TRAINING  

   When making Tang Soo Do a part of your life (a large or small part), there are several considerations to make regarding how much of your time and energy to spend on it.

Goals

The reasons for studying a martial art, Tang Soo Do or otherwise, differs from person to person. Some train for physical fitness or health reasons, whereas others may study for self-defense. Others may train as a way of life - a means of finding balance in one's life. For whatever reasons, one's goals in training should be considered in order to create a direction to take one's training. Doing this will determine how many hours a day you will practice, how often you will test for promotion, or if tournament competition is for you. However, goals change as one progresses in the martial arts. A proper assessment of one's aim's or direction with their training should be re- evaluated from time to time to give proper direction to further progression.

Instruction

When one's goals have been established, the way one is being instructed must also be taken into consideration. If one's goals are to compete in tournaments, an instructor who's focus on tournament-style fighting would be more appropriate. However, if one's goal is to attain martial prowess, this type of instruction would seem constricting.

This is because certain aspects of training are held in higher value in these two different instruction practices. For instance, a traditional martial arts instructor whose main goal is to promote martial excellence, forms are instructed as a means of sharpening one's focus and concentration along with strengthening one's technique. For this reason, forms are the cornerstones to traditional Tang Soo Do (as well as other traditional martial arts) training. However, a tournament-oriented teacher may downplay the use of forms in training for sparring competition. Other teaching methods - speedbags, weight-lifting, etc - are used either inplace of or addition to other training techniques. At the same time, that same type of teacher may also teach forms in another manner other than the traditional way in order to compete in form competition. In many forms competitions today, forms have been set to music and competitors wear flashy uniforms. Some forms have also been created simply for the use of form competition. Depending on what one's individual goals for training are, an instructor with similar goal-orientations is needed in order to help attain those goals.

Attitude

One's attitude towards the martial arts must also be considered when training. If one's attitude towards training is lackadaisical, then the proper benefits will not be achieved. Due to the seriousness of martial arts, the student should adhere to seriousness towards the art. Proper attention should be shown to every aspect of training in order to develop properly.

 When beginning or continuing training, the level at which one practices must be established in order to progress at the desired rate. Doing this will allow one to establish and achieve one's goals much more productively throughout their martial arts studies.  - D. Williams - 2nd Place, Junior Intermediate Forms,19th Annual WMDKTSD, Open Martial Arts Championship