Eight Key Concepts

karatemom3

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I'm curious, were the eight key concepts of martial arts written by Grandmaster Whang Kee? Do other martial arts use them?
 

Makalakumu

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I haven't seen them as they are written in other martial arts, but other styles of karate, have similar teachings. Some have ten concepts, some have five, some have twenty. In what I have seen, the TSD concepts usually get covered by other parts of other arts esoteric teaching.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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What are the "8 key concepts"? I've never heard of them, but that doesn't mean the arts I study/I've studied/dabbled in don't just have them under a different name, or a different way of explaining the same idea.
 

Makalakumu

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http://kenyons.com/8-key-concepts.html


The eight key concepts of Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan and their literal translation:

1. Yong Gi - Courage (Brave / Energy)
2. Chung Shin Tong Il - Concentration (Clean, Clear / God / Govern / One)
3. In Neh - Endurance (Endure / Patience)
4. Chung Jik - Honesty (Right / Straight)
5. Kyum Son - Humility (Humble / Humble)
6. Him Cho Chung - Control of Power (Power / Manage / Right)
7. Shin Chook - Tension and Relaxation (Relaxation, Expand / Tension, Contract)
8. Wan Gup - Speed Control (Slow / Fast)
 

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8191747.jpg


[h=2]"Eight precepts" as found in the document "Bubishi"[/h]Miyagi Chojun Sensei chose the name "Goju Ryu" from the "Eight Precepts" of traditional Chinese Kempo found in the document "Bubishi" and are as follows:


The mind is one with heaven and earth.

The circulatory rhythm of the body is similar to the cycle of the sun and the moon.

The way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness.

Act in accordance with time and change.

Techniques will occur in the absence of conscious thought.

The feet must advance and retreat, separate and meet.

The eyes do not miss even the slightest change.

The ears listen well in all directions.

 

Flying Crane

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well, my system, Tibetan White Crane, has four:

Chuan - Ruthless cruelty
Siam - Dodge or Evade
Chuin - Attack, Penetrate, Charge aggressively
Git - Intercept

so I guess ours are a little different.
 

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well, my system, Tibetan White Crane, has four:

Chuan - Ruthless cruelty
Siam - Dodge or Evade
Chuin - Attack, Penetrate, Charge aggressively
Git - Intercept

so I guess ours are a little different.

I like this one very much.
 
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karatemom3

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Thank you Makalakuma for posting the Eight Key Concepts. It would have taken me an hour to do it. I did not see any reference to them in "Tang Soo Do" Volume One which makes me wonder if they are not from the onset of Tang Soo Do but added later and perhaps in the US. Tibetan White Crane must not be a defensive art!
 

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In my lineage of Wing Chun they are called the Five Principles.
The Principles consist of -

Simplicity
Directness
Economy of movement
Practicality
Minimum use of brute strength
 

Flying Crane

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I like this one very much.

yeah, the idea behind it is that fighting isn't for play. If the bad guy is really intent on going after you, then you give him everything you've got. If it isn't worth giving all you've got, then there probably isn't a reason to fight at all. When you make the decision to unleash hell, there had better be good reason for it.
 

Flying Crane

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Tibetan White Crane must not be a defensive art!

It certainly can be defensive, but when you need to defend yourself for real, you be decisive and you end it RIGHT NOW. When you defend yourself, you go after the bad guy. You don't sit back and be passive, responding to what he does. First opportunity that arises, you go on the attack and don't stop until he's done.
 

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yeah, the idea behind it is that fighting isn't for play. If the bad guy is really intent on going after you, then you give him everything you've got. If it isn't worth giving all you've got, then there probably isn't a reason to fight at all. When you make the decision to unleash hell, there had better be good reason for it.

It is often obscured in American schools, but in the original copy of the Tang Soo Do manual, there were, in addition to the key concepts, ten 'Articles of Faith'. One translates roughly as: 'Kill in justice.'
 
