rmclain

This application could be a front foot or both foot sweep. I commonly use this sweep in free sparring. Just for illustration: Imagine someone with left-foot-forward back stance in front of you. Your right foot sweeps the front foot in a right to left motion (from your perspective), while the left arm strikes or presses their upper body in the opposite direction. After they are swept - your weight and punch drive straight down into the person. Note: The application of this sweep is like an inside cresent kick (striking with the bottom of the foot) at the ankle level. This technique is easily applicable in sparring and self-defense with a little practice. R. McLain

To my knowledge, Rohai is taught in Shotokan. R. McLain

A few notes to Sam's post: The Japanese wouldn't allow Koreans to practice karate in Korea during the occupation. They felt it would contribute to an uprising from the Koreans. Instead Koreans were allowed to practice judo and sometimes kendo. The Tae Soo Do was established in 1961 under the Korean Amateur Athletic Association. R. McLain

You'd have to consult with a Korean Grandmaster that is over 60 years old and trained back during the early days. The Grandmasters younger than this are mostly from the sport generation of Taekwondo in Korea and haven't preserved the history properly. Most Korean Grandmasters I know or have met are taekwondo people that may have originally trained in one of the original kwans, but later changed to conform to the WTF or ITF requirements and curriculum. You'll see that sometimes,...a Grandmaster claiming to be from the Ji Do Kwan, Chung Do Kwan, etc., but not teaching anything that was taught there. Moo Duk Kwon is a little different. They kept the original requirements for the most part. Not many of the old generation are still around or teaching. Henry Cho is still around as is Grandmaster Kim Pyung Soo in Houston. Ki Whang Kim died in 1993, Grandmaster Yemoh Ahn (Moo Duk Kwon) just died in November. I'm really scared about what people are going to preach as the history of Korean martial arts following WWII in another 50 years. Already after the first 50 years there are so many false stories. People should really listen to what's left of the old generation and pass along the truth for historical purposes. R. McLain

After the liberation of Korea from the Japanese occupation Koreans were allowed to publicly practice martial arts. Except for some Kendo and Judo instruction they mostly practiced the martial arts studied abroad and brought to Korea: karate or chuan-fa. These first schools called their art either "Tang Soo Do," "Kong Soo Do," or "Subak Do." It was just a way for them to give their training a name. After the Korean War, the country was rebuilding and wanted to make a unique martial arts identity. There were suggestions to unify the kwans and make 1 martial arts program and use a new name, such as "taekwondo" or "Taesoo Do," etc. What is left now is the results of merging the original kwans and giving a new name. People associate "Tang Soo Do" with "Moo Duk Kwon" because Hwang Kee resisted the assimilation and went his own way. But, originally most schools called their art "Tang Soo Do" in the 1940's and 50's. R. McLain

Yes, I know both the defensive and offensive part of Chang Kwon - as taught by the Chang Moo Kwan and Kang Duk Won. This form is very difficult to describe by text, because my terminology may not be the same as you use for describing it. I can tell you that both sides of the form (def. & off.) move in a linear pattern throughout the form. I've only seen 1 person outside of The Chayon-Ryu System practice this form. It was Mr. Hong, reporter for the Korean YTN television when he visited in 2003. He was a student of Grandmaster JongPyo Hong in Korea(Kang Duk Won). Chayon-Ryu was founded in 1968 by Grandmaster Kim Pyung Soo who was a Chang Moo Kwan student in Korea 1951-57, then Kang Duk Won 1957-1968. Grandmaster Kim is still a student of Grandmaster Hong. R. McLain

I don't know if it is the same form, but the Chang Moo Kwan and Kang Duk Won line preserved the Chang Kwon (Long Fist) form as well. This version has both an offensive and defensive side, that may be practiced alone or as a two-man form. This version of the form came from a Korean man named ByungIn Yoon, who grew up near Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of Korea. After WWII he returned to Korea to found the Chang Moo Kwan. R. McLain

I don't understand the point of having a "test" if there is no chance that someone will get a flunking grade. R. McLain

