The Association of Professional Taekwon-Do Instructors
What's Your Reason For Joining?

Confidence?
Self Defence?
Fitness?
Flexibility?
Social?
Hobby with a difference?
Competition?
Self Discipline?
Self Respect?
Traditional or Free Style?

Traditional Tae Kwon-Do
This is the art form of this beautiful martial art. It involves learning the fundamental movements, i.e. Stances, blocks, hand attacks and kicks, all performed through the full range of movement (in its art form), which isn't necessarily practical for realistic application, but it does help students to understand the mechanics of each and every movement from start to finish and of course helps with conditioning and coordination.
Patterns are an integral part of traditional training and consist of a series of fundamental attack and defence movements, against one or more imaginary opponents but again, performed in art form. A well performed pattern is akin to a martial ballet and can be beautiful to watch, if performed well and an excellent form of exercise and conditioning. Patterns help keep the identity of the art, as each pattern can represent a prominent figure or event in Korean history.
Advantages traditional Tae kwon-Do
Gives an in depth understanding of the art and history.
Excellent exercise and conditioning for body and mind.
Disadvantages of traditional Tae kwon-Do
Unless the difference between art and application is taught properly, students run the risk of having an unrealistic understanding of combat and what actually works and what doesn't in a realistic street defence situation, thus placing them at risk.
Students can be overwhelmed by the sheer scale of political nonsense, i.e. the different groups involved, each claiming to be correct and yet all teaching differently from each other and trashing all others.
Free Style Taekwondo
Not everyone has time or the inclination to study traditional Tae Kwon-Do, some people just want to learn how to defend themselves, get fit and flexible in as short a time as possible, they don't want to learn about the history or learn a foreign language.
This is where Free Style comes into its own and tends to be a more popular no frills approach to martial art training. With 'Free Style' we learn and practice all the exciting parts of Taekwondo. The kicks, punches, blocks, pad work and sparring etc and more importantly you will learn how to apply the techniques realistically for either competition or self defence.
The core tenets of Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, indomitable spirit and self control are every bit a part of Free Style as they are Traditional.
Advantages
A realistic, fun and practical approach to martial arts with emphasis placed on pursuing the perfect technique, understanding the mechanics of each technique and development as an individual.

How long to black belt?
Many individuals are under the mistaken belief that black belt is the ultimate goal. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 1st degree black belt is where the student has laid their foundation, the basics, the equivalent of passing your driving test... You have laid the foundation from which to build on.
So how long it takes an individual to reach 1st Degree black belt? This would depend on so many things!
It would depend on the students ability, the instructor's experience, knowledge, the quality and depth of the instruction and of course the hours trained.
In the original Tae Kwon-Do manual, written by the founder of Tae Kwon-Do, it was laid out in the hours trained, and not as many believe, in years. This makes sense when you think about it, as you could have two students training for a set amount of time, let's say three years, (which seems to be the average time quoted nowadays for 1st Degree black belt) but one of the students is training once a week and the other student is training five or six times a week. Of course, the student who puts the extra hours in is obviously going to progress faster!
The exception to this, is the higher Dan grades. Higher Dan grades need to have not just the necessary hours training but in depth knowledge, understanding and experience, which is why we have a two year period between 1st and 2nd Degree, a three year period between 2nd and 3rd Degree, a four year period between 3rd and 4th Degree, so on and so forth. 1st to 3rd degree are considered the novice stages of black belt, 4th degree expert, 5th degree and above Master. The higher master grades are not necessarily awarded on physical merit, but on the individuals understanding and knowledge of their art, their experience and what they have contributed towards the art/organisation over the years.