bushido_man96

Thanks for sharing that clip. Some of those I like, and some I wonder, but they are all worth exploring. That guy is quick! Some quick notes here for all you members that are so graciously following my ramblings in this thread... First, thanks for reading and coming along so far! I'm really enjoying it, even though it seems a bit out of order at times. I'm loving the feedback, and want as much as you can throw in here! Second, I plan to fill in on the other GTF color belt patterns, Jee Sang and Dhan Goon, when I get time to read them over a bit to go along with the videos. I'll let you know when that happens, and will go back to edit the appropriate threads. Third, this is mainly to kind of clear up the rank order that my current association uses, and perhaps a bit of a reason why. In appendix ii of Stuart Anslow's The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-do Patterns, there is a chart that shows the pattern orders of various TKD organizations. Our association parallels that of GM Hee, Il Cho's AIMAA: AIMAA TTA Chon Ji Chon Ji Dan Gun Dan Gun Do San Bo Chung Won Hyo Do San Yul Gok Won Hyo Joong Gun Yul Gok Toi Gye Joong Gun Hwa Rang Toi Gye Choong Moo Hwa Rang Kwang Gae Choong Moo That ends the gup order for each of ours. Then starts black belt. Po Eun Kwang Gae.....1st dan Ge Baek Poe Eun..........2nd dan (recommended for TTA) Yoo Sin Ge Baek.........3rd dan (2nd dan for TTA) Choong Jang, Ul Ji Se Jong.........4th dan (3rd recommended for TTA) Ko Dang, Sam Il Yoo Sin.........5th dan (3rd dan for TTA) This is not the exhaustive list, but goes up close to my level. I do Choong Jang at 4th dan, and I think 5th dan form is Choi Yong. Thanks so far, everyone!

When I did TKD this was the highest form...once 2nd Dan we did Gae Bek, Choong Jang, and Se Jong. I'd put it at or near the top for difficulty in the ITF forms set. I'd have to agree. Very tough. Between that one and Jook Am, I'm not sure I will survive 2nd dan forms practice!

I don't think there is an official order. Just that you have to learn all 3 before you grade. In the Encyclopedia it gives the order as Kwang Gae, Po Eun then Ge Baek but we generally don't follow this order. Usually we tend to do Kwang Gae first as it's nice and symmetrical, then Ge Baek, then Po Eun. I wouldn't spend months getting it down, I think it's better to just learn the diagram then work on the technicalities of all three together as there is a lot of crossover. The other consideration we have, is that in ITF pattern competition you typically perform a choice form (chosen from the 3 from your grade) then get designated one which can be anything up to and including your grade. So if you want to compete you gave to at least be able to get through the pattern. I see. I didn't think about the competition aspect of it, but that makes sense. If the students are going to compete, they have to be on their game with all their forms, which is a good thing. Did you learn them in that order, or did you do bits of pieces of each? I didn't realize the amount of time that was expected to stay in the crane stance. When it comes time to focus on this form, I will keep it in mind. I find it an interesting coincidence that this 2nd dan form and the ATA's 2nd dan form have these similar balancing moves in common.

Having competed at the equivalent level in ITF, and having friends that also do, if we've ever wanted to make the Olympic team we had to swap styles. For London 2012 Team GB ran a programme to take ITF fighters (and kick boxers etc.), train them up, give them a blackbelt and put them on the squad. I had a few friends go through the process. Think they're doing the same for Rio next year. To me, its seems foolish to have to do this with the ITF stylists. If they will start accepting their rank, then this should make the transition easier for them to compete. This is just good for TKD in general.

