Kill Jill

But as 'nunchuks' has been 'Englified' in accordance to Japlish, it can have a plural, right? Hey, guys, I think this an MA forum, not a linguistics forum! But, to add to the fuel... my instructor isn't calling them anything in Japanese be it chucks or nunchaku because in fact, nobody in this country (Korea) recognizes the word 'nunchaku' at all.

Ha, I'm laughing... When we grow up, how many things do we put our hands on that we don't yet know the names of. It's like saying, first you have to learn all the Korean terminology before you can put on a dobok and set foot in a classroom. You will find that some people refer to them in different ways - If I put 'Song Jeol Bong' on my title, perhaps not as many people will bother to look at the thread, and be confused as to what I'm talking about. Also, according to web sources, the 'weapon' is not even of Korean origin. The tool was first used in a different form in Russia as a farm instrument. (Should I be then knowledgeable about it's Russian name - 'nas ne dagoniat' or something???) It then filtered its way through China, Korea and Japan, before being modified into 'nunchuku'. Many videos and manuals have been produced without the title of 'Song Jeol Bong.' Even Bruce Lee or Danny Inasanto never referred to 'Song Jeol Bong,' as far as all the reading I've done about them suggests. As 'nunchuku' has 2 handles, what can you suggest for the plural ?form? 'Chucks"? Anyway, at least EternalRage has some very useful info. I guess it relates to Hapkido's whole base on circular motion techniques and learning techniques to diffuse energy rather than getting hurt.

It's interesting. As you know, I'm also in Korea, but I'm not at quite a serious training level as yourself. It's much renowned that many foreigners find it hard to be accepted in the 'inner circle' of the Korean students at such colleges, especially if they are not fluent Korean speakers. Many of these students are in truly close cliques while they live together and train together 24-7. Are you in this circle? I've also had unusual sparring situations in Korea. In one school, no opponent EVER made a single move on me, I guess because I was female. I got no actual sparring practice at all during that time, and it was really frustrating. In another - my black belt test, actually - I gave one relatively mild back kick to my sparring partner who had delivered about 10 kicks to my knees, she keeled over, and made out as if she was going to die in front of all the judges. Everyone gave me such black looks. I apologized so much, but she never contacted me again, and my instructor said that I 'shouldn't have made any contact to the body.' Well, heck, what are you supposed to do? I think that you shouldn't lose your calm in such a situation, but just take out any frustration on a kick bag rather than on a Korean!

Ha! Do ya wanna make us laugh or what??? 15 is younger than a spring chicken... I think many of us could only dream of being 15 again... Currently, I am at least 20 years older than the next student in my class, (yet, I'm not even 30 years old!) 'cus I'm stuck in an area which has kids only classes. But I've managed to fool the kids. They always ask how old I am, so I tell them to guess. When one of them says '18', I feign a surprise attack and tell them they made a correct guess. They're totally convinced I'm at least 10 years younger than my actual age, so that's fine with me. The fact that I'm more than half a meter taller than them can be a bit noticeable, but I just try to focus on my own thing and not get involved in their games of 'who can sufficate who by rolling another kid up in a padded mat' and 'belt whipping' and 'throwing potato chips at each other.'

I just started learning how to use the nunchuks about 4 months ago in my Hapkido class. As I have limited communication with my Korean teacher, I am unable to find out his ideas about using nunchuks. I looked for some info on the web, and have a little more insight into them, but some questions still remain: Is there a specific attack type that nunchuks are intended to defend against? It seems to me, that if your flailing nunchuks strike any surface while in high speed motion, the nunchuk holder is also going to be at risk of getting as badly hurt as the assailant, therefore making it an ineffective weapon. Also, is there a set repertoire of 'forms' similar to TKD forms? I've seen nunchuks used in a couple of schools here, and the forms used are very different. Perhaps each instructor makes his own set of forms? Can anyone recommend a good 'form' to learn? What makes an expert nunchuck-ist? Finally, are nunchuks just simply a tool which focuses the mind, rather than being a serious weapon? I know I need 100% concentration when using the 'chucks otherwise one slip of attention, and it's all over... Being quite 'thin on flesh', I come out black and blue each time I practice with them as it is. So, any nunchuck tips will be appreciated...

Hmmm, I think the glass would only break into a limited amount of pieces... I'm reckoning electrocution would be a greater threat... Any takers?

I'm British too, so don't qualify to enter. I wonder though from previous essay competitions held by governmental departments here in Korea - this contest will be won by someone who can say how wonderful Korea is with the most poetic language, rather than a gritty, more interesting analysis of Taekwondo.

