Parents and Consumers (adults wishing to learn) Be Aware and forewarned. I have pursued training in martial arts for over 25 years. I have studied personally (Not Just Influenced By) the Real Mastersi n both ITF, WTF and UTF. Even with all that training I was duped into a USTA Tiger Rock Contract.1st Requirement--- Take off my black belt to train for the Tiger Rock Black Belt. Just as Tiger Rock Grand Master Craig Kollars was "influenced" by many masters I was also influenced by Bruce Lee who said a belt just holds your pants up. Perhaps USTA had something for me to learn and I felt removing my belt was a sign of humility. I have few BIG regrets in my life but taking of a real black belt to test for a USTA Tiger Rock Belt hallmarks one of the dumbest things I have ever done in my life. So if I was so stupid as to be tricked it is easy to see why a consumer could also be fooled into thinking they are in a great place. Here is what I saw.
Belts bought, not earned by skill. Not a big deal really since it also happened in Korea...but do NOT be fooled into thinking any belt you buy at Tiger Rock indicates your skill level. This is kept quiet by ensuring that all tournaments are kept "closed" meaning only other Tiger Rock schools are your competition. You will never know just how bad you really are.
The Brilliant Marketing Strategy that "We at USTA/TigerRock" do not consider a Black Belt a high rank. This is their justification for such poor black belt skills. They know the marketing and business trends of the United States. Most people are happy to stop at Black Belt because they think they have really achieved something.
So I tested for that black belt along with several other misguided souls...The training for this was very very poor when compared to my other schools...but I got to train on a flashy floor with lots of mirrors and a pretty sign out front. Unfortunately the training was so poor during class that it was not discovered how bad one student's heart was UNTIL he was in a black belt testing scenario with a gym full of people. The entire gym got to see just what paramedics do when someone has a full blown heart attack. Proper training would have uncovered this problem before the man had a full blown MI watching on in dismay and horror. To calm the nerves of the children who had witnessed this event the Senior Instructor who had also once been a used car salesman redirected their attention to the "Doctor" who did CPR and the brave paramedics. Proper training would have revealed this heart condition to the instructor.
A student suffered a sprial (staircase) fracture of their tibia. (Lower leg bone) while attempting the 360 degree jump in Chung Mu. The student's skill level was NOT adequate to perform such a manuever. The student thought it was funny.
A student (under black belt) suffered broken ribs after the head instructor kicked them with a side kick. The student thought it was funny stating "Master ---- said I should have blocked that."
A second degree black belt held a side kick position statically...(put their foot out and left it in the air) while a fourth degree ran into the foot. The 2nd degree was disqualified for not using more control because the 4th degree got a nose bleed. The 2nd degree did not forcefully move forward into an offensive position...they just held their foot out and the 4th degree ran into it with their face hands down.
So I began to wonder. Could the USTA Tiger Rock Martial Arts be using murky qualifications and positive thinking techniques to blind people to the truth? The Tiger Rock Mission statement "We think all martial arts are valuable" was not followed when I was told I could not work out if I did not take off my black belt. I knew all their forms by the way. Could the associations and federations be made up??? They tell the history of Taekwondo but it becomes less historical and more murky skipping the details of where the grandmasters learned and from who. I was influenced by Bruce Lee. Does this mean he was my personal instructor? Does a picture with a master mean you are his pupil or was he just posing for photos to be polite. I got one done like that with Bill Superfoot Wallace once...was I his student?
To be fair, and I should be as a black belt...I threw away the USTA black belt after I moved to get out of the contract, Parents and Consumers should know...if you want a good babysitter for your kids, this isn't an awful place. It teaches your kids discipline. It is clean and flashy...just like a REAL NATIONAL TOURNAMENT which is open to all competitors. Tiger Rock schools cater to attract as many customers as possible and look the part. The forms are the old style forms and clearly show that someone has taken Taekwondo somewhere at one time. With whom? Does it matter? The ranks past 1st degree are decent. I say decent in that a particularly gifted student at Tiger Rock is not going to look shabby by 2nd or 3rd degree...but how good would they be if they had trained at a real school? You can work out on weights (at least where I was) and there is some cardio fitness and flexibility training involved. If you just like hanging out with like minded people, it might be your place...BUT I WARN YOU...if you get hurt, you may not get to plug another quarter in the machine and play again...and if you do, find another school. Injuries can occurr but I saw too many at Tiger Rock in less than a year. Massive Heart Attack during testing for black belt, spiral fracture of tibia and broken ribs.
So there you go. These were incidents I personally experienced during the time I was there...in the early stages of the franchise... If you really want a black belt, this is the place to go. Since it is a franchise, you are the customer and the customer is ALWAYS right. DEMAND to be promoted faster. Find out who owns your franchise and overthrow the instructors authority and judgement. That is afterall, how the business world works and they are in it for the business.
Dr Yang Jwing Ming once said "When a student tells the instructor what to do...that's not good." Of course he is Chinese and not Korean and the history of Taekwondo in Korea reads like a Korean Soap Opera and it isn't better in the U.S.