Kendall's third tourney of 2014/2015 season, the Ellis Open at Ellis, KS, 01/17/2015. Match 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASgIRkb_cyQ Not much to this one. This was a kid in our club that doesn't have a lot of experience yet. I told Kendall that if he wanted to try to work with him a bit, that he could do so, but he really isn't quite sure how to "work" with someone in a match. He did let the kid roll to his stomach once, and I thought he might just work with him during the match, but he pinned him the second time he got him over. I'm not sure what he was doing on that takedown attempt.... Match 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxkzEVe2Sk Coach wanted Kendall to try to work some different things with this match, and mentioned to him that he wanted him to try to work some cradles so he could start getting the feel of them in the match. Kendall wasn't sure how to really try to do that, either, though. His takedowns start from too far away sometimes, and he also has a bad habit of diving instead of keeping good posture and getting his hips in with his head up at their hip or side, so he ends up getting sprawled on a lot. Fortunately, he has since learned some moves that can help him turn that situation around for him, if he can start applying them. He reversed his position, though, and got the kid turned over, but had trouble holding him down. He starts 2nd period on bottom, and runs a switch, which he is really good at, accept when he reaches over the top instead of under to the leg. It nearly got him caught here, too. What bugs the crap out of me is that he knows that, but just lets himself get sloppy at times. You see him do some kind of elbow roll on the kid to reverse, which he has been doing a lot of lately, but it seems to me like he won't be able to hit that against more skilled opponents, and it worries me because it just will put himself on his back. At right around 2:00, he was in a position that he could have tried to set an inside cradle, but he just wasn't seeing it, and kept trying to bull the kid over. He finally did solidify his positioning to get the pin. Match 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0yiXFORtU This was a tough one. These last two opponents were both kids Kendall had competed against before, so he had some familiarity with them. This kid, for some reason, Kendall seemed to go more animalistic on, instead of being technical. For some reason, he could hold this kid down, either. I think he is not keeping good pressure once he starts riding, for some reason. He could get a takedown, but then couldn't seem to hold it. He also kept trying to run a half-Nelson when the kid would stand up, and it just doesn't work. He starts period 2 on the bottom....and does that elbow roll instead of a switch or stand-up. He got away with it, but it looked sloppy, and like it nearly put him on his back. He is also reaching over WAT too much, and I think we've cleaned it up some since then. He is leading going into the 3rd period, 8-2, and starts on bottom again. He hits that roll again, a little cleaner this time, and gets the reversal. You also see here where his conditioning is a bit lacking, cause he complains of being tired and out of air. He finally gets the kid over on his back, and gets a pin just before time runs out. But, this was a pretty sloppy match for him, and coach told him he got so tired because he was trying to muscle everything, instead of being technical. He learned a lesson from it, for sure. He finished up 3-0, and got first place.

I agree. I find getting up to the hand to be the hard part. I think I just need to make sure to take things slow and smooth when I transition, and not worry about having to get there right away.

Very cool stuff. Not that its the same thing, but I see some parallels there to some Wrestling techniques my oldest son has been doing lately, the chicken wing/single wrist, and the double chicken wing. They aren't chokes, and they start with the opponent laying on their belly. But, once he sets the technique, he turns his body in that same circular motion, and winds up with his body in that same north/south position, pinning the opponent: Different moves, but similar positional ideas. The way the coach taught at practice the other night, the kids were ending pretty much north/south, not as far over the other arm like this guy did. I enjoyed the recap, especially seeing the two ideas. Your friend's method of really messing up the gi is a cool approach, and one I didn't really think of as being done intentionally. Great recap!

I've experienced kakie with sensei8, and I think it has merits. I haven't really done it since, but, I have done some drills very similar to the idea of it, but from different start points, so to speak. One example is what we used to do in Combat Hapkido when we would work trapping drills. We would do straight line hi/low drills, where the hand is thrust straight out as a strike, and the other thrusts the hand straight towards it to defend, at the wrists, while using head movement for defense as well. There are also some circular attack and flow versions, shown here: Its a brush/trap/strike drill, and it can be done with flowing back and forth with the partner, so both get lots of reps. It can also be fairly free-flowing, making your defenses in various portions of the movements. My old DT partner that uses the Close Quarters Combatives system also has a drill similar to that in it, called the block/pass/pin drill: It can be done with straight attacks or circular attacks, and you can do "inserts" at any point along the chain as counters. Those are a few different ideas of how I've used the drill.

