It is hard to deny the Japanese influence in Taekwon-Do. I've always wondered why a country that was subjugated by the Japanese would create a fighting art that reflects many of the Japanese arts tendencies. Although in the early 80s GM Choi tried to remedy this by introducing sine wave movement, the fundamental Japanese-ness was already there in the roots. I often wonder if the goal was ever to create something wholly unique, or if just having their own art was enough. I have read things that point strongly at both arguments. Since I don't have a time machine, I'm left with what I know, and what I think.
I know that the basic fundamental stances are all exactly the same in concept as the Shotokan stances. Additionally the execution of many of the basic techniques are similar enough to be called the same. By this I mean if the chamber of a certain technique is different, but otherwise the technique is the same, then well - they are similar enough to be the same. Before sine wave, we even moved in the same C shaped movements with an emphasis on heads not moving up and down.
A person can argue that there are only so many ways to kick and punch, but Capoeira has kicks and punches and they look nothing like TKD or Shotokan. The same can be said about the execution of most Kung-Fu techniques. They really don't look anything like TKD or Japanese Karate. Even the art of Taekyon which TKD is supposed to be a direct descendant of looks much different when compared to TKD. (In his book The Killing Art Alex Gillis gives us a great reason why this is - do check it out). Shotokan and the pre-sine wave version of TKD are in my opinion two sides to the same coin; TKD is too close to Shotokan in my opinion not to be a direct descendant of the Japanese art.
It's not just the techniques though. If it were, I'd call the above paragraph circumstantial. I mentioned in one of my first posts the similarity between certain Shotokan forms and the Chang-Hon patterns. This cannot be more apparent than when you compare Tekki Sandan with Po-eun. I put this together, watch both side by side here:
http://www.youtubedoubler.com/?video1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXt_-ZinW6sg&start1=0&video2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DY0aqGAcY2ac&start2=4&authorName=TKDDK
These are unique forms - I can't speak to the body of work of Shotokan, but I can say that there are no other Chang-Hon forms that consist of a form made up almost entirely of straddle (horse) stances. (there are only two back stances in the whole form of Po-Eun) Additionally, the make up of the technique of both forms is very similar as the mashup above should show. This is more than coincidence in my opinion.
Two forms, more similar than dissimilar from two different arts in which one art was a direct response to the others. Very interesting indeed. Of course, the Tekki / Po-Eun link is not the only one. There are sequences of movements in many Shotokan forms that show up in the TKD Chang-Hon system. Gojushiho-Sho throws a series of quick low section knife hand blocks that we see almost exactly in Ge-Baek for instance. Other shotokan form sequences can be seen in Tan-Gun, and in Yoo-Sin almost move for move. I believe it is impossible for this to be coincidence.
What does it all mean? Are these similarities secret homages to the arts the Korean architects studied in their youth? Is this an attempt to slight the Japanese practitioners by taking their moves and doing them differently (and maybe in a Korean sense "better"?) I don't have the answer. I believe it to probably be a bit of both. There was probably an understanding that the Japanese were on to something, or else the fighting arts wouldn't have lived as long as they did. I also believe though that in the 50s when TKD was being created, there was a lot of resentment towards the Japanese and it wouldn't surprise me in the least bit if some of the technique sequences are an attempt at a slight of the predecessor.
What do you think? Please share your insight in the comments.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Macro Patterns Final
I have explored the first nine forms of the Chang-Hon system in the "Macro" series, and it is time to close the book on them. In this post my hope is to tie up my thoughts on the first nine forms as a whole. I'll discuss, in general, the make up of technique in the first nine, and their order. I'll also write about how the forms relate to teaching a solid foundation of the art for a first degree black belt about to embark on the next leg of their journey.
The first nine forms are a haphazard collection of need to know skills. Individually they stand strong. If you take any one form, and look at it in a vacuum so to speak, you'll see that there are very good and very necessary lessons being taught in each. I say the forms are haphazard though because the forms are too similar in some parts of the progression, and too dissimilar in other places. It creates a kind of "jumble" of knowledge on the way to black belt.
Take Tan-Gun and To-San. The ending sequence of moves in both forms work on similar concepts with similar techniques. I don't think I have ever seen a yellow belt at one point or another, not confuse the endings of these forms and I've seen far too many students confuse the endings during a test. I wouldn't tinker with the internals of a form. That would almost be sacrilege from my point of view, however if I were running my own program, I might change the order of the form stream, since there is already a precedence of other schools doing this.
