, it’s not. It’s one of the nicest, friendliest environments you could be in!
Learning Tang Soo Do requires patience and persistence. If you are a white belt then a yellow belt is a big achievement so be proud of it!
Setting small, achievable goals keeps me motivated. Regular practice is starting to pay off. I’m enjoying the physical and mental challenge, appreciating each little victory. Though there are still many belt tests ahead of me, I’m proud of the progress made so far in my martial arts journey.