Thanks for the review, Danielle. I've not read much of Sprague's material, but I have read The Art of War, but only once. I do enjoy some history, and I had not heard of Clausewitz before, but it sounds like his works are worth looking into. This point gives me pause: This is just kind of discouraging, and whenever I see points made about TKD like this, I find myself sighing and rolling my eyes. The cat is pretty much out of the bag when it comes to TKD's history, so there isn't much point in continuing with the older versions. Other than that, though, it sounds like the book would be an interesting read, if not for the compare and contrast of East and West. Thanks for the review!

That's what this log is all about! Keep track of what you do, and log and improve. Its also to provide training ideas or methods that others use. Glad you're in here! 01/29/2015 Wrestling: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Worked stand-ups, single and double leg takedowns. In Kendall's practice, they worked on some moves to get out of bad spots, and on the tilt for scoring points. 02/02/2015 Warm-up with Chon Ji, Palgwe 1, Taeguek 1, Songham 1, and ATA and TTA white belt one-steps. Defensive Tactics Club: 1:30 - 2:45 pm. Kimura from guard, to blocking Kimura and hip bump sweep, then to full mount reversal to arm bar. Also worked on 2 head lock defenses, one version stepping around to the front and dropping and rolling them over, and the second with the attacker in a wider base, stepping through his legs to sit down, scooping the inside leg with the inside hand and rolling them over to mount. From there, we finished with strikes and got up, or went to an arm bar. Wrestling: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Kids did lots of live wrestling, focusing on stances in neutral position. Then they alternated top/bottom position, and did relays for conditioning at the end. 02/08/2015 TKD Workout: Chon Ji, Palgwe 1, Taeguek 1, Songham 1, 4x each. ATA/TTA white belt one-steps, through each one once.

