Yoo-Sin is the Mt. Everest for the black belt looking to transition to higher Dan and in our organization to the Master rank. It is a popular form and like Ko-Dang for us, is a form that is quite easy to learn, but can be extremely difficult to master. Before I go any further, as one of my favorite forms, I probably take some liberties in this form and will thus write those down here. Yoo-Sin more than many forms is a great form to show that you understand what should be happening as well as what is happening. The CTF does an older version of this form, not conforming with many of the videos you see on youtube. Just keep that in mind as you read this. Let's dive in!
The opening movement of the form is a drop slide left into a straddle stance and executing a twin rising elbow strike to either side. I want to put a question mark at the end of that sentence because although that is how I was taught to execute the technique, I can't find any written examples to corroborate this. Most videos show people simply raising their arms. Your mileage may vary on this one, so check with your instructor / org on how to properly execute this.
The next two moves feature a unique movement. Depending on who your instructor was, and how he interprets these moves, you either throw two elbows, or two punches behind your head. What I'd like to focus on here is the footwork as I have seen all matter of movement here and I am strongly opinionated on how this should be done. Since you are already in a straddle stance, you slide, slightly in the direct of each punch. YOU DO NOT TAKE YOUR FEET OFF THE GROUND AND STEP and staying still while you execute the hand techniques is flat out. Phew!
Next I execute the single knife hand block, while rising in my stance (sometimes up to the balls of my feet, sometimes not - depends on the audience / venue). Dropping back into a deep stance with the punch. This is a great place to show some good contrast! The slow deliberate knife hand should naturally accentuate any straight punch for which the faster the punch the better. A key here is to have proper reaction force. Another place many students go sideways is they throw that block and leave the other hand on the hip waiting for the punch. Not only does this look silly, it defies the theory of power - bottom line, there is no reason not to have a reaction force hand on the single knife hand (and I don't care what anyone's books or even instructors say about that).
Another nuance is the outer forearm block. The 45 degree stance is a challenge for people for a long time here. This is going to have strong ramifications for the ending of your form, so making sure you hit the perfect 45 is key. Timing is also important here. This is a step out, outer forearm block. Get your hips involved (nuance) and land with perfect timing here - or you will look bad. Make sure you turn your head and see the 45 for your circular block. Now the cadence changes slightly.
Adjust to straddle is a subtle movement, your foot travels only a few inches, but your hand on your hip needs to come off and execute a proper scooping block. It has to travel WAY farther than your foot, so you really have to start moving the hand before you even think of moving your feet to hit the timing here. Be careful not to end up with a "magic block" (if you recall, a magic block is one that doesn't really have a flight path, it just appears where it is supposed to end). It is very easy to magic block that scoop. The punch that follows should feature good hip motion. Don't throw your punches only with your bicep. If you do, it won't have the speed or power to match the good scoop you just threw. After stepping correctly foot to foot, this section repeats on the other side. Symmetry is the key here.
The cadence should change here again, and smooth reverse knife hand blocks in a 45 degree facing front stance yield to fast shift to straddle middle punch. This repeats, again, symmetry is so important. You want to look as able bodied on one side as you do the other.
Nuance takes a bit of a back seat for a few movements. Of course we have the X-block grasp and pull into the punch, but technical accuracy is what is going to win you the day here. You aren't moving, so although this is one of the more complicated moves you'll do, since you aren't moving just be technically sound in execution and you will look your best. Landing with a reverse punch off of a front kick is probably the most awkward thing you'll do in this segment. Body control is the key, control the kick, re-chamber high and land with power.
Continuing forward, just keep the cadence smooth and execute the following techniques with proper power and timing and the form will be looking good, although beyond the halfway point the step forward to C ready stance facing down the back line feels like a natural halfway point to me and marks the return of the nuance of this form.
We come out of ready C with a symmetrical double upset punch. It is important to not rush this because it is the same thing on both sides and they are relatively easy moves to execute. Many students rush this and the next sequence of inner blocks / reverse punch into the step up and slow horizontal punch (or forearm strike, depending on how you look at it) in natural stance.
The nuance here is to kind of "milk" it for that slow move. That's your chance to catch your breath before the fast paced ending. Not that you can actually "rest" mind you, but if there is a place to re-center and gather your wits about you, it is right here.
Like the other symmetrical movements. The U shaped punches follow the same advice, slow, steady, complete the techniques, let them live a full life.
Sliding into the straddle stance and executing the inward outer forearm block, is a simple enough move, stance definition tends to be a student's undoing here, particularly turning the toes to be parallel.
Waving kicks and the associated blocks can be a real challenge here. These are quick, low movements - too much emphasis on them and not enough emphasis on the upper body movements, or vice versa tends to be where many students go wrong. This (not the crescent/sides that follow) are the hardest part of this form to really get right. The first waving kick ends on the first chamber of the protected outer forearm block. The second wave ends and lands with the timing of the protected inward outer forearm block and that flows right into the first side hand strike. The timing is so essential here.
