bushido_man96

You are right in that it has changed a lot over the years. But a lot of this is due to context I think. How do you make Taekwon-Do look different from and be "better" than Karate (and Kukkiwon TKD)? Introduce this movement called sine wave. It seems many people went the route of bigger being better without fully understanding why. Now it's becoming more and more refined and we are told to tone down the movement and pull it back to something more useful rather than something that is just different. I often wonder if sine wave isn't (in some places) taken to an extreme that it was never meant to go. Something meant to be a way to demonstrate how power is generated taken to a sometimes comical extreme. I've seen (again, in some places) people trying to put sine wave in where it seems odd, awkward and out of place. Almost as if sine wave itself is the technique, instead of the kick, punch or block. This is a very good point, and at times when I watch ITF forms, I get that feeling, as well.Here's another version of Do San that I have saved to my playlists: This guy has pretty good power, but lots more sine wave, especially in the punches. In my opinion, they take way to long to set up, and the sine wave, the way it is done here, presents a huge telegraph. The sine wave also stymies combinations in the forms. When I do this form, at the beginning, its outside block, then a slight pull-back of the hip, and then punch. Then a quick adjustment step to the other side, we call it stepping "one line to two lines," and then boom, we're off. Also, the two punches after the wedging blocks and front kick are a quick combination, no pause to set up the sine wave.

HU Lee's goals in creating his form system was to emphasize kicking more, since TKD was known as a kicking style, so he began to implement more kicking into the forms from early on. These jump front kicks that we've seen so far in the ATA forms are a jump front kick that the students in our school do in orientation and every day in basics. And through the first four forms, we've seen the basic kicks of front, round, and side, with some variants. With diligent practice in class, the students pick up on the kicking techniques like they do the hand techniques. It really goes pretty smoothly, I think. We do the movement with the arms crossed in front, much like you do. I chose this link because he doesn't do the sine wave. I do like this one, as well! Nice find, thanks for sharing that here. Yes, you also noted the difference in rank between when you do this form and when we do it. I'm guessing you would already be doing this form, but we have Bo Chung added in between Dan Gun and Do San. That's the one. Thanks again, Danielle! I'm glad that we can really take the time to break these down a bit and look into them more. I'd love to see some more thoughts from some WTF/Kukki stylists, as well.

You are right in that it has changed a lot over the years. But a lot of this is due to context I think. How do you make Taekwon-Do look different from and be "better" than Karate (and Kukkiwon TKD)? Introduce this movement called sine wave. It seems many people went the route of bigger being better without fully understanding why. Now it's becoming more and more refined and we are told to tone down the movement and pull it back to something more useful rather than something that is just different. I guess this has been my biggest issue with what I have seen with sine wave usage. Its touted as a natural movement, like what happens while walking. But the movement has mutated into something that is no longer natural.

Most forms are done with visualization in mind; that is why most techniques have a specific target. Even if you are taking the most basic block/punch/kick applications into account, or visualizing the strikes as attacks to certain areas, then that is still application. Simple, perhaps, but still application. From there, our students move into applying basic technique in the form of one-steps, which helps to visualize applications further.

Danielle, have you looked into Stuart Anslow's book From Creation to Unification? It has great sections on the histories behind the names of the ITF forms. I've read, and really enjoyed it: http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Unification-Complete-Histories-Patterns/dp/1906628556/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418760363&sr=1-3&keywords=Stuart+Anslow+in+books

FYI, for a comparison of taekwondo forms, see also http://taekwondo.wikia.com/wiki/Taekwondo_Forms Thank you for the link. Its quite helpful!