Ok, 2nd dan forms, which will be a gauntlet. I'm not sure my body can do all these crazy forms, but I will eventually be trying, so here goes nothing! ITF 2nd dan Tuls: Eui Am: Choong Jang: Juche: Ko Dang: Ok, let's start this party... Eui Am: 45 moves. New techniques include a low knife hand inward block that starts the form (and an inward version, with the ridge hand), reverse outer forearm block, an X-fist downward block (which appears to be a kind of checking technique), reverse knife hand high block (lots of reverse blocking in general here), high reverse turning kick (knee stays locked), high crescent punch, knife hand wedging block, reverse knife hand circular block, downward block with palms, and includes backward double stepping footwork. We see lots of the previous basic blocks done in other forms done here, but with open hands, and on the reverse sides, which were typically done on the same side as the forward foot. The reverse high turning kicks seem especially challenging, as the kick stops but doesn't hook, making it a challenging technique to control. Lots of powerful checking and blocking hand techniques to explore applications from. Choong Jang: 52 moves. We get palm scooping blocks, knee kicks, twin palm pressing blocks (which we do really low), a back hand downward strike (we just do a back hand strike), a back fist side front strike (we do horizontal elbow strikes here...), twin knife hand strikes, arc hand strikes, twin fore-knuckle crescent punch (we don't use the fore-knuckle), and of note is the round kick done from one knee, followed by the punch, and then up into elbow strikes and on from there. We also have backward step-slide-turning. This is my current form, and I like it so much better than doing Yoo Sin (my previous form). I'm still working through all the turns and movements, but its coming along nicely. This form has that powerful feeling I got from doing Ge Baek, so I like it quite a bit. This is the 4th degree form in my school. Juche: 45 moves. There is much to be said about the conundrum between Juche and Ko Dang, but I'll leave that topic out, because it tends to fall along some political lines between Choi's time of being in South Korea, and then joining North Korea when he didn't get any support in South Korea. So, the form. This one will be nasty for me. New techniques include a downward back fist strike, one leg stance parallel block, inner forearm parallel blocks (wedging blocks), a hooking kick which looks like an outward crescent kick that stops abruptly at the apex, knife hand mid air strike (with a spin) and a flying consecutive punch, pick-shape kick which appears to be a straight leg axe kick, arc hand crescent strike, downward elbow thrust, twin inward knife hand strike, a downward punch, outer forearm downward block, and then the tricky kicking....dodging reverse turning kicks, and flying two-direction kicks. Footwork includes backward double-step-sliding. Holy cow, how hard can this form get?! You get to do a slow side kick that then becomes a hooking kick that spins around slowly to hook an attacker behind you. You get hooking kick/consecutive side kick. This form repeats itself pretty well, so you get all these kicking techniques on each side, like the jumping/dodging turning kicks. There is a section in the middle of the form with retreating hand techniques, where there is blocking and then downward elbow thrusts, and blocking and downward punch, showing a section where the practitioner is really subduing and enemy and finishing him off. Then there is the two-direction kick, and the jumping consecutive punches. In my eyes, a really tough form, and things aren't going to get easier from here for 2nd dans. Ko Dang: 39 moves in this form, so a little break on the length. The form starts out interestingly in that it seems to be retreating for the first several move sets, before coming forward with palm pressing blocks. The side kicks in the form are actually back kicks, as they set up a bit differently than the side kicks usually do. The back kick hits its target, and then the student is dealing with the threats in front of him again. We also see the outward hooking/crescent stopping kick. There is not a lot of turning in this form, really, and the few turns usually have one or two techniques before the student is facing forward again. A very interesting form, and I like the setup here. Not nearly as daunting as Juche, but still a challenging form. GTF 2nd dan hyung, Jook Am: Holy techniques, Batman, this form has 95 moves in it! And lots of slow kicking, repeat kicking, and jump kicking. Lots of kicking going on here. Slow back kicks followed by consecutive fast high back kicks, slow side kick/consecutive fast side kicks, reverse hooking kicks followed by pick shape kicks. Slow front kick, followed by consecutive fast front kick (those are tough on the quads!). High inner crescent kick followed by jumping 360 degree inner crescent kick. Outward vertical checking kick consecutive side kick. Not to be lost in the kicking are some solid hand combinations, like the low X-block to high X-block and then pulling hand with punch, a nice joint lock combination. Reverse hook kick consecutive round kick, and jumping spin back kicks, and jumping 360 degree spin back kicks. Towards the end of the form, when you are starting to tank out, there are some triple consecutive kicking, done slow, then fast, with round kicks and side kicks. Our friend the two-direction jump kick makes an appearance, as do jump spinning hook kicks, dodging reverse turning kicks, and if all the jumping kicks aren't enough, the jumping spinning knife hands, and the jumping consecutive punching. Then it finishes with consecutive kicking in 3 different directions. I'm tired just watching that form. I'm sure it will be fun to perform. WTF/Kukki 2nd dan Poomsae Keumgang: 27 moves. This forms emphasizes the hinge block, that you see with the hand over the hip in what looks like the angle punch position, and then a spinning version of the same block, as well as the "diamond" block its named for, done in slow motion in a one-leg stance. We see forward palm strikes and retreating inward knife hand middle blocks, and the mountain block with stomps. Interestingly, no kicks in the form aside from stomp kicks, and its fairly short. ATA 2nd dan form, Jung Yul: 82 moves, this form translates as "with your noble character, you will develop a new permanence in your life." This was the last form I did as an ATA student, and I found it particularly challenging. Shim Jun was a bit more direct, I felt, and although it was tough, it seemed less intricate. Jung Yul is tougher, with more slow spots in it, and the challenge of doing 3 consecutive round kicks in three different directions challenges your balance and leg strength. There is also the consecutive reverse hook kick/round kick, and a section with a three kick combination of jump 360 inner crescent kick (which we always called a "butterfly" kick) followed by reverse side kick then back leg side kick. With the hand techniques, we see an open hand block similar to the "diamond" block of Keumgang, along with a slow version of the high nine block, done in a rear stance. There are also more techniques done in combination from cross-legged stances, and we see more of the single hand technique. We have some hand technique combinations done without reaction force, and with the same hand, seen with the circular high block from back stance, shift to rear stance and downward palm block, then shift to middle stance and a long lunge punch, all with the same hand and using the stance shifting to gain power. We see a change here in how double blocks are performed, as well. Instead of the cross-armed chamber we saw in Shim Jun, we do circular blocking where the arms make a wide circle back, and then are brought abruptly forward or downward in a straight line to the target area. We see this circular motion in twin downward knife hand strikes, and a downward knife hand strike. Our good friend, the jumping spinning knife hand strike, ends the form. Edit for Jung Yul: New kicks: #2 outer axe kick [12, 57], jump reverse inner crescent kick (butterfly kick) [43]. New blocks: circular hooking block [9, 10, 54, 55], side high knife hand/low open hand block [17, 62], reinforced inner forearm block [18, 63] (other hand on outer edge of blocking fist), downward palm block [26, 71], inward palm block [28, 73], high 9-block [40, 42], circular single outer knife hand block [14, 59]. New strikes: horizontal elbow strike, vertical back elbow [1, 3], horizontal hammer fist strike [20, 65], downward elbow strike [7, 52], arc hand strike [15, 60], downward knife hand strike (single, double, circular) [31, 39, 41, 46, 76], twin punch [5, 50]. New stances: X-stance [6-8, 18-20, 31, 51-53, 63-65, 76], one-leg stance [15-17, 60-62]. Type of movements are tension movements, slow movements, circular movements, and single-arm blocks and strikes. Now, these are all very brief discussions of each of these forms, and we can delve much deeper in comparisons, as much as you all would like to! Just point out a spot or a form, and let's compare and contrast away! Also, the caveat is that I have experience in only some of these forms, so if those of you with experience in these other forms see where I am off on my descriptions or observations, please, please, PLEASE chime in and let's discuss them! Like I said at the beginning, 2nd dan forms is a gauntlet, and I will put myself through it, eventually.

