MARTIAL ARTS

There are many different martial arts one can learn. I have primarily studied WTF Taekwondo and a few weapons forms, but feel that all martial arts have something to offer. I now study Haidong Gumdo (Korean sword art) as well as taekwondo. I learned a little bit of hapkido in combination with my taekwondo training. I studied one weapon art for about a year, Tahn Bang Sul (Korean short sticks), and also learned a little bit on nunchakus. I also have an interest in sais and tai chi sword as well as long staff. Two internal martial arts I find particularly interesting are tai chi and aikido. I do not currently study tai chi (only just dabbling around a bit with a wooden tai chi sword), but hope that I will have some time later to take a few classes off and on. I also do not study aikido, but have learned a little bit of it from Nathan.

In this section, there is a little bit of information about a few of these martial arts.

Please also read "Why I Study Martial Arts" for some insights into why martial arts can be important to your life.

RECOMMENDED MARTIAL ARTS SCHOOLS

The following is a list of martial arts schools that I know to be excellent schools. Either I have trained at these schools, or I have been taught by the Master/Head Instructor at some point, or I know someone who trains at one of the schools, or all of the above.

World TKD (located on Bloor Street just west of Bathurst in Toronto, Canada)
Black Belt World
Urban Warrior Taekwondo
JSC Taekwondo
Deep Impactx - The Toronto Hapkido Academy
Wu's Tai Chi Chuan Academy - Toronto
Toronto Aikikai

OTHER MARTIAL ARTS LINKS

World Taekwondo Federation
Ontario Taekwondo Association
World Haidong Gumdo Federation (This is the English site.)
Ernie Reyes West Coast Martial Arts (A few years back, Ernie Reyes' demo team graced the do jang I was training at with their amazing skills. If I lived on the West Coast, definitely a school I would check out.)
Team Ryouko (If you're interested in extreme martial arts stunts and are as crazy as these guys, you'll want to check out Team Ryouko. Yes, I know some of these guys and have seen them perform live. The bonus with these guys, you can learn their moves since they teach classes.)
Joe Eigo (Okay, Joe needs a better site because he's way better at martial arts stunts than his site shows. Joe has done stunts with Team Ryouko and has worked with Jackie Chan. Google "Joe Eigo" and you should find some of his martial arts stunt videos. Amazing stuff.)