military TKD VS. sport TWD, difference?

i studied tae kwon do for 5 years and although i became very good at it i always wondered if the traditional form was different than the sports style that we spar. many of the moves that people accociate with TKD, elbows and flying kicks are not used in sparring and i wonder if military TKD is different. the south korean government wouldn't use a style that would get there militaries butts kicked would they? and if it is different what are they teaching that would make it more effective from the sport we know today?

traditional tkd looks more like karate. Have you seen tang soo do? that is a korean style that looks like an offshoot of shotokan - it even has some of the same kata. modern tkd was the result of political battles and such in korea in the 60's. TSD was "too japanese" and the sport tkd that is widely trained today was created with a more korean flavor.

In reference to the military, the regimen they used is probably streamlined for combat - a lot of drilling, very little kata. I'm not sure, but that would be my guess. Either way, as they are military, they probably don't spend a whole lot of time training hand to hand. Their time is better spent training firearms and such.

One could assume that the feelings for their own destinct korean art would boost morale.

Yeah, everybody in the military 'has to' get their BB, so its a very abbreviated course. Most ex-military folks I know don't speak too highly of the TKD training they got. Its a get in shape, boost national pride, stir up the fighting spirit kind of thing more than anything else.

Quote:

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N. Korean special forces' martial arts
General 11:26 October 12, 2021
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This composite photo, captured from the homepage of the Korean Central News Agency, shows North Korean special forces demonstrating their martial arts at a defense development exhibition, Self-Defence-2021, in Pyongyang on Oct. 11, 2021. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
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I love how some Asian militaries still do this.