I agree with you on so many levels here, Danielle! I have always loved doing Ge Baek, for the reasons you list; powerful and strong, and very direct. But, as a 1st dan, I loved doing Kwang Gae as well, for the reasons you mention, with technical aspects of the footwork (some of ours is different, but still evident), and the mix of the slow/fast, but I liken it more to being tension, then fast. Kwang Gae kind of has sections that are long and slow, and then short and fast, and I really like the rhythm of it. With that said, Yoo Sin kind of has the same feel to it, but I just absolutely despise that form. Now, I have a question for you Danielle, in regards to the three forms per rank at black belt....how do you break up the learning and practicing of each? Do you learn Kwang Gae first, and spend some months getting it down, before going on to Po Eun? Or do you get them all three force-fed at the beginning of your time in the rank, and then sort them out as you go? Is there a recommended teaching premise here, or does it vary from instructor to instructor in the ITF? I have that book, along with most of their other forms books. I really enjoyed the breakdown of each Koryo version, along with there discussion of the early Kwan history, and the Palgwe philosophy. A really good book. Yes, very well done. I hope I can find the other forms done by that guy. His technique and power are awesome. Your explanation of the knee break was the way I had it explained to me when I first saw it. Is the target above the knee cap, or can it be into the knee cap from below, causing dislocation possibly? In our next group of forms, the 2nd dan group, we get a bunch of forms, including the Ko Dang/Juche conundrum of the ITF (hopefully I can find both), along with the others, which should put us at 6 forms total for a 2nd dan! And if I keep training myself this way, the days I spend working on 2nd dan forms will be killers! That and Juche has a flying two direction kick that I will make look like absolute garbage when I try to do it....time to lose weight, and stretch more! Note: I do have a video of me doing Ge Baek the way our association does it, and I've added it to the above thread of 1st dan forms if you guys are interested in checking it out.