6th gup/grade forms.... ATA Songham 4, camouflage belt (yes, camo belt) form: We see 31 moves, along the rectangle diagram on the floor. For those not familiar with ATA forms and philosophy, all the forms fall somewhere along the diagram of the Songham Star: http://taekwondo.wikia.com/wiki/File:Songahm-Star.jpg Being the fourth colored belt form in the ATA, you can start to see an increase in the number of kicks and kicking combinations in the forms. A reverse side kick is added, and can be seen as part of a combination, along with a second kick combination, utilizing a jump front kick, and followed by a front kick. The form has 10 kicks total. The single back leg side kick can also be a challenging kick to do. You can also see another double block with both inner forearms done from two stances, back and middle (or sitting, if you prefer). Sparring stance is also introduced. Not many new single hand techniques are introduced, but you can see them being used in combination in this form. TTA Do San hyung, low green belt form: This video is more like the way we do them in our school, with some differences in hand position for chambering and what-not. 24 moves, with some of the form veering off on angles before coming back in line. It starts with a very strong block/strike sequence that we see switch to the other side, before moving into a spear hand strike with the off hand reinforcing underneath the elbow. Following that, we have the strange spinning into the back fist technique. So we see some advancing footwork that requires the student to pay attention to detail when performing this section of the form. We see the wedging blocks, followed by a front kick and finishing with strong punching combinations, and one can see the applications with this segment pretty easily, I think. I really enjoy doing this form, because I feel that the movements are kept pretty short and compact, and I feel I generate a lot of power in this form. But still, its the fourth form in our curriculum, with only two kicking techniques in a style renowned for its kicking. GTF Pattern Jee Sang: 24 movements here, mostly with lots of blocking, and it kind takes the 4-direction approach of Chon Ji, with the + pattern. The first part of the form does knife hand down blocks, and closed fist middle inner forearm blocks, and then it switches, going to closed fist down blocks, and middle knife hand blocks. We also see a rising front kick, like a stretch kick, in this form, followed by a side kick, and then a front snap kick while retreating, followed shortly by a side kick while retreating. So we get some interesting concepts in this new form, and more kicking techniques than in Do San. Palgwe 4: 26 moves. We see at the beginning a very similar sequence to the beginning of Won Hyo hyung, which will be next up in our review here. It also shares similarities with a Karate kata, but I don't know the name. I'm sure one of our Karate guys can help me out here, though, and we can throw up a link to compare them, as well. Following that segment, we see a similar segment to that in Do San with the spear hand strike, followed by a turn and a hammer fist strike. In TKD fashion, though, a front kick is added into the beginning of the segment. The form pretty much repeats itself, as well. I find this form very interesting, especially as it looks like a hybrid combination of Do San and Won Hyo. Again, we see only 2 kicks. Taeguek 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q66i338xIpA 29 moves. We see some consistency between these three older forms, with the spear hand strike and reinforced elbow. This form also adds the two-arm movement of knife hand high block and upset knife hand strike. In the TTA, we don't see this until brown belt with Choong Moo hyung. This form also adds a kicking combination using a back leg front kick followed by a punch, and then two back leg side kicks (which I think is technically difficult). This form has 6 kicks total. It also presents an interesting block/kick/block segment with a back leg front kick, landing back behind where it started, followed by an inside block (or could this be a strike?!). This form has some interesting turns at this point, as well, where the body turns one direction, and then the inside block comes from the other, which appears weird to me. We also see a dramatic decrease in the number of walking stances, and more use of the front stance instead.

I've still never seen the first.

Cyborg is still fairly decent. As long a you can get over Van Damme acting like a robot. ...or is that a robot, trying to act like Van Damme....????

I agree. Many will go over the top in defending themselves, and wind up in trouble themselves.

The first belt system was put in place by Jigoro Kano, so I think it is an Eastern invention.

We don't require anything like that. We really just focus on technique and the curriculum. I do think you have some good ideas, though, and you should run with them. I do think its a good idea to relate this kind of information to the students, either as the instructor, or by providing some resources they can follow up on in regards to finding the information.

12/10/2014 Department Defensive Tactics: two sessions, 1:00 - 3:00 pm, and 6:30 - 8:30 pm. We covered combatives and self-defense from the Krav system. Bag work using punches, palm strikes, and hammer fist strikes. We also did a drill that started with hammer strikes standing, then going to kneeling, then striking from being on the back, then hopped back up and finished with punches or palms. From there we did some kicking, front kicks low, and defensive front kicks, and knee strikes in the clinch. With the defensive front kicks, we did a closing drill with the kicking shields. For self-defense, we started with front choke and side choke defenses.