Crescent kick side kick is a matter of body control, and is ultimately a physical challenge. The big tells on if someone did their homework is, do they lower their hand for the crescent kick in mid kick, and like everything else, don't sacrifice technique for bad height on your side kicks. Your body control is tested a bit more here as you have to land in a straddle stance.
An important nuance is landing that last side kick and dropping the 9 shaped block. You don't want to "fall" into the 9. Control the rechamber and set your foot down. Take your time through this sequence and know how to throw a 9 correctly and all will be fine here. Turn the foot first and throw the downward hammer fist to come to the final piece of advice I have.
Many people know the ending of this form is right out of the Japanese sets and you may feel the desire to throw your knifehand blocks Japanese instead of Korean (assuming you watch a lot of forms videos and know the difference.) It is important to remember that you are not a Japanese practitioner and probably can't do it as good as them, so stick to what you know.
That's it, a very nuanced form, one of the best and a personal favorite of mine. Enjoy!
Monday, June 19, 2017
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Training Guide for Sam-Il
Sam-Il is a dynamic form and is one of my favorite Chang-Hon forms. I like the duality of the form, which starts as an "advanced basic" romp through the first 10-15 techniques, and then adds sequences that are some of the most challenging in that rank's test cycle (for us, that is Yoo-Sin, Sam-Il and Ko-Dang).
The forms opens with a series of single techniques in single stances, though there are a few shift-stance changes, this is nothing new by the time you are third dan testing for fourth. It's not until the 12th move of the form that we see something interesting, and very very unique. The 13th move of Sam-Il is a step forward reverse punch. Though we use reverse techniques moving forward frequently in the Chang-Hon set - in all 24 forms, this is the only step forward reverse punch at least that I can think of.
To this point, the things to focus on are the simple things. Timing, stance definition, technique execution; there's nothing seriously complex going on here, so consider this a warm up for what is to come and hit the "easy" moves out of the park.
After a few more single stance single technique moves we get to a sequence of movements that actually featured in a video game (27 seconds in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuhL3Jz066E. I'm referring to U-shaped block, into waving kick, into U-shaped block into jump spin knife hand block, This is a tricky sequence, mainly because U-shaped block can be a bit of an awkward technique, and many students don't know the correct hand positions making it look as awkward as it feels. This leads into what we call a waving kick but that Blue Cottage calls a sweeping kick (which is a much better name in my opinion). I find that this technique tends to be thrown all over the place because we simply don't do much sweeping in TKD. Many students show this technique poorly because as a course, we rarely kick low on purpose in our forms and almost never kick low on purpose in sparring.
When I teach a waving kick, I remind my students of the old adage that the higher the knee, the higher the kick, so the first trick to throwing a terrific waving kick is to keep the knee low! I bring my knee around like I was throwing an inside crescent kick, but instead of carrying the knee through my center line, I stop just short of the center line and complete the kick by whipping my lower leg forward, low to the ground (targeting the ankle). In application, this is a closer quarters kick, so you aren't going to have the clearance necessarily to throw the knee through the center line. The idea here is to hit the outside of the front foot and cause your opponents front foot to go out. It can also be used to block a low section kick as well.
Coming off the sequence is a stand up straight front leg side kick. Many people try to fire this side kick too close to landing from the jump spin knife hand block and end up botching their kick. Take your time off that landing, collect your center of gravity and lift the front knee high when executing the side kick. If you rush this sequence, it will show, and it will show poorly.
Kicking too high is another problem here as you will be landing foot to foot and moving the opposite direction. You need body control to land foot to foot and step with the right center of gravity to allow power on the next technique (a nuance that is lost on many people, in many forms).
Following the upper elbow (or front elbow), you step into diagonal stance. Now, getting on my soap box, diagonal stance is a SUBTLE stance. It is one foot being SLIGHTLY forward of the other in what would be an ordinary straddle or horse stance. It's to the point where if I can clearly see that one foot is in front of the other, you did it wrong. I tell my students that a good diagonal stance is one foot being one half a foot's length in front of the other. Very subtle. Do not over step to "accentuate" the diagonal stance, because all you do is look like you are horrible at probably the first stance you ever learned.
Stepping down off of my soap box and continuing we see the diagonal stance elbow transition to the X-block low in a front stance setting up for a big W-shape block moving forward. Your stance is perfectly set to execute a good W block and the key to making this look good is really understanding the execution of this block. Just remember, the arm going forward here is an inward thrown, outer forearm block. The block moving to block behind you is a standard inner forearm block thrown at the same time. If everything stops at the same time, and your chamber was correct, you probably threw a good W block (be sure to twist the wrists, if you don't have to, you probably aren't chambering correctly).
Again we have a front leg side kick, made a little tougher because you should be holding the W while your chamber and kick. Again, lift the knee, kick with body control ( a good kick mid beats a crappy kick high every day).
