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Criticism of twisting, full-stop punches

The claim is that since the punch comes to a stop, it lacks power. The claim is that only punches that follow-through the target are effective. Follow-through punches are pushes. Slap someone with a quick, snapping motion and then slap him or her with follow-through slap. In the quick slap, all power is focused on the point of impact. The follow-through slap has no focus, power is spread over the entire length of the motion. The quick slap hurts more. A sparring punch is focused to stop one inch before the target. A fighting punch is focused to stop two inches beyond the target. One scores, the other kills. A jab, straight, or cross punch comes to a stop. A hook or an upper cut gradually ends and comes to a stop as it drawn back to the guard position. All punches and kicks must come to a stop at some point. As to the effectiveness of twist a punch, Mohammed Ali twisted his punches. That is one reason why his opponents had so many cuts. For more information on twist punches, see Twist versus No Twist.

Criticism of no-contact/light-contact sparring

Critics say no/light-contact sparring is child's play and not realistic. Granted it does not train a fighter to receive full-contact blows, but, contrary to popular belief, it does help train fighters for full-contact fighting. For one thing, full-contact fighters do not train much by full-contact fighting, the body cannot give or take full-contact blows on a daily basis without the fighters wearing a lot of protective padding. When the padding is worn, then the fighting becomes something else than full-contact fighting. Also, when fighters fight a full-contact match, it takes weeks, if not months, before they can recover enough to fight again. No/light-contact fighters can fight everyday.

Controlled no/light-contact attacks are not substandard or weak; they are merely controlled. When a control puncher hit a hanging, heavy bag with no-contact and then hits it again with full-contact, to an observer, the punches appear exactly alike; the difference is merely a difference of a couple of inches of range. Critics say if a no/light-contact fighter is in a real fight, he or she will not know how to hit hard. Just because a full-contact cannot use precise control, it does not mean that that a no-contact fighter cannot use the same precise control to hit hard. Critics of no/light-contact should not place their own limitations upon others. Just because they cannot control their blows to hit soft, it does not mean that others cannot control their blows to hit hard. It is relatively easy for a no/light contact fighter to hit hard, but it is difficult for a full-contact fighter to hit soft. No/light-contact fighters train to hit soft, and to hit hard, while full-contact fighters only train to hit hard.

Control is good thing. When I am traveling at 70 mph on a interstate highway and the brake lights of the car in front of me suddenly come on, I do not always slam on the brakes; I react as the conditions warrant. If I sense the car is not slowing or is gradually slowing, I instantly touch the brakes but apply pressure as required. However, if I sense the car is quickly slowing or that the driver has slammed on the brakes, then I may have to slam on the brakes. Always slamming on the brakes is dangerous, controlled breaking is a good thing. Controlled attacks are a good thing. If a woman of small man is attacking you, you must defend yourself, but you must also control your blows. If you do not, you may overreact and hit too hard, causing serious injury or death, and may be criminally or civilly liable.

When you see a match up between a no-contact fighter and a full-contact fighter, it is usually under the full-contact rules, which are unfamiliar to no-contact fighters. Conversely, a full-contact fighter would be at a big disadvantage in a no-contact fight. Full-contact fighters enjoy the contact and do no mind getting hit. No-contact fighters do not enjoy getting hit, if they did, they would be full-contact fighters. In a real fight, a no-contact fighter will fight full-contact and take hits as they come because it cannot be avoided. In a match fight with a full-contact fighter, the no-contact fighter can and does hit hard, but he or she does not want to get hit, and thus he or she is tentative in attacks and in "mixing it up;" just as a full-contact fighter would be tentative in attacking in a no-contact match.

There is nothing wrong with full-contact fighting and there is nothing wrong with no-contact fighting. Which one you do all depends on whether you like getting hit or do not like getting hit.

Criticism of kicks

Critics say kicking above the belt is useless; they point to professional UFC type fights as examples. There you will certainly see many horrible kicking techniques, even from supposedly Taekwondo trained fighters. For these types of fights, the fighters train to punch, kick the thighs, and grapple, and many have only trained in this way of fighting. If they ever had good kicks from some other art, they have gone away due to lack of use. Normally powerful spin side kicks look similar to those seen used by beginning Taekwondo students. Most above the belt kicks are done merely for show. There are exceptions, such as "Co Cop" who uses round kicks to the head that constantly knockout opponents. If a skilled Taekwondo kicker entered a UFC type match, he or she would be not used to the type of fighting used and would probably be afraid of getting hit, so the kickers kicks are tentative and weak. Good kickers who train to fight in grappling style matches, use their kicks very effectively in full-contact matches.

High kicks are useless in a real fight! Maybe! However, check these clips:

    Spin Heel Kick
    Round kick

Criticism of belt ranks

Say what you want, but belts have served a useful purpose in the martial arts for over a hundred years. That is why their use is so widespread. Some say that saying you once earned a black belt is similar to saying you were once a state track champion in high school. After twenty years, are you still a track champion? The answer is yes. A doctorate in zoology is still valid, even if you have spent the last 20 years working as a banker.

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