The 1975 Taekwondo poomsae textbook describes Ilyeo as follows:
"In Buddhism the state of spiritual cultivation is said to be 'Ilyo'
(Oneness), in which the body and the mind, I (the subject)
and you (the object), the spirit and the substance are unified into
oneness. It means that one derives the state of pure mind from
profound faith, namely the state in which one has discarded all
worldly desires. The ultimate ideal of Taekwondo is in this state of
'Ilyo'. In this state of mentality or 'nirvana' one overcomes ego. The
final goal of Taekwondo pursues is inded a discipline in which we
concentrate attention on every movement, shaking off all worldly
thoughts and obsession."
The new Kukkiwon Textbook describes Ilyeo as follows: "Ilyeo"
means the though of a great Buddhist priest of Silla Dynasty, Saint
Won Hyo, which is characterized by the philosophy of oneness of
mind (spirit) and body (material). It teaches that a point, a line or
a circle ends up after all in one. Therefore, the poomsae Ilyeo
represents the harmonization of spirit and body, which is the essence
of martial art, after a long training of various types of techniques
and spiritual cultivation for completion of Taekwondo practice."
The Oneness spoken of at the time of the creation of the poomsae
Ilyo meant the unification of the different Kwan, which was the
foremost goal of the Taekwondo pioneers. In order to unify, each
Kwan had to give up its worldly desire of individual Kwan expansion
in favor of the goal of a single Taekwondo system, each individual
piece moving together toward a single goal. It is what the pioneers
sacrificed for and made a reality, by putting aside individual
differences and working together.
The original name of Ilyeo poomsae was Shilla poomsae, Shilla being
the one which unified the Korean pennisula into a single country. Up
until most recently, every leader of Korea for the last one
thousand years came from Shilla, which today is called Kyong
Sang Do. In this way, the pioneers hoped to do the same thing,
unifying Taekwondo in the same fashion that the Three Kingdoms were
unified under Shilla.
An alternate explanation of the Buddhist overlay is found in the
philosophy of the Jidokwan, which is the third major Kwan that led
the unification efforts. The Jidokwan symbol is comprised of the
familiar figure eight outline, called the Otugi. This represents the
concept of "Seven Times down, Eight Times up". The outline of the
Jidokwan symbol (which is also on the Kodokan Judo symbol,
since the Jidokwan got its start at the Chosun Yun Moo Kwan, a
Judo school) is the eight fold leaf pattern which represents the
Buddhist eight fold path.
It is said that Jidokwan's founder, GM CHUN Sang Sup, learned both
Judo and Shotokan Karate. This is reflected in the Jidokwan symbol
which is a merging of the Kodokan Judo symbol and also the Shotokan
red circle logo.
This Jidokwan figure eight otugi symbol is carried on in the Kukkiwon
logo. If you look closely, you can see that the Kukkiwon logo is made
up of a series of "Jidokwan snowmen" arranged in a circle. The
Kukkiwon is considered the main body which completed the unification
of Taekwondo.
The Jidokwan's GM LEE Chong Woo is also considered to be a very
central figure in the unification efforts, and played a heavy role in
many of the decisions which led to the creation of a unified
Taekwondo. This last form, can be considered a tribute to his
efforts, as well as the efforts of his Kwan in creating what we have
today.
And so we can see that the Taekwondo pioneers who created the
Kukkiwon poomsae were martial artists committed to high training
standards and their work with the yudanja poomse is a roadmap for
those who are interested in the journey, the way, the Do in the
martial arts. The poomsae lay out in a very specific manner the
journey which they themselves followed. It is a treasure map of the
Way.
"In Buddhism the state of spiritual cultivation is said to be 'Ilyo'
(Oneness), in which the body and the mind, I (the subject)
and you (the object), the spirit and the substance are unified into
oneness. It means that one derives the state of pure mind from
profound faith, namely the state in which one has discarded all
worldly desires. The ultimate ideal of Taekwondo is in this state of
'Ilyo'. In this state of mentality or 'nirvana' one overcomes ego. The
final goal of Taekwondo pursues is inded a discipline in which we
concentrate attention on every movement, shaking off all worldly
thoughts and obsession."
The new Kukkiwon Textbook describes Ilyeo as follows: "Ilyeo"
means the though of a great Buddhist priest of Silla Dynasty, Saint
Won Hyo, which is characterized by the philosophy of oneness of
mind (spirit) and body (material). It teaches that a point, a line or
a circle ends up after all in one. Therefore, the poomsae Ilyeo
represents the harmonization of spirit and body, which is the essence
of martial art, after a long training of various types of techniques
and spiritual cultivation for completion of Taekwondo practice."
The Oneness spoken of at the time of the creation of the poomsae
Ilyo meant the unification of the different Kwan, which was the
foremost goal of the Taekwondo pioneers. In order to unify, each
Kwan had to give up its worldly desire of individual Kwan expansion
in favor of the goal of a single Taekwondo system, each individual
piece moving together toward a single goal. It is what the pioneers
sacrificed for and made a reality, by putting aside individual
differences and working together.
The original name of Ilyeo poomsae was Shilla poomsae, Shilla being
the one which unified the Korean pennisula into a single country. Up
until most recently, every leader of Korea for the last one
thousand years came from Shilla, which today is called Kyong
Sang Do. In this way, the pioneers hoped to do the same thing,
unifying Taekwondo in the same fashion that the Three Kingdoms were
unified under Shilla.
An alternate explanation of the Buddhist overlay is found in the
philosophy of the Jidokwan, which is the third major Kwan that led
the unification efforts. The Jidokwan symbol is comprised of the
familiar figure eight outline, called the Otugi. This represents the
concept of "Seven Times down, Eight Times up". The outline of the
Jidokwan symbol (which is also on the Kodokan Judo symbol,
since the Jidokwan got its start at the Chosun Yun Moo Kwan, a
Judo school) is the eight fold leaf pattern which represents the
Buddhist eight fold path.
It is said that Jidokwan's founder, GM CHUN Sang Sup, learned both
Judo and Shotokan Karate. This is reflected in the Jidokwan symbol
which is a merging of the Kodokan Judo symbol and also the Shotokan
red circle logo.
This Jidokwan figure eight otugi symbol is carried on in the Kukkiwon
logo. If you look closely, you can see that the Kukkiwon logo is made
up of a series of "Jidokwan snowmen" arranged in a circle. The
Kukkiwon is considered the main body which completed the unification
of Taekwondo.
The Jidokwan's GM LEE Chong Woo is also considered to be a very
central figure in the unification efforts, and played a heavy role in
many of the decisions which led to the creation of a unified
Taekwondo. This last form, can be considered a tribute to his
efforts, as well as the efforts of his Kwan in creating what we have
today.
And so we can see that the Taekwondo pioneers who created the
Kukkiwon poomsae were martial artists committed to high training
standards and their work with the yudanja poomse is a roadmap for
those who are interested in the journey, the way, the Do in the
martial arts. The poomsae lay out in a very specific manner the
journey which they themselves followed. It is a treasure map of the
Way.