The logic behind the placement of kihaps in Taegeuk forms

[TrueJim]

Here's a question that's been posed in the Comments section on the taekwondo wiki...

Why doesn't Taegeuk Pal Jang have a kihap at the end?

I think a broader version of the question is: what's the logic behind where kihaps appear in the Taegeuk series of forms? Anybody have any ideas?

 

[Dirty Dog]

I'm sure you can find someone to suggest all sorts of philosophical reasons, but there's a simple and fairly obvious one too.

All of the taegeuk poomsae follow the same line on the floor.

So this is taegeuk il jang, obviously. Notice that the last movement takes the student back to their starting position, but facing "backwards"
This is true of all the taegeuk poomsae.
Except pal jang.
The "ending" kiap is on the movement that (if the form has been performed correctly) returns the student to their starting position, including pal jang.

 

[Gnarlie]

Here's a question that's been posed in the Comments section on the taekwondo wiki...

Why doesn't Taegeuk Pal Jang have a kihap at the end??

The same reason Yuk Jang doesn't: it is earlier in the form.

I think a broader version of the question is: what's the logic behind where kihaps appear in the Taegeuk series of forms? Anybody have any ideas?

The kihap appears where a particular focus is required for the movement. In the earlier forms, this is at the end, introducing the idea of the kihap to denote something, in this case the end. In the later forms, kihaps appear where the movement is strenuous or requires special focus.

For Yuk Jang, it is on the Dollyochagi, which is out of apkubi, is specified as high section and is followed by a turn out. This is very unusual and is a defining movement in the form. To me, this is telling the practitioner 'focus your attention here, this movement requires concentration and a lot of practice'.

The same is true of doobal dangsong apchagi in Pal Jang. It is strenuous, takes practice, and is arguably the movement that defines the form.

If I follow this line of reasoning into the black belt poomsae, the kihaps still carry a message.

Koryo: agwisonchigi x 2. Form defining movement (along with the side kicks). Sharp edged striking surfaces are repeating theme in the form, often in combinations, sharp like the scholar it represents and projected forward like the spirit of the men of the Koryo dynasty. The two kihaps are on single aggressive motions, almost as if to say 'keep it simple. This works.'

Keumgang: Santeul Makki x 2. Along with Keumgang Makki, a form defining movement which contains the ponderosity of the forms meaning in the low heavy stance and mountain peaks represented by the head and hands. This posture also carries symbolic relevance from a Buddhist perspective, relating to emptiness and detachment, which supports the meaning 'too strong to be broken'. I also wonder if the meaning of Keumgang 'diamond' hints toward the Diamond Sutra.

Taebaek: momtong chireugi x 2. Both the punches with the kihaps and the appearance of double punch combinations in this form tell the practitioner in this form, the last of the 'body' poomsae, that the middle punch is a staple in our repertoire. But not just that, but also where they appear in the line of the poomsae when viewed from above. The meaning of Taebaek, bright mountain, relates to the story of the creation of the Korean race, and Hwanin, Hwanung, Dan Gun and the Bear, Tiger, Mugwort story (you can google it if you don't already know it). The story relates to the grandson of heaven on n earth, the link between Heaven and Earth, the physical world and the metaphysical; metaphorically, the link between the mind and the body. The line of the poomsae is like the Taegeuk series but with no horizontal middle line in the Gwae. The kihaps appear when we get to heaven (the top line) and when we get back to earth (the bottom line). Considering that the pattern is the last of the 3 'body' i.e. Physically focussed patterns, and the next pattern is Pyongwon, the first of the 'mind' i.e. Heaven patterns, AND that the student should have built a connection between body and mind by this stage, it makes sense for the kihaps to appear at each end of the line between heaven and earth. Oddly enough, those middle punches are also between the high section and the low section, heaven and earth.

I could go on, but I suspect I might be the only person on the planet with an appetite for this sort of thing.

 

[Gnarlie]

I'm sure you can find someone to suggest all sorts of philosophical reasons, but there's a simple and fairly obvious one too.

All of the taegeuk poomsae follow the same line on the floor.

So this is taegeuk il jang, obviously. Notice that the last movement takes the student back to their starting position, but facing "backwards"
This is true of all the taegeuk poomsae.
Except pal jang.
The "ending" kiap is on the movement that (if the form has been performed correctly) returns the student to their starting position, including pal jang.

What about Taegeuk 6 Jang?

 

[Dirty Dog]

What about Taegeuk 6 Jang?

An exception that proves the rule.

While I agree completely that the kiap in yook jang in at the single most complex section, this is, again, an exception. The kiap is chil jang is on the final move, and I don't think anybody is likely to claim that this is any sort of 'defining moment' for that form.

I think that, for the most part, the kiap simply means "this is the end". Every technique should be performed on the exhale anyway, and a kiap is just a louder exhale.

 

[TrueJim]

I have a new theory: I'm thinking the authors didn't want to put any kihaps on any of the three lines, because then you'd need two kihaps on the same line in order to keep the lines symmetric. Since Pal Jang ends on its third line, it can't end with a kihap, lest it throw off the symmetry of the line.

All of the other forms end on the stem, not on one of the three lines, so that begs the question, why doesn't Yuk Jang end with a kihap?