I could be mistaken, but I don't think even that is true, which I agree is kind of surprising. For example, when you sign up at the US Taekwondo Union ("USA Taekwondo") website, when it asks for your club name on the signup webpage, you're allowed to put "Not-Affiliated" for your school -- i.e., you're not affiliated with any taekwondo club or school. In principle, you could just be any ol' fighter who's agreeing to fight by WTF rules; there's nothing on the signup sheet that asks, "Do you even practice taekwondo?" I don't think they care, as long as you're fighting by WTF rules. That's what makes it possible for them to welcome fighters from literally any taekwondo style. I could be mistaken about that; I'm just inferring that from the signup webpage. But if you think about it, it makes sense. There are so many different styles of taekwondo, how would one even decide what constitutes "taekwondo" vs. "karate" as long as the fighter is obeying the WTF sparring rules? If I'm not mistaken, then really any martial artist can -in principle - fight in a WTF tournament. Would they do well? I would guess probably not since the rules are geared toward awarding points for a certain type of kicking. But hey...in the unlikely event that you were a Kung Fu guy who learned how to WTF spar, I think you'd actually be allowed in! Interesting!! If this is true, and had been true during my tournament days, 1964-1993, I would've jumped at it in a heartbeat. In my days, many TKD practitioners entered open tournaments in droves, and I welcomed them because they offered something not often thought about by karateka's...a kicking arsenal unlike Karate. I was under the impression that one had to have a WTF/Kukki black belt certification in order to compete in WTF tournaments, especially the international level tournaments. What I think this does is allow the student to be recognized as an ITF member, instead of having to attain rank in both ITF and WTF. Danielle, do you have anything else on this?

I've always pivoted on the balls of the foot. It just doesn't feel right to move on the heels.

That was some Super Bowl game. After Kearse made that catch, I kind of felt for the Pats, getting ready to lose another one on some miracle reception. But, its never over until its over.

Congrats ps1!

When you train, and you can really only worry about yourself (until you start teaching). So, keep going to class, and set an example for how to approach learning and practicing. Make your own training as good as you can make it. Don't worry about the others not knowing your material; make sure you know yours. When its time to go to university, then find a place to train from there.

Effectiveness is found in the application. Like mentioned above...is it a block, or a back fist, or an arm bar????...I've had options in Hapkido or Aikido that haven't worked well for me, where others have worked them better for them. Train and adjust, train and adjust, is the key.

This is a tricky one. Some instructors are, and some aren't. It really depends on what kind of person they are. Now, as a person, no one is replaceable. As an instructor, although we may really like the one we have, doesn't mean there aren't instructors out there that don't have more to offer. With that said, I don't want to sound like some kind of mercenary student or something bouncing from instructor to instructor. I've had 4 TKD instructors throughout my journey, and each of them have offered something a bit different in my training. I've enjoyed my time with all of them. But if asked to pick one of them to be learning under right now, I know which one I would pick. With that all said, replaceable probably isn't the work I would go with. Our journeys take different paths, and they tend to wind and twist. Along the way, we stop at different places, and at times have to move on. So although I wouldn't necessarily use the word replacement, things just change for us, and different chapters in the journey end and begin.

To "endure" is to "enjoy" the Martial journey. Perseverance is the key to the practice of the Martial Arts. There is no finish line, just a long journey, that hopefully lasts a lifetime. I'm sure all of us can think about those who have walked this journey with us, and of those who started this journey with us. But as the journey continues, and we stop to look around, we see that fewer and fewer are still walking with us.

Sounds like a good read. I'd especially be interested in the little bit of history he includes. Thank you for the review!

This is great news! I doubt any rule changes come about, but interested ITF practitioners would really only need to seek the coaching necessary to prepare them. Great news!