In my opinion, Won-Hyo, would follow Tan-Gun better, as the twin forearm block is introduced in Tan-Gun and then is thrown in a three move combination in Won-Hyo. Furthermore, the angling in To-San seems out of place and would be a better predecessor to Yul-Gok in my mind. These minor changes in order would keep themes consistent in belt rank, and the substitutions do not force a student to learn something that is more difficult earlier. Ultimately you could make a case that Won-Hyo is harder than To-San on the content of technique, but I believe To-San to be the harder form to execute with high rank quality proficiency.
In this setup, Yul-Gok is still your gateway to the advanced level. I think this is important because I think Yul-Gok combines much of what you do in the earlier forms and acts as a bit of a final exam for all that came before it.
I can't make a case for changing the final four forms. Rather, I can't make a case I feel strongly for. I think there still is a haphazardness to the last four forms, but I don't think that it can be easily fixed by moving the forms around. They are four unique forms, and while once learned they give you a "toolbox" to work from, there is no progression like there is with the lower forms. That is a theme that carries on in the black belt forms for the most part, but the lack of "progression" makes these forms more difficult than they necessarily need to be (in my opinion). At the end of it all though, I believe that by being proficient in the first nine forms, a student is ready to tackle what comes in the black belt forms.
If the end result though is favorable you might wonder why I think it is so important to worry about the form to form transitions. Simply stated, it's easy for someone with two decades experience in the art to take what they learned in their first years for granted especially when you are still training, and still pursuing knowledge. I make it a point to remind lower ranking students that there are always lessons to be learned in the low forms. A good black belt is made by constantly improving on the foundation they received their rank on. These posts I hope shed some insight into how to think of the forms past the mentality of "oh, that's a green belt form".
The first nine forms are a haphazard collection of need to know skills. Individually they stand strong. If you take any one form, and look at it in a vacuum so to speak, you'll see that there are very good and very necessary lessons being taught in each. I say the forms are haphazard though because the forms are too similar in some parts of the progression, and too dissimilar in other places. It creates a kind of "jumble" of knowledge on the way to black belt.
Take Tan-Gun and To-San. The ending sequence of moves in both forms work on similar concepts with similar techniques. I don't think I have ever seen a yellow belt at one point or another, not confuse the endings of these forms and I've seen far too many students confuse the endings during a test. I wouldn't tinker with the internals of a form. That would almost be sacrilege from my point of view, however if I were running my own program, I might change the order of the form stream, since there is already a precedence of other schools doing this.
In my opinion, Won-Hyo, would follow Tan-Gun better, as the twin forearm block is introduced in Tan-Gun and then is thrown in a three move combination in Won-Hyo. Furthermore, the angling in To-San seems out of place and would be a better predecessor to Yul-Gok in my mind. These minor changes in order would keep themes consistent in belt rank, and the substitutions do not force a student to learn something that is more difficult earlier. Ultimately you could make a case that Won-Hyo is harder than To-San on the content of technique, but I believe To-San to be the harder form to execute with high rank quality proficiency.
In this setup, Yul-Gok is still your gateway to the advanced level. I think this is important because I think Yul-Gok combines much of what you do in the earlier forms and acts as a bit of a final exam for all that came before it.
I can't make a case for changing the final four forms. Rather, I can't make a case I feel strongly for. I think there still is a haphazardness to the last four forms, but I don't think that it can be easily fixed by moving the forms around. They are four unique forms, and while once learned they give you a "toolbox" to work from, there is no progression like there is with the lower forms. That is a theme that carries on in the black belt forms for the most part, but the lack of "progression" makes these forms more difficult than they necessarily need to be (in my opinion). At the end of it all though, I believe that by being proficient in the first nine forms, a student is ready to tackle what comes in the black belt forms.
If the end result though is favorable you might wonder why I think it is so important to worry about the form to form transitions. Simply stated, it's easy for someone with two decades experience in the art to take what they learned in their first years for granted especially when you are still training, and still pursuing knowledge. I make it a point to remind lower ranking students that there are always lessons to be learned in the low forms. A good black belt is made by constantly improving on the foundation they received their rank on. These posts I hope shed some insight into how to think of the forms past the mentality of "oh, that's a green belt form".
Monday, August 4, 2014
Macro Patterns Part 4
In this, the final Macro Patterns entry of the lower forms, we'll take a look at Hwa-rang and Choong-Moo.
