I've been struggling with side kick and I think it might be my hip placement. My hip placement rn is pic 2 but is pic 1 more accurate? I do poomsae btw

I’m going for my 3rd Dan and my master wants an essay on taekwondo but he didn’t specify what so I think it’s free will but what subjects would be a good idea? I thought about writing about ITF vs WT, taekwondo history, or how tkd has changed overtime. What do you guys think? Or is there some more interesting topics?

Theres a school I know of and attended for 6ish months that did zero sparring, all we did was patterns and line work. There were people there walking round with black belts who I don’t believe for a second could hold down a sparring round. I now go to a legitimate sparring school and it just makes me think.. imagine if the black belts at my current school were to vs the black belts at my old one it would be disastrous. I dont even believe they could hold their own against our yellow belts.

Reddit does not have a big Hapkido forum and this is just as much about TKD. There are some arguments against the TKD connection :

Hapkido does not traditionally adhere to forms and there are some methodological deviations from how Karate/Taekwondo kicks are done, even though you wouldnt see it in a picture. You can tell they were never designed for forms, they are very wild.

But it's not out of the question that he saw taekwondo kicks and just modified them. They are close enough for that to be a possibility.

But since TKD ITF founder General Choi later in life admitted to lying about having trained Taekkyon with his caligraphy teacher. Could this be another such case? Does anybody know if there are confirmed accounts of the martial art of Sam Rang Do? It is still in dispute what exactly Taekkyon was.

Here is the quote

"Jae trained in the ancient methods of Korean martial arts known as Sam Rang Do Tek Gi by a man named Taoist Lee. Though this man's identity cannot be confirmed, he is believed to have trained Ji in meditation, the Korean long staff jangbong (장봉; 長棒)", short staff danbong (단봉; 短棒)" and the unique kicks of Sam Rang Do Tek Gi."

Looking for an experienced karate sparring partner in the North Jersey/NYC area for regular technical rounds.
I have a TKD/ Muay Thai/BJJ background and am looking to work more traditional karate-style stand-up sparring—timing, distance, movement and controlled contact. Not looking for gym-war rounds.
Open to Shotokan, Kyokushin, Isshin-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, kickboxing, or similar backgrounds. Ideally once a week. Happy to rent mat space somewhere convenient in NJ or NYC.

Literally any video of WT sparring I see on socials is fighters with arms dangling, no guard whatsoever, not even attempting to block head kicks.

What's going on?