The next couple of moves (low knife hand block, scoop in cat stance, twin downward pressing blocks, double upset punch) are all about stance definition. You go from long to short stances back to a long front stance with double upset punches. The key here is to hit your stances, which if struggling, usually means your speed is too high. Slow down and show good power in this sequence and you'll be ok.
The down block in a back stance to horizontal punch with the right hand over shoulder should be executed fast, but be careful not drag that speed up into the inward outer forearm block and punch, making it sloppy.
The end of the form completes in single stance, single technique fashion.
This form has some pretty drastic cadence changes, things you will see in the next set in a much more complicated manner. Getting used to this here will go a long way to helping you nail the next set of forms.
The forms opens with a series of single techniques in single stances, though there are a few shift-stance changes, this is nothing new by the time you are third dan testing for fourth. It's not until the 12th move of the form that we see something interesting, and very very unique. The 13th move of Sam-Il is a step forward reverse punch. Though we use reverse techniques moving forward frequently in the Chang-Hon set - in all 24 forms, this is the only step forward reverse punch at least that I can think of.
To this point, the things to focus on are the simple things. Timing, stance definition, technique execution; there's nothing seriously complex going on here, so consider this a warm up for what is to come and hit the "easy" moves out of the park.
After a few more single stance single technique moves we get to a sequence of movements that actually featured in a video game (27 seconds in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuhL3Jz066E. I'm referring to U-shaped block, into waving kick, into U-shaped block into jump spin knife hand block, This is a tricky sequence, mainly because U-shaped block can be a bit of an awkward technique, and many students don't know the correct hand positions making it look as awkward as it feels. This leads into what we call a waving kick but that Blue Cottage calls a sweeping kick (which is a much better name in my opinion). I find that this technique tends to be thrown all over the place because we simply don't do much sweeping in TKD. Many students show this technique poorly because as a course, we rarely kick low on purpose in our forms and almost never kick low on purpose in sparring.
When I teach a waving kick, I remind my students of the old adage that the higher the knee, the higher the kick, so the first trick to throwing a terrific waving kick is to keep the knee low! I bring my knee around like I was throwing an inside crescent kick, but instead of carrying the knee through my center line, I stop just short of the center line and complete the kick by whipping my lower leg forward, low to the ground (targeting the ankle). In application, this is a closer quarters kick, so you aren't going to have the clearance necessarily to throw the knee through the center line. The idea here is to hit the outside of the front foot and cause your opponents front foot to go out. It can also be used to block a low section kick as well.
Coming off the sequence is a stand up straight front leg side kick. Many people try to fire this side kick too close to landing from the jump spin knife hand block and end up botching their kick. Take your time off that landing, collect your center of gravity and lift the front knee high when executing the side kick. If you rush this sequence, it will show, and it will show poorly.
Kicking too high is another problem here as you will be landing foot to foot and moving the opposite direction. You need body control to land foot to foot and step with the right center of gravity to allow power on the next technique (a nuance that is lost on many people, in many forms).
Following the upper elbow (or front elbow), you step into diagonal stance. Now, getting on my soap box, diagonal stance is a SUBTLE stance. It is one foot being SLIGHTLY forward of the other in what would be an ordinary straddle or horse stance. It's to the point where if I can clearly see that one foot is in front of the other, you did it wrong. I tell my students that a good diagonal stance is one foot being one half a foot's length in front of the other. Very subtle. Do not over step to "accentuate" the diagonal stance, because all you do is look like you are horrible at probably the first stance you ever learned.
Stepping down off of my soap box and continuing we see the diagonal stance elbow transition to the X-block low in a front stance setting up for a big W-shape block moving forward. Your stance is perfectly set to execute a good W block and the key to making this look good is really understanding the execution of this block. Just remember, the arm going forward here is an inward thrown, outer forearm block. The block moving to block behind you is a standard inner forearm block thrown at the same time. If everything stops at the same time, and your chamber was correct, you probably threw a good W block (be sure to twist the wrists, if you don't have to, you probably aren't chambering correctly).
Again we have a front leg side kick, made a little tougher because you should be holding the W while your chamber and kick. Again, lift the knee, kick with body control ( a good kick mid beats a crappy kick high every day).
The next couple of moves (low knife hand block, scoop in cat stance, twin downward pressing blocks, double upset punch) are all about stance definition. You go from long to short stances back to a long front stance with double upset punches. The key here is to hit your stances, which if struggling, usually means your speed is too high. Slow down and show good power in this sequence and you'll be ok.
The down block in a back stance to horizontal punch with the right hand over shoulder should be executed fast, but be careful not drag that speed up into the inward outer forearm block and punch, making it sloppy.
The end of the form completes in single stance, single technique fashion.
This form has some pretty drastic cadence changes, things you will see in the next set in a much more complicated manner. Getting used to this here will go a long way to helping you nail the next set of forms.
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