Frequently Asked Questions
Below are your questions anwered.
posted by Shon lee at 7:54 AM
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the difference between GTF and ITF?
Grand Master Park Jung Tae decided to establish a new federation (GTF) to purify the politics out of Taekwondo, because he was annoyed by the constant speculations of ITF and WTF, and of North and South Korea respectfully. There is no difference in the sport techniques and rules between GTF and ITF.
And what is the difference between ITF and WTF systems?
The difference between the two is, in many circumstances, very little. It is a question of focus. WTF concentrates on the sport element of Taekwon-Do whereas ITF concentrates on all areas of self-defence. ITF is concerned with enabling people to be able to defend themselves against an attack, where WTF is more concerned with performing well in competitions. Competition is a small part of ITF ideology.
How does ITF sparring differ from WTF sparring?
ITF sparring should be non-contact or semi-contact for higher belts (depending upon the school and instructor). WTF sparring is full contact but does not include punches to the head (ITF does). This difference is actually very important and it has led the different styles to grow apart. You can always tell which someone practices just by watching the first few seconds of any match. It is that obvious. There are arguments on both sides as to which is better - WTF claims to be more realistic whereas ITF claims to be safer and more practicable. I think most people will agree that there are merits to both arguments. We practice ITF style sparring because quite simply it is safer and we have very few injuries as a result.
What are patterns?
They are a pre-arranged sequence of attacks and defences against a series of imaginary opponents. They are used to perfect fundamental movements. They are a very useful means of remembering all the techniques that you know (not as easy as it sounds) and practicing them on a regular basis. One benefit of patterns that I think is often overlooked is that you are forced to change directions into different stances and blocking at the same time. It may well be necessary for you to turn and look at someone, change stance and block at the same time. This is not easy. The first time someone ever attempts this usually results in an interesting stance, non-existent block and they are generally looking at their feet instead of at their opponent!
Can girls do Taekwon-Do?
Taekwon-Do is designed for the human body. It is open to everybody regardless of race, religion, gender, ideology whatever. We have a number of female members who have graded and done very well, gender is no barrier (in fact, most females are more flexible than males which makes kicking even easier for them!).
Catholic High GTF Taekwondo Club
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