SongAhm was started by the Eternal Grand
Master H.U. Lee. SongAhm TaeKwon-Do is what the ATA formed out of, originally based out of the Chahng-hun style,
but was modified to envelop other artistic opinions he held. The SongAhm style seemingly
maintains respect for the ITF and General Choi, but has added
some teaching ideas to his curriculum. I never know what ATA was, and thinking
back, the ATA School in the town I grew up in was pretty weak, but now that I learn
more about it the more I respect it.
Any school can be weak, and for multiple
reasons, that does not have to be a reflection of the system they represent. They
keep a lot of the forms found in ITF and they, arguably, put more emphasis on
the traditional aspects of the art but I do have one rub.
They do
the same thing ITF is known for doing. They try to establish themselves as the
best way, in TKD, and they seclude their art from the rest of TKD. I know you
can argue that point but if the ITF is broken into three organizations, then
the ICTF spins off and forms their own thing, ATA has existed for decades and
many other forms of Korean arts influence similar aspects of the arts, then why
are they not unifying. Of course I might just not know of some organization
that exists out there, but from what I can tell they have enough groups to hold
open tournaments a scale of grandeur.
If these organizations could unify for a
beach side national “open” every two or five years, then they could all compete
in local tournaments that would get really competitive. If it all fed into the
national open, then they would all be able to unify the whole other side of the
art. I think that would be really effective and simple, you just take the head
of each institution and put them as the board members. Then they all assume one
task and appoint someone from their organization to delegate the function accordingly
and then they split the pot evenly and appropriate the funds generated where they
feel they are best suited. I could be an amazing joint venture that could
replace American Kick Boxing and could help fighters and trainers feed into the
MMA system as well.
I am not an expert on this but I do feel ATA
could do more, their system seems good and they promote themselves well, I want
to make it clear that I respect them. However with the strands of General Choi’s
ropes all divided, it’s no wonder the AAU is all up in the TKD scene. We, of
like minds, should look past the small discrepancies and move toward a format
that is flexible and versatile, as that the traditional style might last..
I think I’m ranting now so I will stop but if
we got the AAU out of it and got the state’s boxing commissions into it I
believe TKD would grow by leaps and bounds. WTF and the AAU are getting along
great, and WTF is spreading TKD in a rapid and tremendous fashion, time is coming
where we should to, but in a more Chahng-hun style.
Just my peace.
If you know more, minding the fact that I summarized what it is, please let me know. I would be interested in know anything about it really.
Links; These were the links that I found that explained what ATA is to me. Very good links to read, intresting history and Master J. Phillip Wargo kinda scares the crap out of me.
https://www.ma-vid.com
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