The Tae Guek forms were created and introduced by The World Taekwondo Federation in 1974. These are intended to be gup-level form requirements and to replace the Palgue forms created and introduced in 1973 by the Korean Taekwondo Association, which became the WTF. Along with the TaeGuek forms, the WTF created a second version of the form, "Koryo," which is commonly called Koryo 2 or modern Koryo in many places. It starts with a knifehand block and double side kick. R. McLain

Certainly the Chinese arts had an influence on the development of Okinawan arts. They had envoys visiting and teaching in Okinawa. The Okinawan arts have a distinct way of being practiced that is quite different than the fluid motions of Chinese wushu-type arts. If you practice Kong Son Kun and the Pinan(Pyung Ahn) forms you can readily see the techniques from Kong Son Kun used in the Pinan(Pyung Ahn) forms. So, I really have no doubt that they came from techniques from Kong Son Kun. There are some techniques in the Pinan forms that are not from Kong Son Kun that supposedly came from a series of forms known as, "Channan," according to George Alexander, who did extensive research in Okinawa on their history, lineage, and techniques. His book is: Alexander, George W. Okinawa: Island of Karate. Lake Worth: Yamazato, 1991. But, who knows? I've never heard of the form "Jae Nam." What is the meaning of that name? R. McLain

try81, Right, Kusanku (Kong SOn Kun) was a military envoy from China to Okinawa around 1756. Karate (Tode) Sakugawa created this form based on the martial art he learned from Kusanku. This original form, now know in some places as Kusanku Dai is the longest form from Okinawa. Two more versions of the forms were created later, Kusanku Sho and Shiho Kusanku. The last two were created by Yasutsune "Anko" Itosu. Itosu created the five Pinan (Pyung Ahn) forms around 1900 based on the form Kusanku as beginner-intermediate forms for students. I've never read any credible source or any credible teacher that indicated these were one form. There apparently as been a switch of Pyung Ahn Cho Dan and Yi Dan, as Pyung Ahn Yi dan was taught first originally. Pyung Ahn Cho Dan (now) is definitely easier for beginners to learn. Naihanchi translates to "Fighting Holding Your Ground. Itosu was famous for this Naihanchi forms (he created #3). He was reputed to be able to place himself in the horse stance and no one could move him. This is probably the reason these forms later gained the name Tekki in Japan and Chulki in Korea, which mean, "Iron Horse." That plus he was on eof the first to publicly demonstrate Karate in Okinawa. I've also read somewhere that Master Hwang Kee learned the Pyung Ahn forms from a book. R. McLain

The Pyung Ahn forms were created by Yasutsune Itosu around 1900, based on the Kong Son Kun form and some other techniques. It has really nothing to do with an animal. Originally, Kong Son Kun was called, "Kusanku" which means, "Viewing the sky." Tode Sakugawa (1733-1815) created this form from Chinese envoy named "Kusanku" around 1756. So, I suppose someone could argue those techniques came from China because of Kusanku. Most schools in Korea used the term Tang Soo Do or Kong Soo Do to describe the arts they practiced following WWII. The kicking art you wrote about is "Tae Kyun." R. McLain

I guess Taekwondo in Korea being better depends on your point of view and also the focus of the training. Probably the sport of Taekwondo in Korea is much better than here. I'm sure they train harder than sport martial artists in America. R. McLain

Hello foreveryoung001, I see you are studying Chung Do Kwan. Which hyung do they teach you there? R. McLain

I don't remember that, but think it is a bad idea. Still, it seems like I read every now-and-again how someone wants to create a standard and regulation in all martial arts schools. Same thing happened in Korea during the 1960's. I think a solution is to have an independent person with knowledge about many martial art styles so they can report what schools in the area teach, what the teacher's background is, who their teachers were etc. to simply report this to prospective students. It would need to be someone with a true love for all martial art and no hidden agenda to promote 1 school or style or get kickbacks from someone, etc. R. McLain