I want to add that not all the Korean info gets translated and placed onto the English pages - maybe you've already noticed that. So, if there is any specific info you're after, I could maybe help, as I can read Korean and can vaguely understand basic info in Korean.

you're right, Coralreefer, the Kukkiwon is surprisingly small for a center of TKD. I guess you have to keep in mind that the building is some 30 years old now. But I wonder why it was never considered in the light of construction of the Olympic stadiums and later the World Cup stadiums to build a new premises before now. Even the plan for a new, state-of-the-art TKD center in Korea seems a bit sketchy, and I wonder how convenient it would really be in terms of access considering that most TKD competitors come from the Seoul area, and that any foreign visitors would have the hassle of (probably) transferring via Seoul to get there. It doesn't seem so thought through to me.

yeah, I can't understand for the life of me why someone would wanna 'mark their walls' when surely doing the splits horizontally on the ground would be much easier to measure... Maybe if vertical splits is your particular hang up - you can judge how you're doing by whether you can easily smash a light bulb from a stationary stand... I also wonder about that latter point - when Bruce Lee did his lightbulb smash kick in Tower of Death, was there never a risk that he could electricute himself? (serious question) Do you need rubber soles to guarantee you protection?

I'm just curious - for those of you who have watched the video downloads, how does the classroom environment and techniques compare to your HKD classes back in the States?

p.s. I forgot to mention - I took about 5 pictures of some 4 man high tower breaking. The pictures won't convey the impressiveness of them, although in anycase, you'll need to wait until I finish my whole film - in a place like bleak winter Seoul, that won't be soon!

They work for me. Perhaps you have a firewall or something. Can understand why you can't link to them otherwise.

Just come back from day 1 of the Hanmadang... It's pretty much a goodwill event rather than a truly serious competition. Day 1 saw breaking, breaking, and yet more breaking... No wonder half the world's rainforests are depleted. Virtually all participation was Korean only. I only spotted 3 'foreigners' participating. One poor foreigner doing granite breaking had to sit for about 1 hour on the floor awaiting his turn in fairly cold temperatures, with no one giving him any support. Needless to say, he only broke one block probably as a result of stiffness. Some of the breaking was good, but somehow it seemed also on the whole - sadly - run of the mill stuff. I know I would be nervous to break in a competition, but even so, I think there was a basic lack of discipline on the part of many of the Korean participants. One university team failed to break just about every board, for example. I saw countless boardholders shifting their position at the last moment to ruin the competitors chance. I would feel pretty peeved off if someone holding a board lost concentration. There also didn't seem to be much applause for anyone who performed well, and sadly, the bigscreen cameras were solely focused on the mens event, whilst there was a female breaking category going on on one sector of the court. Kids, as usual, running disrespectfully rampant - should have put the whole lot of them on a leash... Also of lament, is the poor old Kukkiwon venue. It was so cramped inside, it really made the WTF headquarters a bit of a sports dinosaur - much better when Korean tournaments here take place in the Seoul Olympics gyms. I could recommend the event for anyone wanting a 'feel' of what it's like to try for breaking competitions. But just to come all the way here as a spectator is not especially worth it. You'll do just as well to cosy up at home with a Korean Tigers demonstration video.

It's an annual international TKD event, kind of showcasing the 'demonstration' aspect to it - the poomsae, block breaking and spin kicks, with some sparring comps. Check the Kukkiwon's website for programme details. I think Tues and Wed are individual events, and Thurs and Fri are team events. I'm expecting the Korean Tigers to open the event. There is supposed to be a TV crew there Wed and Thurs, so if you can't make it up to Seoul, perhaps you can view some of it on TV.

Is anyone here going to attend the 2005 Hanmadang held at Seoul's Kukkiwon this first week of November? I can get time off work hopefully on Tues or Fri afternoon to go and check it out. Although - it sounds like Thursday will be the highlight of the event. I unfortunately don't have a digital camera, but can maybe get some shots made up somehow on crusty film to post here at a later date. Is anyone interested?

I'll stop bombarding with links after this one... , but I'll just post one more cus it's useful to see a breakdown of technique sequences on some of them - you can immediately see where to click on video downloads from this homepage: http://www.gongkwon.net/

Attempting to browse my way through a Korean TKD website... There are some interesting features on http://www.worldbesttkd.net/... if you can find them. I can recommend a video extract - no non-koreans featured!... - if you scroll down on this page, there is a large menu bar down the right side. Find the 'WBT only' sublist, then select the last box in that group titled in Korean, Taekwondo Hanmadang.

