The ATA also does these things:
1) promotes students often regardless of their ability.
2) has a ridiculously high number of color belt levels below black belt. That allows them to promote students often and charge more for it.
3) has very low standards compared to legitimate styles/organizations.
4) encourages students to attend only ATA training and events.
5) Does not allow non ATA members to compete in their tournaments. Years ago they did, but had some outsiders come in and make them look bad, so they stopped allowing outsiders.
6) ATA students rarely ever go to open Karate tournaments. The few that do almost always look terrible compared to others there.
7) They sell black belt contracts and make sure that the students get their black belt in a short time compared to other styles.
8) in the late 60's Black Belt Magazine stated that less than 3% of all martial arts students ever reached first degree black belt. None of those were children because almost all martial arts schools did not allow children to train at all. Now we see children (a high percentage of them) promoted to black belt and even higher degrees. (How can this be legitimate when in the 60's less than 3% of all adults ever made it to black belt?)
I could go on, an on..... All one has to do is do a google search on the terms "ATA scams" to see how wrong things are in their organization and schools.
In my over 46 years of martial arts training I have yet to see an ATA black belt that is even half as good as black belts from legitimate schools.
....
The problem with ATA is that they have extremely low standards and are more interested in collecting money than teaching good martial arts. They push everyone through to black belt in about two years, no matter what their age or actual skill level.
You know it stands to reason that with all the crap instructors in the ATA, and schools that produce crap students like most of the ones you see on Youtube videos, that the general MA community looks down (if not laughingly) on the organization as a whole.
I guess I really am one of the lucky ones, I train at an ATA center with a 7th degree Senior Master in Songahm TKD, a 3rd dergree Black Belt in Hapkido, and he is the Senior certified instructor in Nebraska in Krav Maga. And he always focuses his training on application first, before addressing the consideration of competition.
And yes he is a Gracie Blue Belt instructor, but he does tell us it is just basic introductory training to make us more comfortable with groundwork. He never professes to know more than he does (I have more practical experience than he does and he gives me my due credit and respect because of that), and he makes the extra efforts and time investments to go to advancement training sessions whenever they come up. Because of the way he instructs, the students actually get good training at the practical aspects of the GJJ system. We all know it's not everything that GJJ has to offer, but it's more ground fight training than they would get with just TKD, or Krav Maga.
There's really no delusion in our school. If you aren't up to an effective level in your training, you don't pass your testing. And we don't test at GJJ, we just train, not enough "time in" to test for anything on that side.
You do realize its allmost impossible to be any good at teaching two or more arts well under the age of 50 unless your a rare case and in that case you better have a lot of scars and broken bones or your full of it. Wtf and itf are better because they have a solid syblus and you learn the same things every where you go. An easy test is to put your gjj instructor in kesa gatame(scaf hold down) and see how long it takes him to get out agianst someone of equal strength but little skill if its more than 5 second find a different teacher or just learn the tkd.
LOL thats funny, so i assume he is qualified to teach GJJ? this is where crap Mcdojos come from. (lets all learn from a GJJ blue belt and wonder why we are not very good yay, what a joke.)
ATA is widely regarded as the worst of the worst mcdojo associations. You are there to learn TKD yet he is teaching other styles?? surely this has to be a red flag in itself.
When i instruct GJJ classes i dont teach TKD, i wonder why that is?
As an organization, it's pretty horrific. It's base standards are very very low. Now that's not to say that all teachers within that organization is bad. Many teachers join an organization just to get some legitment paperwork to their teaching, but they don't care for the rules. And places like the ATA only care about money so they can maintain a level of automacy over their dojo.
Why does no one ever realize they are at a McDojo. Dude, you couldn't a good dojo to save your life. You're at a McDojo.
You learn how to kick and block? You're suppose to learn that, you idiot. You don't extra points for something you're supposed to do.
I just posted about this...
Mcdonalds does not make or serve real food.
A mcdojo does not teach martial arts.
ATA is mcdojo royalty.
You want examples?
Here's an example of a world champion:
I keep hearing all of this hate towards the organization? I'm in it right now and i learn how to kick, block, i even learn some Gracie Jiu Jitsu. My instructor is ex military and has taken several martial arts and he decided to teach ATA. He's even trying to open up a Jiu Jitsu school as well. So does it just depend on the instructor and student or what? As taekwondo goes it feels like a good class. Does ITF OR WTF really have an advantage over ATA then? Tell me what you guys think and tell WHY you think that.