So here's another thing to consider: all of the forms that end with a kihap, your eyes are pointing back toward the starting position (the "na" direction). Of course for Yuk Jang your eyes are facing "ga" (and you return to ready by moving the right foot), and in Pal Jang you're facing "ra" at the end.

So maybe the logic the authors used was this: if you end the form looking at "na", kihap. Otherwise, we'll have to put the kihap somewhere else.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Or maybe they did it just to confuse us when we try to figure out why they did it.

 

[Gnarlie]

Or maybe they did it just to confuse us when we try to figure out why they did it.

Yes, could be. Maybe be they put one or two not at the end to show that the kihap does not have to be at the end. Or, maybe they put it at the end by default, unless there was something else of significance in the form that they wanted to draw attention to.

Yuk Jang - Water - kihap on the most noticeably flowing motion.
Pal Jang - Earth - kihap on the motions which force the practitioner to work against gravity.
Chil Jang - Mountain - Kihap on the low and stable stance at the end.

 

[Tez3]

Oh damn, now you lot have got me going through my karate kata's looking for kiais to see where and why they are there!

 

[Gnarlie]

Can't help you there Tez! Forgive my ignorance, I don't even know which patterns are typical for Wado?

 

[Tez3]

Can't help you there Tez! Forgive my ignorance, I don't even know which patterns are typical for Wado?

The first ones we do are the Pinan series, I'm going to sit down and have a look at them, I do notice the difference between them and the TSD ones in that the kiais and kiyaps are in different places, TSD have theirs mostly at the end.

One thing though, when watching a pattern/kata do you prefer a silence or what I call heavy breathing with every move? And the kiais/kiyaps long or short and sharp? The one thing I really cannot stand is when people use the word 'kiai' to shout, it's just naff lol.

 

[Gnarlie]

My view on breathing is that it should be exclusively through the nose and should be almost inaudible if it isn't a kihap. I dislike audible breathing in forms, I think it shows a lack of understanding (or fitness).

The kihap is short and sharp, from the diaphragm, and not cut off by the throat or lips. It should move up in intonation, rather than down. Nothing worse than a depressed sounding kihap IMO!

 

[TrueJim]

Loud breathing is a no-no at our school. I think most of us breath-in through the nose during the chamber, then breath-out quietly through the mouth during the technique. The instructors are non-prescriptive about this though, other than to frown on loud breathing.

 

[Gnarlie]

I had a very prescriptive instructor at a seminar recently who said, 'fill your lungs three quarters on the chamber and let two thirds of that out on the strike, all through the nose.'

 

[Tez3]

I hate hearing loud breathing through the kata, it will, I think, after reading the OP negate any point in having kiais/kihaps at certain points if you are going to make so much noise throughout the kata.

 

[Dirty Dog]

One thing though, when watching a pattern/kata do you prefer a silence or what I call heavy breathing with every move? And the kiais/kiyaps long or short and sharp? The one thing I really cannot stand is when people use the word 'kiai' to shout, it's just naff lol.

New people shout "kiap" all the time. I just chuckle inwardly and let it go.

My view on breathing is that it should be exclusively through the nose and should be almost inaudible if it isn't a kihap. I dislike audible breathing in forms, I think it shows a lack of understanding (or fitness).

Disagree. The exhale should be through the mouth. The larger passages will allow a larger volume of air to pass at a higher flow without making noise. This rapid exhale and contraction of the core muscles aids in power production. That is the reason for the kiap, after all.

I had a very prescriptive instructor at a seminar recently who said, 'fill your lungs three quarters on the chamber and let two thirds of that out on the strike, all through the nose.'

I have a documented lung volume of greater than 3 liters. Poiseuilles law will demonstrate quite clearly why what you're describing is not physiologically possible.

 

[Gnarlie]

New people shout "kiap" all the time. I just chuckle inwardly and let it go.



Disagree. The exhale should be through the mouth. The larger passages will allow a larger volume of air to pass at a higher flow without making noise. This rapid exhale and contraction of the core muscles aids in power production. That is the reason for the kiap, after all.



I have a documented lung volume of greater than 3 liters. Poiseuilles law will demonstrate quite clearly why what you're describing is not physiologically possible.

Yeah, I find it impossible too, at the very least without having a snot related disaster when hot and sweaty. I take that in the spirit it was intended though - breathing should be present on each motion, and should not be exaggerated unless it is a kihap.

I have never met a Korean mouth-breather, and particularly those I personally admire carry a certain dignity in their poomsae that is difficult to retain when breathing through the mouth. I guess it's a personal thing, but I would be corrected by my teachers for mouth breathing.

This is typical of the 'correctness' and style I aim to emulate, and that of my master instructors. Breathing is inaudible at most points, even when the awful elevator music isn't playing:

 

[TrueJim]

I'm sitting here zooming-in on videos of Kukkiwon-style poomsae champions, and as much as I hate to admit it, Gnarlie has a point...if anything it looks like they open their mouth slightly to inhale on the chamber, and then exhale though the nose during the technique...exactly the opposite of how I do it. Dangit.

 

[WaterGal]

This thread is really interesting - I honestly hadn't thought a lot about this before.

This thing about people yelling "kihap!" cracks me up, too. "Energy Together!" It sounds like something from an anime show.

 

[TrueJim]

I like to shout, "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" for my kihap.