Talk About Taekwondo

Welcome to my site! Got a question or a comment? Want to complain about the state of things in the martial arts world? You came to the right place.

Here I discuss the history, politics, theory, science, psychology, techniques, and training aids and services, and anything relevant to the Korean martial art of Taekwondo.

I’m Andrew Jay, 4th Dan Kukkiwon Taekwondo (WT), 4th Dan ITF Taekwondo, and 3rd Kyu Aikikai Aikido. I’ve been in the martial arts going on 40 years now, and have been teaching for 25. I’m also a freelance journalist and have been writing blogs on martial arts for the better part of 15 years now. I occasionally do videography and video editing for martial arts events.

I have a love, passion, and respect of all martial arts, and for all who follow their journeys in earnest.

My Day Job

As for me, by day I’m an IT specialist, programming computer systems for 35 years, with notable experience in C#. I’ve done work in Java, SQL Server, and Microsoft Azure. I’ve administered network systems, taught classes, spoken at international conferences, and written newsletter articles. I write documentation, from requirements and functional specifications; patent designs; architectural documents; test plans; test cases; and end-user, administrator, technical support, installation, and upgrade manuals.

Hobbies

I have an eclectic but serious mix of hobbies. Community service work, coin collecting, camping, blogging, beer brewing, sausage making, meat smoking, and music comprising classical, rock, American and European folk, opera, sacred, and tribal African, Native American, and aboriginal music.

Beginner’s Corner

So You Want to Start Martial Arts

Finding a Martial Arts School

Myths in Martial Arts

Children in Martial Arts

My Last Taekwondo Test

Difference Between “Dan” and “Black Belt”

WTF vs Kukkiwon vs ITF

What’s Wrong with Taekwondo Self-Defense

Weapons in Taekwondo

Forms In Taekwondo

Examining Poomsae

Rules of Analyzing Your Forms

What’s Wrong With Taekwondo Forms?

Examining Forms

Taeguek 1

Examining Taeguek 1 – Movements 1 and 2

Examining Taeguek 1 – Movements 3 and 4

Taeguek 4

Examining Taeguek 4 – Movements 1 and 2

 

If you want to contact me about anything, let me know what to call you, how to contact you, and what your message is. It can be about Taekwondo or martial arts, or it can be about any of my hobbies, I’m just glad to hear from people.