Thanks for sharing this article, Iceman. I've read lots of Stuart's articles and books, and he really helps send the points home over the application and use of TKD technique. After watching his videos, I still see differences between how his technique looks, and how I've learned technique over the years. In my experience, I've never done any of the rising and falling when doing technique, nor really any of the lifting of the heel prior to performing a stationary technique.

I am aware that most schools have to cover some costs to stay open, and some out there probably like to make a bit of a profit at it if they can. I don't have any issues with that. Some people, you can't change their minds. So there isn't much point in trying. You end up just beating your head against a wall. Personally, if I was looking to change clubs, I would check out the cheaper ones first, as I have a limited income to work with. I'd also make sure that they weren't cheap on the floor, though. That's too bad. I don't have a problem with changing tact and growing or adding something to what you already do. Changing with the times and evolving is one way to do things, but its got to be done the right way. But if you drop your quality to do it, then that's a bad trade-off.

I didn't say we didn't learn any technique application. We just don't always learn it from the forms. And not all Martial Arts utilize forms as a training tool, but they still do technique applications. I'm guessing you don't do any kata in Aikido, but its rife with technique application. I don't think I stated anything about not teaching any technique application. I just stated that not all styles teach it with forms. Now, if you are referencing something like Tae Bo, then I agree; its not a Martial Art.

Thank you, Patrick. Kenneth's practices are a bit of an adventure at this point. His attention span is pretty slight right now, but I think its getting better. The main thing I wanted was to get him some exposure to it, and he seems to be taking to it well enough. He is still trying to grasp some of the concepts, like you can't lay on your back, and moving around and getting to the head to run a half-Nelson and things like that. But, with time, he'll pick it up. Kendall, on the other hand, is woefully out of condition, but the coaches worked them over last night! Kendall is signed up for his next tournament, which will be on December 27th. Video of the previous tournament coming soon.

My main complaint for my school is that we are very tied to curriculum. Basic, forms, one-steps. This is well and good, but being tied to the curriculum for the sake of putting off other things, like extra work in sparring, extra self-defense work, time to work the bags, and things like that. Another issue that I wish would change, but is more just a function of the area I live in, is that we don't have a lot of active adult students. When I first started, it seemed like we had more, but as the years have gone by, its tapered off. The other schools around I don't have much of an issue with. There is one of them that I wonder a bit about the instructor, because he teaches what he calls a blend of TKD, Hapkido, and BJJ, but I'm curious as to what his ranks in each are, and where they came from. Another is a BJJ club ran through our local university. I don't believe any of the students that teach have any kind of rank in BJJ, but they use some online sources to help them train, and a few of them have been to some competitions and had some success. But, I don't know enough about their ranks, either, to know if any have gained anything yet. But, they are trying to do some good work, and I just need to check up with them to see where they are at.

I enjoyed this article, and I think it can generate a lot of discussion. I don't necessarily agree with everything, but I think there are a lot of good points here. I'm not sure if things are quite as bad as the article makes out, however. I think there are some cases out there that do merit a rant, but I think there are far more good people out there training and teaching the Martial Arts than there are bad.

Something I also wanted to mention about Songham 3 is that it is the first ATA form that starts with an attack, instead of a blocking motion.

I would tend to disagree here. Not all styles are learned the same way. I've never been taught any kind of forms applications. Any I have played with, I've had to seek out on my own. With that said, not all styles of TKD will have bunkai that they teach. Its going to depend on what the instructor has pulled from his own experiences and instructors, so it might be a case by case basis. Definitely look into it, though, and don't wait for black belt level. No point in curbing what you can learn.

I think the average person can earn a black belt. I consider myself pretty average. I don't think quite as many instructors out there as you make out are just trying to sell belts and make money. I think its also important to realize that its not the same as it was 50 or 100 years ago. Things change, and many times, revisionist history gives us a false idea of what things were really like "back in the day."

You will have to listen to what your body tells you. It will give you the answers you seek! Take your time, and ease back into full contact, for sure.

Cool, I wondered if that was the case or not. Like I said, I do like these pummeling drills, and I think they are great for learning the positions.

I will, for sure. We've been to our first tournament this last Saturday, 12/13. Kendall had two matches, and won both. I've got video on one that I'll have up soon, but we missed the second one. He was a little gassed, but conditioning should pick him up over the next few weeks.