Now, we will dig into the black belt forms, where the ITF typically has 3 forms per rank, the GTF adds one to give them 4 (except for at the 5th dan level), and the WTF only has one per rank. But, it gives us lots for review and discussion, so here we go! ITF 1st dan Tuls: Kwang Gae hyung: Po Uen hyung: Ge Baek hyung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGNd6F5_2G8 Here is a video of me doing Ge Baek, where you can see some of the differences in how we move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqrnrhio69U&index=3&list=PLon1GNgZPzV65jiQitS1fnyBTI2rkpnEo Kwang Gae: The Encyclopedia calls it 39 movements, but with the double kicks, it would add up to a few more techniques than that. We get quite a bit of new stuff, too. Parallel ready stance with Heaven Hand as ready position, and from there, the form starts in a very slow manner, with tension upset punches. There are also some footwork additions, with forward double stepping, backward foot shifting, and forward double step turning, seen toward the end of the form. There is also the knife hand low front block in closed stance, done in a circular motion, followed by the outward pressing kick/side kick consecutive kick, done on both sides. We also see the high leg lift with stomp into the back fist strikes, then shifting into front stance to the double forearm blocks, then shifting to the low block with the reverse hand, to slow spear hand thrust. There is a lot of concentration that goes on in this form, and although it has its slow spots, the power points of the form make up for it, I think. I always enjoyed performing this one, and the middle section, starting with the knife hand circular block and leading into the side kicks, then the pressing blocks, and the turning stomping/back fist sections, always made this form a challenge, and fun to do. This is the only form we do in the TTA at 1st dan. Po Eun: 36 moves by the Encyclopedia. This form has a very Tekki/Naifanchi approach, in that it stays along one line, going side to side, and uses a sitting/middle/horse stance for the most part. I do not do all the bouncing up and down when performing this form in my school; we stay as level as possible during the movements, and in the sitting stances, we stay level for each of the techniques. We see a U-shaped grasp, which we do as palms, a twin horizontal elbow thrust, a horizontal punch using both arms, X-stance low forearm front block, and a back elbow thrust. Lots of very compact combinations in this form, which really makes it move along pretty quick. In the TTA, this form is a 2nd degree recommended form. Ge Baek: 44 movements. We see lots of footwork in this form, too, with both feet shifting around. In the TTA, we don't shift both feet quite as much as the ITFers do, though. We see the low twist kick, but only on one leg in this form, the right leg. We see a double arc hand block, the palm scooping block, the 9-shape block, and a back fist front strike that is augmented with a supporting arm at 90 degrees to the strike. We also see an upset one knuckle punch done with the right hand. In place of the jumping side kick in this form, we do a hopping side kick, and the arc hand blocks we do in slow motion. We also have some slight footwork variations. One day I will have to get videos of me doing the forms, to share with here and how we do them slightly differently. In the TTA, this is our 2nd dan form. GTF Pattern Jee Goo: This form has 30 moves, and you read about the philosophy behind the form here: http://taekwondo.wikia.com/wiki/Jee-Goo Thanks goes to truejim for that link! Jee Goo means "the globe," and the pattern is performed in a + on the ground, which harkens back to Chon Ji, which is the same pattern, +, and is "heaven and earth." A nice little twist, I think, and probably done that way on purpose by the forms creator, GM Park, Jung Tae. We don't see a lot of complicated techniques or footwork, but the form repeats itself and stays very balanced. We get front kicks, side kicks, round kicks, reverse hook kicks, and a kicking combination towards the end that is a high outward vertical checking kick followed by a side kick, done in consecutive kick fashion. Also notice the decrease in the use of sine wave in the GTF stylist. I checked some other videos of the form, as well, and there is some sine wave usage, but it is significantly diminished over what is seen in most ITF videos out there right now. Kukki 1st dan Poomsae: Original Koryo: Koryo: Original Koryo: I count 22 movements, in a very straight line form. But the combinations are quick and crisp, with lots of the foot shifting we see in many of the Palgwe forms. According to Richard Chun and Doug Cook in their book, Taekwondo Black Belt Poomsae, this form was created between 1965 and 1967 along with the original Yudanja set with the Palgwe forms of that time. This leads me to wonder what other Yudanja forms are out there that might parallel the Palgwe forms. Of note here, other than the footwork, we see a 4-knuckle strike to the throat, an X-block performed in a sitting stance, a knee-smash, and a combination of grabbing and pulling an arm into a back leg front kick, followed by a jumping front kick. At the end of the form, there are several movements going backwards, but in more of a shifting motion rather than an outright stepping motion, which I like better for self-defense purposes. Koryo: I counted 48 movements here. I count lots of open hand moves, spear hands, knife hands, upset knife hand strikes, etc. The form also opens with early consecutive side kicks, and we get side kicks and front kicks in this form, too. There is also an interesting sequence with an elbow thrust, to a knife hand block, followed by a target punch, then pulling into a side kick. Lots of little things going on here. There is also downward tiger mouth thrusting strike, simulating striking into the knee cap of a captured kick (or so I've been told before). A nice form, with a nice balance of hand and foot techniques, and seems to flow well. ATA 1st dan Form, Shim Jun: 81 moves. Long form. Edit: translates as "begin planting seeds for the future," and interpretation is "new role of loyalty through physical and mental training." We see in this first ATA black belt form the use of what is called single-hand technique, where the reaction arm is not used to pull back, but the hips are supposed to be relied upon for power. This demo doesn't show that well, but its supposed to be that way. We see a jumping hook kick in this form, as well as a jumping side kick. We also see a step-spin hook kick, and a triple consecutive kick, done with a slow side kick to low section, then a round kick middle, then a round kick high section (or middle). There is a low inner forearm block performed here, as well. We also see what the ATA calls "compound double blocks," where one hand is a fist, and the other a knife, like the square block in this form. We also see the double guarding block motion changed from the both hands reaching back method of chambering, to the crossed-arms chambering, which is more prevalent in Karate styles that I have seen. Edit for ATA form information: New blocks listed are "9" block [moves 16, 33], square block with one hand open and one hand closed [34, 54], double blocks with one hand open and one hand closed [34,54, 55, 74], advanced double blocks (done with arms crossed chambers) 1, 17, 76, 79], and advanced double knife hand block [6, 22]. New kicks are foot stomp 8, 24], #1 jump hook kick [15, 32], step forward spin hook kick [47, 67], step forward #2 jump side kick [75]. Movement types are listed a tension movements (5 seconds long) [13, 30, 45, 65], slow movements (2 seconds long) [51, 71], circular movements [7, 23, 78, 81], and single arm blocks and strikes. So there we go, our first mouthful of black belt forms in Taekwondo. Any and all feedback is appreciated!

