This is what we do!!

So there's nutrition, there's fitness and jumping around getting ripped.  There's hitting pads, doing forms, defending yourself against the pretend attacker in self-defense.  This is what it's for.  We SPAR!  Tae Kwon Do is known for it's flashy kicks that evvvverybody says, "that wouldn't work on the street!"  Well, duh!  This is OUR sport.  Even though you wouldn't throw a kamikaze jump spinning hook and land on your shoulder on the street, Tae Kwon Do athletes have a super-human-like understanding of distance.  They know where they need to be to make their opponent miss by mere fractions of an inch and the timing it takes to land the knock out blow at the perfect moment. 

While TKD athletes train to spar with a lot of kicks, they also do scenarios where their attacker is grabbing or punching.  This way, they can defend themselves on the street too.  Also, students at ATA Elkton cross train in other martial arts.  Many times, our classes involve kickboxing, boxing, and Muay Thai kickboxing drills to enhance our skills.  We also train in wrestling and brazilian ju jitsu, too!  This makes us more rounded martial artists and will help us defend ourselves better "on the street."

Aside from all that, check this video out below.  This is the super exciting-to-watch action that is TKD Sparring!  Clips taken from big events all around the world, on thing is similar in every segment - the loser BITES THE MAT!! ENJOY!!