This is the first issue of TkdTimes. The Free eZine of The Taekwondo Network. To help me make this newsletter as helpful and relevant as possible, I would enjoy your feedback. Simply email me your comments at TkdTimes@taekwondo-network.com. I really appreciate it when you contact me directly.

If you enjoy TkdTimes, please email this copy to a friend. You can help me spread the joy of tae kwon do around the world. The more of us who walk the path, the greater the journey.

World Taekwondo Culture Expo

July 4-11 marks the 2nd Annual World Taekwondo Culture Expo in Jeon Ju South Korea. I am looking forward to several days of site seeing in Seoul and the outlying cities of Moo Ju and Jeon Ju. Of course there will be plenty of tae kwon do training, exhibitions, testing and so much more.Read more about the Expo on my blog.

I will be bringing my laptop so that my fellow travelers and I can send messages to our families back home. I intend to post about our daily excursions from the DMZ to Buddhist Temples, karaoke and Kukkiwon. My roommate is a great photographer (she took many of the photos on taekwondo-network) and promises me some pictures of myself at the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul. Naturally I'll be posting photos of our travels as well at the blog, so check it out. We'll be enjoying Korean tae kwon do, traveling June 30th through July 11th.

I've never traveled to Asia before. So to prepare for my travels, I wrote an article about Travel Abroad.

It is an 8 Step plan for healthy travel so far from home. After all, we spend so much time and effort planning our itinerary and all the fun activities and sites we want to experience. Why shouldn't we take the same care in planning for our health while traveling abroad?

I can't imagine a scarier prospect than becoming really ill far from home in a country where I do not speak the language.

What's Happening at
The Taekwondo Network

Lots of visitors to The Taekwondo Network like to share their style. I've created a poll so we can share and compare.

Take the Poll now by visiting the tae kwon do styles page and make yourself heard.

Your Feedback

Here is that feedback I mentioned:

Tae kwon is not the best martial art for the 40+ crowd. Something like Silat is easier on the body while being an extremely effective fighting art. And what's up with all that screaming done in Tae kwon do? I've heard it's done to "scare the opponent" .. guess again, it only makes me want to hit the person doing all that screaming! LOL .. Joking, of course.

I respect all martial arts and would never claim a "Best". It's all a matter of WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. I've seen street fighters with NO formal training knock the crap out of "masters" (an overused term particularly in the States.)

At 52 years old, with 16 years of DAILY training, the only thing I've noticed in my own workouts is to BE SURE TO WARM UP. Which is something I've always done. I generally get to the kwoon and begin IMMEDIATELY to warm up whereas the younger guys will spend precious time BS'ng.

Also, it's important to breakup training so that one isn't constantly beating the body up. And nothing replaces actual contact fighting.

I study JKD, Silat and Kali.

And here was my response:

Thanks for contacting me through my feedback form.

I believe that any martial art can be started at any age regardless of the reputation of the sport. I know taekwondo has the reputation of constant fast kicking like the Olympic competitors, but you know that all martial arts are a way of life, not the flashy stuff you see in competition.

I would like to see more of us over 40 crowd take up martial arts and not be afraid of getting hurt or of being too old for this type of "sport".

I say taekwondo is the "best" because I study it and want to grab people's attention. The truth is, I think all martial arts are great and that there is something for everyone.

I'm not familiar with Silat or Kali though I read about Silat on Wikipedia. I haven't been training as long as you have. Recently, I've starting studying Kum ye do which is a Korean sword art. It's great fun and much harder than it looks.

Good luck with your training and it was great hearing from you.

Oh, about the yelling? I love the yelling! It gives me such an adrenaline rush, I guess that's why we do it. Helps me focus my energy.

I think it's important to share information and opinions. That's why I've created an area on Taekwondo-Network where I you can share your questions or comments with all visitors. Please visit Your Feedback and leave your story for everyone to comment on.

To your continued success...

Kam sa ham ni dah,

Kalynn