There are lots of TKD pics on the web, but I just came across these - they seemed pretty good images for anyone interested in collecting such pics. These look like the Korean Tigers from the 1st Korea Open: http://www.mudomedia.net/media1/photonews_read.asp?seqs=1497&page=1&compage=1&MCode1=01&MCode2=50&MCode3=01&MCode4=90&MCode5=03&order=0 And then you can scroll down to search other images. These, for example are from an ITF championship: http://www.mudomedia.net/media1/photonews_read.asp?seqs=465&page=3&compage=1&MCode1=01&MCode2=50&MCode3=01&MCode4=90&MCode5=03&order=0 And so on...

MT and HKD are like comparing chalk and cheese! The simplist comparison is that MT is like TKD without all the cushy padding of protectors! For MT you need to be one of those who have absolutely no fear for consequences AT ALL! For HKD you need to have a good resistance to motion sickness for all the overhead flips you will have to do Personally, I think Hapkido is one of the most rounded of all the martial arts - kicking, locking, throw-downs, multiple weapons training, stances, flashy somersaults, and fitness training. It provides a good balance of skills. Having said that, only yesterday, I saw Tony Ja appear on a Korean gameshow demonstrating his tricks. They were still far more impressive than anyone I have seen from any HKD class! But I know that he didn't get those from a regular MT gym in Thailand, however. He was trained as a stunt man, so probably had a basis in training related to HKD. But, I'm also very alarmed whenever anyone talks about which MA is better for the 'street', yada yada. Please, don't learn any MA just cuz you'll think it'll come in handy for bashing up some yobbo some day. If your instructor is really a good enough one, you should learn this message from him (or her), as part of your training.

To Andrew Green, This is not a dig at you or anything. I just feel it's important to respect the traditional Buddhist ethos of martial arts, and respect a title that is endowed on seniors who have clearly made big, positive accomplishments in their field. Here in Korea, ancestor worship is a very big thing. Deceased family members are treated as if they are still alive and present in the family home. Their photos and artefacts will typically hold a prominent place in the main room, and sometimes they will be 'asked' their opinion in decision making processes. In China and Taiwan, this idea of the living dead gets even more extreme. Whether I believe in the afterlife or not is not an issue. I just think that it's hard to accept losses of certain key people who have influenced so many. Maybe some deserve such a title. About the 10th Dan holders. I haven't yet scoured the Internet, but as far as I know, there are 5 10th Dan holders in (or were in) existence. Does anyone know who they are?

No, sorry, I'm not aware of the Haidong Gumdo competition schedule - especially as you say it's next year - that's too early planning for me! I've never been to a live Gumdo tournament in Korea - I just saw a Kendo comp in Japan once. I've only seen a Gumdo comp on TV here. At first I thought, wow, these guys look impressive. But they finished their round, took off their masks, and I saw they were just little kids! Most of the tournament you referred to will probably consist of 70% plus of kids. Recently though, in recognition of foreign guests, such tournaments have started to include performances from people involved in other areas of Korean arts - fan dance, drumming, singing etc. Actually these extra performances have often been better than the actual competition themselves! I speak mainly about TKD tournaments here. I'm sorry to say, I'm not that interested in pure Gumdo. I prefer the Chinese sword arts, or the integration of gumdo with hapkido. There must be a Haidong Gumdo HQ website here which lists the schedules. If you can find one, and need a translation of info - because often these sites are written in Korean only - I can attempt to give it. That's another point... The Kukkiwon, for example, only provides half their info in English, and a lot of the English info about schedules etc is outdated. I wonder why the HQ of a truly global federation should not give equal attention to its English language pages.

Alas...then I tried to search 'Kumdo', and there are also lots of links! Even more than 'Gumdo', so my theory was not correct. My new theory thus - that you haven't tried to search for either! (sorry)

Just as I thought, I entered 'gumdo' on the Google search engine, and there are zillions of hits. I'm sure if you search through them, you can find something useful.

Yeah, I'm lucky 'cus I could do the front splits from my first day in class - I guess it's a hangover from childhood. But... I still cannot do full side splits after 5 years of tkd! Also, my jumping kicks are not good, mainly cus my leg muscles are not that strong, and I'm not naturally a 'jumper', either. I think that adults who are not already flexible to begin with, will always struggle with flexibility. It really is a poor drawback to high kicks. The only thing I can suggest is that at regular intervals throughout the day that you do some touching the toes exercises. This is very convenient to do (in most places, anyway!), and I can guarantee that you'll notice a difference in how far down you can bend over time - I can nearly touch my elbows on the ground with my legs straight. I couldn't do this at the beginning.