By the construct of the past posts, Hwa-Rang and Choong-Moo are the hardest forms of the non black belt forms. Neither form is very repetitive, Although coming in at only 29 and 30 movements respectively, the complexity and variety of technique make the combination of Hwa-Rang and Choong-Moo very deserving as the gateway forms to the black belt forms.
Hwa-Rang is interesting right on the first movement. The tense palm block / strike illustrates a fundamental tenant of TKD that is often lost during the switch from forms to fighting; namely the concept that all blocks should be strikes. I'm not prepared to get into it more than that in this post, but suffice it to say the first move of Hwa-Rang illustrates a technique that can clearly be used as either a block or strike. I make special note of this because I've seen different instructors over 20 years swear it was one over the other more times than I can remember. I think the important lesson of the first move of Hwa-Rang is that all blocks should be strikes. The art is built on the notion that you make your enemy regret ever throwing an attack at you. It's hard to execute blocks as a strike in real time and so I think it is an aspect of the art that gets lost sometimes.
Another interesting feature of Hwa-Rang is that it is the first form to include a round house kick. A very respected teacher once told me that he believed round kick to be the hardest of the basic kicks to correctly execute and thus it features so late in the form set. I think I could write a whole post on round kick vs side kick as the hardest basic kick to master and execute. In the end, I agree that round kick is harder, but a strong case can certainly be made for both. Either way, Hwa-Rang is also the first form to feature back to back kicks - another theme that will come to feature prominently in many of the forms to come.
Choong-Moo is in my opinion not only the hardest of the non black belt level forms, but also is one of the best forms in the Chang-hon set. The form is a final exam, taking many of the lessons introduced in the earlier forms, and rolling them into one. Choong-Moo is an excellent primer for the black belt forms to come. Aside from having a few moves that are physically challenging to perform at all, let alone correctly and with proper timing, Choong-Moo features sequences that help a student prepare for the next level of forms training. Notable examples are the combination round kick back side kick, the round kick off on a 45 degree angle, and the rising X block off of the double side kick combination at the end of the form.
Hwa-Rang and Choong-Moo are masterpiece forms. They are simple in layout - both using a mostly I shaped pattern, but both feature a range of dynamic technique that really put to test the skills that a student should have learned in getting to this point.
By the construct of the past posts, Hwa-Rang and Choong-Moo are the hardest forms of the non black belt forms. Neither form is very repetitive, Although coming in at only 29 and 30 movements respectively, the complexity and variety of technique make the combination of Hwa-Rang and Choong-Moo very deserving as the gateway forms to the black belt forms.
Hwa-Rang is interesting right on the first movement. The tense palm block / strike illustrates a fundamental tenant of TKD that is often lost during the switch from forms to fighting; namely the concept that all blocks should be strikes. I'm not prepared to get into it more than that in this post, but suffice it to say the first move of Hwa-Rang illustrates a technique that can clearly be used as either a block or strike. I make special note of this because I've seen different instructors over 20 years swear it was one over the other more times than I can remember. I think the important lesson of the first move of Hwa-Rang is that all blocks should be strikes. The art is built on the notion that you make your enemy regret ever throwing an attack at you. It's hard to execute blocks as a strike in real time and so I think it is an aspect of the art that gets lost sometimes.
Another interesting feature of Hwa-Rang is that it is the first form to include a round house kick. A very respected teacher once told me that he believed round kick to be the hardest of the basic kicks to correctly execute and thus it features so late in the form set. I think I could write a whole post on round kick vs side kick as the hardest basic kick to master and execute. In the end, I agree that round kick is harder, but a strong case can certainly be made for both. Either way, Hwa-Rang is also the first form to feature back to back kicks - another theme that will come to feature prominently in many of the forms to come.
Choong-Moo is in my opinion not only the hardest of the non black belt level forms, but also is one of the best forms in the Chang-hon set. The form is a final exam, taking many of the lessons introduced in the earlier forms, and rolling them into one. Choong-Moo is an excellent primer for the black belt forms to come. Aside from having a few moves that are physically challenging to perform at all, let alone correctly and with proper timing, Choong-Moo features sequences that help a student prepare for the next level of forms training. Notable examples are the combination round kick back side kick, the round kick off on a 45 degree angle, and the rising X block off of the double side kick combination at the end of the form.
Hwa-Rang and Choong-Moo are masterpiece forms. They are simple in layout - both using a mostly I shaped pattern, but both feature a range of dynamic technique that really put to test the skills that a student should have learned in getting to this point.
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