Thanks for the support here, truejim! And the lists on the GTF forms. I think they use most of the ITF material, but have some a few of their own sprinkled in. Perhaps I'll go back and sprinkle in a few of those forms for comparison's sake. Now, as I get into the black belt forms, things are going to get a bit strange from my organization. My plan here is to follow the curriculums of the major associations here, the ITF, the ATA, and the Kukki/WTF, and how they present the forms for their black belts. Then I will throw in what forms my association does at those ranks. It should be fun from here! In the ATA and the TTA, there is a "recommended" black belt rank. In the ATA, its a red/black belt, with the top half of the belt black, and the bottom half red. I was always told to wear the belt with the black on top, because it symbolized you were still a red belt working your way "up" to black belt. In the TTA, we have what the call a "skunk belt," which is a black belt with a white stripe through the center of it. In both associations, there is no new form for this rank. They repeat performing the last form they did, Choong Jung 2 and Choong Moo. Choong Jung 2: Choong Moo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ecoWIbOXY

Congrats on getting into your new facility! That's got to be a great feeling! 1/26/2015 Defensive Tactics for the Departments: 12:00 - 2:00 pm; my January offering for Dept DT. Worked primarily on the Krav Maga choke defenses, and on cleaning up the pluck motion, and footwork. Front choke, side choke, rear choke, front choke with push, rear choke with push, front choke against a wall, and rear choke against a wall. Finished up with some GRACIE mount reversals; UMPA and UMPA with swim and trap. Wrestling Practice: 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Stand-ups from referee position. From bottom and on back, worked on bridging to make space and the dropping and hip heist to belly, then recover base. From top referee's position, worked on crashing the arm to half-Nelson. In the intermediate practice, Kendall got to work on chicken wing & single wrist, and a double chicken wing. These were great pinning moves. 1/28/2015 TKD Workout: 11:45 - 12:00 pm. White belt material. Chon Ji x2 Palgwe 1 x2 Taeguek 1 x2 Songham 1 x2 TTA white belt one-steps (7) x2 ATA white belt one-steps (3) x2 Choong Jang (4th dan form) x2 stretch. Defensive Tactics for the Departments: 12:00 - 2:00 pm. Focused on the Krav Maga choke defenses (front, side, rear, front with push, rear with push, front on wall, rear on wall), and spent a little time on handgun disarm from the front. Really focused on cleaning up the pluck again, and on working the footwork.