addressing black belts

[mastercole]

Oh, that makes sense. We are not kukkiwon which is probably why I havent heard of that before.

You would have Kwan roots, even you your club does not follow Kukkiwon.

The designation of terms like Yudanja, Kodanja and Sabum have their roots in Japanese Karate (in Japanese terms meaning the same thing) and were also in use during the Kwan period way before Kukkiwon existed, it's not exclusive to Kukkiwon.

Actually not much is exclusive to Kukkiwon, Kukkiwon became a sort of archive of information and knowledge, which is what it bases it's World Taekwondo Academy on. Kukkiwon did not create the forms, or most of the curriculum it endorses.

 

[ralphmcpherson]

You would have Kwan roots, even you your club does not follow Kukkiwon.

The designation of terms like Yudanja, Kodanja and Sabum have their roots in Japanese Karate (in Japanese terms meaning the same thing) and were also in use during the Kwan period way before Kukkiwon existed, it's not exclusive to Kukkiwon.

Actually not much is exclusive to Kukkiwon, Kukkiwon became a sort of archive of information and knowledge, which is what it bases it's World Taekwondo Academy on. Kukkiwon did not create the forms, or most of the curriculum it endorses.

True. Most terms I hear on here are the same ones we use. Our curriculum seems a little different in parts, but most of the terminologies seem similar.

 

[puunui]

Later on, we finally met at some national event (Doug Feushel was talking to Jidokwan President LEE Seung Wan about Pro Taekwondo in the lobby lounge area).

That was the USTU Annual Meeting in Los Angeles I believe. Jidokwan President Lee looks exactly the same today as he did back then. I remember it was in the lobby of the hotel. We were sitting with President Lee and you came up and politely greeted everyone.

Later on, at some point Puunui and I were standing around with various well know Taekwondoin from the USA and explaining these points about Poomsae stressed at the instructor course, such as narrow and short stance, tight compact ending to the movements, etc. People thought we were crazy.

A lot of people were very angry back then about the concept of the short narrow stance and a Kukkiwon standard. But now people don't argue about it so much. Enough have seen the videos and attended the courses and discovered it themselves. But back then a lot of people were taking it out on us, accusing us of lying about it all. We're not liars, mainly because there is no benefit to it. But shame on us for thinking others would be as excited to discover the truth as we were, that it doesn't have to be a big mystery, that the truth will set you free.

I remember Garth Cooley though took a keen interest in what we had to say, it was different and he was curious, but Garth is a true Champion and wanted to see what we were talking about and did not dismiss us like some others did. Interesting. Now today Garth has went on to become a USA Poomsae team member, adapting the correct Poomsae, and probably knows more about Poomsae than most anyone in the USA.

Other poomsae national team members told me that they first got encouraged by what we said about poomsae and the Kukkiwon Instructor Course on taekwondo net and other places. Imagine if more people went with the flow instead of fighting it tooth and nail. Imagine where the USA would be now in world poomsae.

I'm not saying this was because Puunui and I discussed (I even demonstrated) this with him, but it is because some folks, like Garth, are always looking for the cutting edge and the true path, he searched it out his own way and had a 2nd life as a Poomsae champion, after he retired as a sparring champion.

Adapting and changing with the times is the best way I know of to stay in front of the pack.

But this did not come from me, or Puunui, it came form the "source".

We don't set Kukkiwon policy, we just report what that policy is. But I'm at the point where I don't really care about keeping everyone informed about the latest development. If you or I don't do a single thing to help Taekwondo in the future, we will still get promoted and invited to everything. I'm thinking we should just keep it to ourselves in the future. Then everyone will be happy and can keep doing what they are doing, forever.

 

[mastercole]

Quote:
Originally Posted by mastercole
Later on, we finally met at some national event (Doug Feushel was talking to Jidokwan President LEE Seung Wan about Pro Taekwondo in the lobby lounge area).<<<

That was the USTU Annual Meeting in Los Angeles I believe. Jidokwan President Lee looks exactly the same today as he did back then. I remember it was in the lobby of the hotel. We were sitting with President Lee and you came up and politely greeted everyone.