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karatemom3

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Flying Crane, Your point is well taken. I've had a very limited view of martial arts and am learning a lot here. I don't think it would go over well to teach 4 and 5 year old's in my school Chuan-Ruthless cruelty but we could have a more aggressive self defensive program for adults.
 

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It is often obscured in American schools, but in the original copy of the Tang Soo Do manual, there were, in addition to the key concepts, ten 'Articles of Faith'. One translates roughly as: 'Kill in justice.'

The Articles of Faith are an interesting transplant from Korean culture. They seem to change in minor ways depending on the TSD school.

1. Be loyal to your country.

2. Be obedient to your parents.

3. Be loving between husband and wife.

4. Be cooperative between brothers.

5. Be faithful between friends.

6. Be respectful to your elders.

7. Be faithful between teacher and student.

8. Know the difference between good and evil. (I've also seen this written as Kill only in Justice and Honor)

9. Never retreat in battle.

10. Always finish what you start.
 

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yeah, the idea behind it is that fighting isn't for play. If the bad guy is really intent on going after you, then you give him everything you've got. If it isn't worth giving all you've got, then there probably isn't a reason to fight at all. When you make the decision to unleash hell, there had better be good reason for it.
This is the crux of the defining purpose of the traditional arts as they were intended. Somewhere along the line the guts of the arts were obscured while a less violent more excepted means of getting into shape, sports oriented, turn the other cheek attitude emerged. In doing this the dojo of "old" became obsolete and antiquated, and rightly so because of the onset of "karate is for everybody. I am not putting down either way because it is up to each and every person to choose for themselves what is right or wrong for them. The "Precepts/Concepts" written within this thread elude to this, as we read between the lines. :asian:
 

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The Articles of Faith are an interesting transplant from Korean culture. They seem to change in minor ways depending on the TSD school.
...

8. Know the difference between good and evil. (I've also seen this written as Kill only in Justice and Honor)

...

It will always change with your instructor. But for #8, the translation used in the 1978 edition of the English Translation of the manual was 'Kill only in Justice and Honor', or a close variant there to. And it was explained to me by my instructor that he used the 'good and evil' variant because he couldn't very well teach the other version in a commercial school with children.
 

Flying Crane

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Flying Crane, Your point is well taken. I've had a very limited view of martial arts and am learning a lot here. I don't think it would go over well to teach 4 and 5 year old's in my school Chuan-Ruthless cruelty but we could have a more aggressive self defensive program for adults.

yes, this is simply recognizing where these methods came from. They are rooted in an era when there was no telephone with which to call for help, there was no trusted police department to call, there was little in the way of criminal justice and a legal system to deal with criminals. When it came to defending oneself, there was no one to call and you needed to handle it yourself. This all makes sense when you realize that was the society in which these fighting methods were first developed.

Times have changed and this kind of attitude isn't always appropriate nowadays. But it's important to understand that bit of history, to have the perspective.
 

SahBumNimRush

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The Articles of Faith are an interesting transplant from Korean culture. They seem to change in minor ways depending on the TSD school.

1. Be loyal to your country.

2. Be obedient to your parents.

3. Be loving between husband and wife.

4. Be cooperative between brothers.

5. Be faithful between friends.

6. Be respectful to your elders.

7. Be faithful between teacher and student.

8. Know the difference between good and evil. (I've also seen this written as Kill only in Justice and Honor)

9. Never retreat in battle.

10. Always finish what you start.

As I understand it, HWANG Kee drew some of the philosophy and traditions of Tang Soo Do from the Hwarang.

Code of Hwarang:

  1. Loyalty to King and Country
  2. Respect and obedience to one’s parents
  3. Loyalty and trust of friends
  4. Courage; never retreat in battle
  5. Prudence in the use of deadly force; never kill unjustly

Also, it is why we trim our doboks in the fashion that we do. As I understand it, the Hwarang trimmed their uniforms to distinguish themselves from other warriors/soldiers. My KJN likened it to a West Point graduate vs. enlisted men.
 
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