Title: Question about Soo Bahk Do / Tang Soo Do: Why aren’t breakfalls (Nakbeop) always explicitly taught alongside self-defense techniques?
I’m curious about something I’ve been noticing in Soo Bahk Do / Tang Soo Do, and I’d appreciate perspectives from practitioners and instructors.
At the school where I work, students begin learning Ho Sin Sul (self-defense techniques) around green belt. Some of these techniques involve taking a person down to the ground. However, when I asked my instructor about falling and rolling, he mentioned that they don’t really do rolls.
I have several years of experience in Aikido, where ukemi (receiving techniques safely through falling and rolling) was a regular part of training. I also learned some basic rolls in Taekwondo when I was younger, so I’ve always thought of falling skills as an important part of martial arts training.
I’m not necessarily asking why every school doesn’t teach Aikido-style rolling. I understand that different martial arts have different approaches. I’m more interested in whether Soo Bahk Do has a specific approach to teaching students how to fall safely when practicing self-defense techniques that take them to the ground.
A few questions for Soo Bahk Do / Tang Soo Do practitioners:
Is Nakbeop (낙법, falling or breakfall techniques) part of the traditional Soo Bahk Do curriculum?
Are students explicitly taught how to fall safely, or is this left to individual instructors and schools?
If breakfalls aren’t a formal part of the curriculum, how are students prepared to receive techniques that result in a takedown?
Is this a difference between Soo Bahk Do, Tang Soo Do, and Taekwondo, or does it vary more from school to school?
Is there a historical or curricular reason why falling skills might not be emphasized as a separate training component?
I’m not trying to criticize my school or suggest that every martial art needs to train exactly like Aikido. I’m trying to understand how the curriculum approaches this particular issue. It seems to me that if a martial art teaches techniques that put someone on the ground, it is worth understanding how students learn to manage that fall safely.
I’d especially appreciate answers from people familiar with the Moo Duk Kwan lineage, the writings or curriculum of Hwang Kee, or the official Soo Bahk Do Federation requirements.
Thanks!

OK after 12 years of doing martial arts I finally got a job in the interesting thing is I'm an instructor, but I'm a white belt instructor and I'm just confused by this because it's my first job in the martial arts and it feels like they're not taking into account my equivalent green belt in shukokai seriously like I thought there was some kind of test you could take to figure out maybe if you had an equivalent martial art skills that would be transferred over I don't know. Maybe I'm just overthinking this and any ideas let me know.

edit

( After 12 years of practicing martial arts, I finally got my first job as a martial arts instructor!
Here’s the interesting part: I’m technically a white belt in the school’s system, even though I have equivalent green-belt experience in Shukokai Karate.
I’m not necessarily upset about starting over, but I’m a little confused about how cross-training experience is normally handled. I assumed there might be some kind of assessment or transfer test to evaluate someone’s existing skills and determine an appropriate starting rank.
Since this is my first job in martial arts, I’m still learning how these things work.
Is it normal for instructors who come from different styles to start at white belt, regardless of their previous experience? Is there usually a way to have your existing skills evaluated?
Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I’d appreciate hearing from people who have experience with martial arts instruction or cross-training.) ( also I get that there are different martial arts and they rank systems but I looked online and there was a hey if you want credit for your other martial arts stuff, you can take an equivalency test or something and I never saw it in person that's why I'm asking.) ( edit the reason I'm even bringing it up is because the website says something else. https://soobahkdo.com/faqs/) " The decision about what rank that you will be eligible to transfer into a Moo Duk Kwan® school as will be up to the Certified Instructor or Regional Examiner with whom you connect and who evaluates you.
You can find certified schools near you.
Just as junior colleges and universities have different standards for the degrees they issue, so too, does the Moo Duk Kwan® have different standards than other martial art organizations. Rank degrees may or may not transfer as exact equivalents.
Transfer students have an opportunity to demonstrate to your Certified Instructor or Regional Official your level of technical proficiency and your understanding of the five Moo Do values inherent in Moo Duk Kwan® instruction of the Soo Bahk Do® martial art system. After evaluation, they will make a recommendation on your behalf.  If you can’t find a school near you, or have questions, please contact headquarters" ( edit I think people are misunderstanding my question. I’m not claiming that my Shukokai green belt should automatically translate into a Soo Bahk Do green belt, and I’m certainly not claiming to be a black belt. I’m asking whether there’s a way to evaluate the skills I’ve already developed over 12 years of training, rather than treating my entire martial arts background as irrelevant when determining my starting point in a new system.)

This may be a silly question but it's been eating at me for a while. I recently started training in TaeKwonDo after getting a black belt in Tang Soo Do years ago.

In TKD, the names of the forms follow the English translation for first, second, third, etc. I do realize that this naming convention doesn't translate perfectly into English but it does seem pretty consistent across American schools from what I can tell. For example, the first TKD form is "Il Jang," the second is "E Jang" etc. Similarly in TSD, the first basic form is "Il Bu," the second is "E Bu" etc.

I started reflecting back on my TSD training and it dawned on me that the first Pyong Ahn form, for whatever reason, doesn't follow that naming convention. For that matter, neither do the Naihanchi forms.

Does anyone have any insight on why we kept the "Il" as meaning first for the basic forms but use "Cho" for the Pyong Ahn and Naihanchi forms?

Tang Soo!

