By LaRue Rains

What is the best martial art? Some will say it is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, others Kung Fu, still others, MMA, Karate, Tae Kwan Do, or a myriad of other styles.

I have enjoyed the privilege of studying two different styles of Tae Kwan Do, spending seven years in an International Tae Kwan Do (ITF) program, and nearly six years training in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwan Do with Mountain Academy of Martial Arts (MAMA). I’ve also had the opportunity to train in Kali, the Filipino art of stick and blade.

The two styles of Tae Kwan Do have a great many similarities, but also stark differences. ITF Tae Kwan Do, the program in which I started, emphasized precision in forms, power generation through dynamic tension and sine wave (up and down) motion, as well as development of strong, powerful kicks. In my experience with MAMA I have seen more emphasis on hand strikes, step sparring, and weapons forms, with power generation in forms movements through hip rotation.

General Choi, the founder of ITF Tae Kwan Do, created 24 forms, which he said represented the entire day, one for each hour. He assigned a meaning to each form representing a moment of Korean history, and ITF students are required to learn the meanings of the forms, as well as the number of steps. A student aspiring to the first degree black belt rank must become proficient in the first nine of these forms, not an easy task, as many have demanding physical moves, and a student is expected to practice the form at least 500 times before testing for the rank of that form. The school I trained in did not have a set testing schedule; rather, students would test when they had achieved good command of the form for their next rank, as well as the associated kicks and three, two or one step sparring.

Hwang Kee, founder of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, adopted many of his forms from the kata practice of Shotokan Karate, although Master Kee added elements he claimed came from the ancient Korean art of Tae Kyun to portray his art as more Korean than Japanese.

In order to test for Eighth Gup/Kyp, the ITF school where I studied expected a beginning student to learn one form, become skilled with both front kick and side kick, be able to defend and counter in three step sparing with any of the blocks or strikes from the first form, in addition to front and side kick; and execute any of the self-defense moves they had been taught to that point, as well as engage in basic free sparring.

MAMA requires beginning students to learn two forms, execute a strictly patterned three-step sparring, demonstrate their choice of three of the self-defense moves they have learned, and engage in basic free sparring.

Chong Ji, the first ITF form, teaches both front and back stance; low block, inside out block, and middle punch; both a 90° and 180° turn, as well as forward and backward movement for punching. Chong Ji is constructed in a cross, or a “T” form. The intermediate hand positions for the blocks are wrist to wrist, one hand holding back the other to create dynamic tension when released to the block. The student is required to learn the form meaning (Heaven and Earth, Man’s interpretation of the beginning of Mankind), as well as the number of steps in the form (19 steps).

Ech Chan Cho Bo and Ech Chan E Bo, the two forms taught in MAMA to white belts, teach front stance, both low and high block, low and high punch, 90°, 180° and 270° turns, and forward movement for punching. Intermediate hand positions for the blocks are core cover, i.e., blocking hand high, chamber hand low for low block, and blocking hand low, chamber hand high for the high block. Both forms are constructed in the shape of an “I”. Both forms have 20 steps, although students are not required to know that information, and many times the number of steps is not communicated to the student.

Each style of Tae Kwan Do challenges a white belt with a demanding curriculum. How precisely the curriculum is taught can determine how difficult the student perceives the class. However, how much background students bring to their first class can determine how difficult it is for them to learn that curriculum.

I had no background in martial arts and very little background in sports of any kind when I enrolled in ITF, and found it extremely difficult to learn even the beginning movements. When I transferred to MAMA, I quickly and easily learned the beginning Moo Duk Kwan forms; however, by that time, I had become proficient with eight ITF forms, and
had begun learning a ninth.

Personally, I feel the ITF forms are more physically demanding than the Moo Duk Kwan forms. In ITF, after learning the cross form movement for the first form, the student must learn the I-form movement for the second (and succeeding) forms. Kicks, as well as twisting away from a hand grab, are introduced in the third ITF form, and by the time a student studies the fourth form, balancing on one foot is required.

However, unless I had the ability to begin learning Moo Duk Kwan as a true white belt, knowing nothing, I cannot accurately judge which style is more difficult for the beginning student.

I can, however, tell anyone who would ask me which is the best martial art. The best martial art is the one you enjoy and where you will spend your time in dedicated training, because it is the willingness to train hard, and continue training, that will yield the health benefits of any regular exercise, not only for those entering their mid-60s as I am, but for people of all ages.