Tiger Rock Martial Arts Reviews
get off the internet, fool.
lol you're fucking retarded. and you spew on about a bunch of bullshit that's nothing but opinionated. gtfo
Parents and Consumers (adults wishing to learn) Be Aware and forewarned. I have pursued training in martial arts for over 25 years. I have studied personally (Not Just Influenced By) the Real Mastersi n both ITF, WTF and UTF. Even with all that training I was duped into a USTA Tiger Rock Contract.1st Requirement--- Take off my black belt to train for the Tiger Rock Black Belt. Just as Tiger Rock Grand Master Craig Kollars was "influenced" by many masters I was also influenced by Bruce Lee who said a belt just holds your pants up. Perhaps USTA had something for me to learn and I felt removing my belt was a sign of humility. I have few BIG regrets in my life but taking of a real black belt to test for a USTA Tiger Rock Belt hallmarks one of the dumbest things I have ever done in my life. So if I was so stupid as to be tricked it is easy to see why a consumer could also be fooled into thinking they are in a great place. Here is what I saw.
Belts bought, not earned by skill. Not a big deal really since it also happened in Korea...but do NOT be fooled into thinking any belt you buy at Tiger Rock indicates your skill level. This is kept quiet by ensuring that all tournaments are kept "closed" meaning only other Tiger Rock schools are your competition. You will never know just how bad you really are.
The Brilliant Marketing Strategy that "We at USTA/TigerRock" do not consider a Black Belt a high rank. This is their justification for such poor black belt skills. They know the marketing and business trends of the United States. Most people are happy to stop at Black Belt because they think they have really achieved something.
So I tested for that black belt along with several other misguided souls...The training for this was very very poor when compared to my other schools...but I got to train on a flashy floor with lots of mirrors and a pretty sign out front. Unfortunately the training was so poor during class that it was not discovered how bad one student's heart was UNTIL he was in a black belt testing scenario with a gym full of people. The entire gym got to see just what paramedics do when someone has a full blown heart attack. Proper training would have uncovered this problem before the man had a full blown MI watching on in dismay and horror. To calm the nerves of the children who had witnessed this event the Senior Instructor who had also once been a used car salesman redirected their attention to the "Doctor" who did CPR and the brave paramedics. Proper training would have revealed this heart condition to the instructor.
A student suffered a sprial (staircase) fracture of their tibia. (Lower leg bone) while attempting the 360 degree jump in Chung Mu. The student's skill level was NOT adequate to perform such a manuever. The student thought it was funny.
A student (under black belt) suffered broken ribs after the head instructor kicked them with a side kick. The student thought it was funny stating "Master ---- said I should have blocked that."
A second degree black belt held a side kick position statically...(put their foot out and left it in the air) while a fourth degree ran into the foot. The 2nd degree was disqualified for not using more control because the 4th degree got a nose bleed. The 2nd degree did not forcefully move forward into an offensive position...they just held their foot out and the 4th degree ran into it with their face hands down.
So I began to wonder. Could the USTA Tiger Rock Martial Arts be using murky qualifications and positive thinking techniques to blind people to the truth? The Tiger Rock Mission statement "We think all martial arts are valuable" was not followed when I was told I could not work out if I did not take off my black belt. I knew all their forms by the way. Could the associations and federations be made up??? They tell the history of Taekwondo but it becomes less historical and more murky skipping the details of where the grandmasters learned and from who. I was influenced by Bruce Lee. Does this mean he was my personal instructor? Does a picture with a master mean you are his pupil or was he just posing for photos to be polite. I got one done like that with Bill Superfoot Wallace once...was I his student?
To be fair, and I should be as a black belt...I threw away the USTA black belt after I moved to get out of the contract, Parents and Consumers should know...if you want a good babysitter for your kids, this isn't an awful place. It teaches your kids discipline. It is clean and flashy...just like a REAL NATIONAL TOURNAMENT which is open to all competitors. Tiger Rock schools cater to attract as many customers as possible and look the part. The forms are the old style forms and clearly show that someone has taken Taekwondo somewhere at one time. With whom? Does it matter? The ranks past 1st degree are decent. I say decent in that a particularly gifted student at Tiger Rock is not going to look shabby by 2nd or 3rd degree...but how good would they be if they had trained at a real school? You can work out on weights (at least where I was) and there is some cardio fitness and flexibility training involved. If you just like hanging out with like minded people, it might be your place...BUT I WARN YOU...if you get hurt, you may not get to plug another quarter in the machine and play again...and if you do, find another school. Injuries can occurr but I saw too many at Tiger Rock in less than a year. Massive Heart Attack during testing for black belt, spiral fracture of tibia and broken ribs.
So there you go. These were incidents I personally experienced during the time I was there...in the early stages of the franchise... If you really want a black belt, this is the place to go. Since it is a franchise, you are the customer and the customer is ALWAYS right. DEMAND to be promoted faster. Find out who owns your franchise and overthrow the instructors authority and judgement. That is afterall, how the business world works and they are in it for the business.
Dr Yang Jwing Ming once said "When a student tells the instructor what to do...that's not good." Of course he is Chinese and not Korean and the history of Taekwondo in Korea reads like a Korean Soap Opera and it isn't better in the U.S.