Great point. That is definitely a problem. Since there is no standard or regulation for the martial art industry it would be nice to have non-biased resource for prospective beginner students to contact regarding the legitimacy or experience of instructors in the area. I try to offer this for anyone calling to start a martial arts program. I don't have something that everyone is looking for, so I don't try to be a salesman to them. I've educated myself over the past 10 years in this area about schools and instructors. When I receive a call or e-mail, I try to find out what the prospective student is trying to find by training in martial arts, then recommend a school in the area suited to what they desire, whether it is with me or another school. Many times, as suggested, they don't know what they want. So, I invite them for a free trial lesson or to watch class, then recommend they visit other schools to compare. I've seen some real scumbags in my area and their desire to become rich or something by roping in ignorant students then giving them terrible instruction. Some of these are the ones that don't stay in any art for very long, then falsify credentials to make themselves more marketable to the unknowing public. I like to do background checks on these people and check their claims. I think each area needs a service like this to help the public steer away from the inexperienced instructor and the martial arts businessman. R. McLain

Well, if an instructor didn't have much experience, I wouldn't begin with them in the first place. I don't understand why anyone would, unless it was a financial or convenience issue. I would never go to an inexperienced doctor for my health. Dealing with an inexperienced instructor can be just as bad for your health. I suppose you would have to decide who was the judge of "This person has gone as far as they can go" with some instructor. Most people I've seen that "self-decided" this for themselves, were only great in their own minds and didn't have a grasp on the art they studied. You can find some of those out there that start their own "art" and makeup some new name to describe it. Understand, this is not an attack on the legitimate art founders, just an observation of things I've witnessed over the years. I suppose next you have to figure out what is much time and "Patience:" 2 years, 5 years, 20 years, 6 months? Perhaps I am just spoiled with my model of having a teacher that has continuously trained since 1951, and taught professionally since 1957. He talks about finding new things from old information. My experience is the same. It really boils down to someone not being happy where they are training. They need to figure out why. But, if someone is really with a bad and limited instructor, then they need to move elsewhere and check the credentials (check these out!) of a prospective instructor to find out if they are a good teacher and mentor. R. McLain

There is always something new to learn from somwhere else. Every style is valuable. I've heard students becoming bored because they weren't learning anything "new" and evertually quit. This really tells me that they had another interest to persue or simply weren't training hard enough or looking critically at what they already had learned. No Patience. If you look at everything like a "coversheet" and that is all there is, then boredom is going to happen. Even if you study several places, you should really "study" and look deeper into what you learn. I've been training since the 1970's and I still learn things from basic fundamental techniques. R. McLain

Korean is a phonetic language and each piece of writing has a sound associated with it. Go the library and pick up a book on Korean and you will understand what I mean. With a little study you can get reasonably close to Cortes. You'll probably break it down as "Cor" then "Tes" as two seperate group of phonetic characters put together. You could always check your writing with a native Korean somewhere. R. McLain

On Page 88 of Choi Hong Hi's book printed in 1965 is the reverse turning kick (spin back kick). But, this is the only spinning kick in the book, if you don't count the inside cresent kick. R. McLain

I have a copy of this book and I'll check for you. R. McLain

General Choi studied karate in Japan. He returned to Korea and taught the old forms and teachniques but made up some new forms and added names to these form that have significance to things in Korea. If you can find a copy of his 1964 book, he has both Okinawan forms and his new forms in there. Many of the early kwan (school) founders were karate teachers that had studied while in college in Japan. So the early teachings following WWII in Korea was mostly karate. Henry Cho is a good resource for what was present during those early years. Another is Grandmaster Kim Soo in Houston. He is also from those early years following WWII. R. McLain

After watching Olympic Taekwondo, I understand why it gets bad-mouthed in the martial arts community and why many in the public think it is for kids. Very sad it has degraded to this. R. McLain

Perhaps a better gesture could be to get something nice for the dojo. That way, it is a contribution to the school and not directly to the instructor. R. McLain

Chayon-Ryu has forms from Tomari-te, naha-te, and shuri-te. R. McLain