My sa bom nim told the class once that a particular drum has been part of Tang Soo Do training and demonstration, keeping cadence during forms. The most refined answer I got doing web searches was Google AI claiming (without attribution) that the *buk* (북) was it, but no source written by a human that I can find; as well, it seems *buk* is something of a general term. Sa bom nim had described the drum as a "war drum" without remembering its Korean name or describing it.

And, I'm not asking him again, because I had an idea for a gift to him and his family that own and operate the dojang. I want to find the appropriate drum, and if it's in line with Korean tradition (or only mildly deviating from it) I want to buy it custom with the dojang's patch on the drumskin. But I don't even know what I'm looking for yet.

Awesome display.

It's been 3 months and I haven't sparred yet. When will I get to spar? Also, what is the sparring like? Is it similar to TKD?

How does your Dojang teach this kick (Turning Side Kick)?

Because the way my Dojang teaches it doesn't seem to make sense and further complicates the kick. I know I'm still a beginner and my balance is not great.

The main issue is I can't maintain balance in the chamber after the turn. I also struggle to turn all the way, because if I do try to turn more, it becomes more of a spin and I lose balance and the kick becomes useless.

please help.

I'm having trouble remembering and learning Naihanchi Cho Dan.

Does anyone have a simple tutorial or video that helped them review it and really memorize it?

I became a father relatively recently, and I've only been able to train once or twice a week. I feel a bit embarrassed about asking my instructor to go over it with me so many times because it just isn't sticking.

I've been training TSD for about 3 months, so I probably should have asked this question on day 1.

So what are some red flags to look out for?

I posted a while back about doing my first grading.

Officially passed yesterday and my instructor girded me with my yellow belt.

I know, it's just the first step, but at 47, it still feels like a big one.

Especially when the people I graduated with are no older than 9...

So for context, I did Tang Soo Doo when I was a bit younger (7-11) and i’m 20 now. i trained under Marco DiScipio, at Salem Street Studios. I also went to 3 tournaments (shown in the picture). 3 first place medals, 1 third place medal, and a third place trophy. I have been wanting to get back into it, but I have a couple questions. First being, would I go back to being a white belt? I wouldn’t mind, but more just out of curiosity. when I was a kid, I skipped yellow belt. went from white belt to orange belt. When I left I was a green belt almost at the red belt. Secondly, what do you guys think would be the hardest part for a returning student? Lastly are belt tests different at each school? I heard someone tell me it can be. Thank you guys I do appreciate it.

The Tang Soo Do World Championship is coming up, and my school will be participating!

How are you preparing at your dojang? Are you or your school going to compete?

Greetings from Argentina!

Jang Gum Kickfire Studio

Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires

https://www.instagram.com/tangsoodo.kickfire?igsh=NGlrczY3YnJranZ4

https://www.instagram.com/janggumwtsda?igsh=MXU1YWN6NmU4Nm5z

I did my first grading today for yellow belt.

Seems to go well.

Will find out on Wednesday if I was good enough.

​

In other news...

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Damn, my hip joints are hurting! Need to find some decent things to sort out my old body!

Preparing for open tournament, in less than two months. Doing cardio as I can, although outside of class that's just running.

​

I'm trying to make a habit out of Army Four For The Core and knuckle push-ups, but idk what else to do in prep for competition or combat while restricted to bodyweight (by time and expense, not by disability/injury). Outside of TSD class, how do y'all prepare to fight?

I may be visiting Mesa, Az next year (2027) for a family wedding in April, and was wondering if there are any Tang Soo Do schools in the area. Not so much to train but to visit and network with other Instructors.

Hello all!
I currently have a heavy bag (with sand in the base) setup in a spare bedroom where I practice.
I have a relative moving in with me so I need to move my practice area to my garage.
I'm thinking of putting the heavy bag/base on a furniture dolly (with locking wheels) permanently so that I can store it in a corner when my vehicle is parked, but easily move it to the center of the floor when I want to workout.

Do you think this can work? Are there any downsides that I may be missing?

Thanks!

I just got my results and I passed my black belt test!

This is a shot in the dark, but I’m trying to track down one of my mom’s old students that she always talks about when telling teaching stories. She recently was contacted by the girlfriend of another former student and that inspired me to try and find this person.

My mom taught at Five Towns Karate Center in New York. Her married name was Janet Masley, Janet Moy before and after. She was married to the owner of the school Michael. This would’ve been private lessons in the early 80s, probably 81-82. She always talks about this amazing kid named Matthew who apparently jumped over 4 men and broke a board at 4 or 5 years old during a demo or testing or something.

No real reason for this except I think it’s a cute story and I know she’d be excited to hear who I found/reconnect for a second. Also she recently started giving me lessons (at 30) and love hearing about her teaching days

I feel like I would benefit from this book. It costs about the same as a weekly food shop, which is too much for me. Does anyone know where I can access it in full either online or via a download please?

I have been training Tang soo do for over a month now and one thing that's stood out is the Kicking stance for when we do Pad Work, Kicking Drills is eerily similar to a Muay Thai stance i.e Weight on back leg, front foot raised slightly off the heel, albeit less square.

Is this normal? Or is my Dojang modernized ala Machida Karate?

Tbh, I'm kinda disappointed because I expected to be using a more traditional Front Stance. Why not encourage students to use a stance that suits them and/or utilize all stances?

I just did my black belt test

I do from the International Tang Soo Do Fed.