I think had just ate rice & natto with salted fish and miso because I remember thinking it was one of the best breakfast in my life. President Lee is amazing. When I think of toughness mixed with kindness, he comes to mind. When I walked into the Jidokwan celebration in 2006, the greeting I received from President Lee and GM Chong Woo Lee was something I will never forget, such kindness directed toward me (a very junior person in that room) from such powerful seniors. I think about that every time I interact with my students and more and more I feel it's not me, what my students may learn comes through the chain and I am just one of many links. It's like a sense of nothingness, but in an interesting and powerful way.

There was a conversation about style a while back at my school. I thought about it and said, I don't have a style. Some of my friends you can tell their students, they duck walk in poomsae, others sparring using mostly lead hand/lead leg, some bow in a weird way. I like it because my students can be in a international crowd of Taekwondoin and you could not pick out which ones were mine. I never want to be remembered for having my own style, just being a part of the chain.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mastercole
Later on, at some point Puunui and I were standing around with various well know Taekwondoin from the USA and explaining these points about Poomsae stressed at the instructor course, such as narrow and short stance, tight compact ending to the movements, etc. People thought we were crazy.<<<

A lot of people were very angry back then about the concept of the short narrow stance and a Kukkiwon standard. But now people don't argue about it so much. Enough have seen the videos and attended the courses and discovered it themselves. But back then a lot of people were taking it out on us, accusing us of lying about it all. We're not liars, mainly because there is no benefit to it. But shame on us for thinking others would be as excited to discover the truth as we were, that it doesn't have to be a big mystery, that the truth will set you free.

Yes, shame on us. The best part was we were viewed as heathens because of our perceived anti-Poomsae position, and yet we come offering the most in depth and cutting edge info that could be found in the USA on Poomsae. That really got people's goat! What is funny now is that I see schools around me that were always anti-Kukkiwon standard, from day one, for decades, and have just now in the past year or two come around to the Kukkiwon standard. These are some of the same folks that told me years ago that the Kukkiwon as all BS. But like you said, it's changing all over the USA, and the world now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mastercole
I remember Garth Cooley though took a keen interest in what we had to say, it was different and he was curious, but Garth is a true Champion and wanted to see what we were talking about and did not dismiss us like some others did. Interesting. Now today Garth has went on to become a USA Poomsae team member, adapting the correct Poomsae, and probably knows more about Poomsae than most anyone in the USA.<<<

Other poomsae national team members told me that they first got encouraged by what we said about poomsae and the Kukkiwon Instructor Course on taekwondo net and other places. Imagine if more people went with the flow instead of fighting it tooth and nail. Imagine where the USA would be now in world poomsae.

It does amaze me at how long it took to adapt the standard here in the USA. Europe and the rest of the world seemed to adapt over night. When I was at Hanmadang in Dangjin, there was no US team, it was basically a battle between Europe, the Middle East and Korea, they were all excellent.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mastercole
I'm not saying this was because Puunui and I discussed (I even demonstrated) this with him, but it is because some folks, like Garth, are always looking for the cutting edge and the true path, he searched it out his own way and had a 2nd life as a Poomsae champion, after he retired as a sparring champion.<<<

Adapting and changing with the times is the best way I know of to stay in front of the pack.

I think the next few years will be interesting times for change.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mastercole
But this did not come from me, or Puunui, it came form the "source".<<<

We don't set Kukkiwon policy, we just report what that policy is. But I'm at the point where I don't really care about keeping everyone informed about the latest development. If you or I don't do a single thing to help Taekwondo in the future, we will still get promoted and invited to everything. I'm thinking we should just keep it to ourselves in the future. Then everyone will be happy and can keep doing what they are doing, forever.

I certainly see where you stand. Pushing against the tide of ignorance can get tiresome. I think of the big seniors who shunned the lime light to the point many practitioners did not know, and still don't know who they are and what they did. They are very comfortable with that.