Learning tuls/patterns/hyungs/etc

[Kacey]

When it is time to learn new tuls/patterns/hyungs/whatever variety of form you practice, do you learn them by yourself from a book and then go to your instructor for help, or does your instructor teach them to you as s/he feels you are ready to learn them?

For myself, I wait until my sahbum teaches me, and then use reference books to help me practice and remember - then I go to my instructor for additional assistance and critiques. Even with a complete version of the Encyclopedia, I would not want to teach myself new tuls - I know it's been done, but I would much rather wait until my sahbum says I am ready for the next piece(s) and learn from him; there's just too much it's possible to miss when attempting to learn from a book, and the last thing I need is more bad habits to break!

 

[Laurentkd]

When it is time to learn new tuls/patterns/hyungs/whatever variety of form you practice, do you learn them by yourself from a book and then go to your instructor for help, or does your instructor teach them to you as s/he feels you are ready to learn them?

For myself, I wait until my sahbum teaches me, and then use reference books to help me practice and remember - then I go to my instructor for additional assistance and critiques. Even with a complete version of the Encyclopedia, I would not want to teach myself new tuls - I know it's been done, but I would much rather wait until my sahbum says I am ready for the next piece(s) and learn from him; there's just too much it's possible to miss when attempting to learn from a book, and the last thing I need is more bad habits to break!

I agree with your approach exactly! That is one problem I feel students have now... the Internet is so tempting with all of it's easily accessible information that many students try to learn ahead with what they find on it, only to end up practicing it incorrectly. It is much harder to unlearn something than to learn it right the first time.

 

[Kacey]

I've always had access to the movements - they're in the gup and dan requirement books, and I have multiple copies of Gen. Choi's Encyclopedia, which also contains all the patterns, including pictures and stepping diagrams - but the thought of trying to learn technical details from a printed version does not enthuse me at all, although I know people who have done it.

 

[stoneheart]

Kacey, although I consider myself an Okinawan karate guy, I've recently decided to join Hee Il Cho's AIMAA to provide a promotional structure for my students. I inherited a small shorin-ryu karate class that is shorin-ryu in name only, so rather than continuing on a weird path that would give my students grief later on, I've decided with the students' agreement to move to a full TKD curriculum.

Accordingly, I have purchased a few of GM Cho's videos and I will be testing in his curriculum as opportunity comes up. This option is really only viable because I have dan experience in TKD already. It was long ago, but some of the jumping kicks I learned as a teenager have been coming back as I've started practicing them again and of course I am learning the Chang Hon forms (again) and the Tae Guks since GM Cho requires both sets.

I can't see someone without any prior experience doing anything meaningful through video instruction. It's just too hard to capture the nuances - you can learn the gross motor movements but to really refine yourself you need immediate feedback from an expert. But if you do have prior experience, particularly in a system that is close in technique (like say Shotokan karate or Tang Soo Do compared to American TKD), learning new material from a book or DVD is fine.

Now with regard to the Okinawan systems that I continue to train and advance in, I do wait until my sensei teaches me a new kata before I practice it. I own many kata videos, most from famous sensei and a few with a more homebrewed feel, viewing them enough to get ideas and some understanding of the material from. But as you know, if you want to practice the form the way your sensei teaches it, you must learn it from your sensei first.

I don't believe in kata as inviolate and unchanging. I believe that kata needs to be personalized in order for it to be useful and with meaning to a person. At the same time, I respect my sensei for giving me his knowledge, so I practice kata first in his way, so I can pass it along in turn and be able to honestly say this is the way I was thought. That doesn't mean I can't also practice kata in my own way with a few ideas gleaned here and there from another person or even a book for myself.

 

[foot2face]

At my school, when it was time to learn a new form, usually when we promoted to the next level, my master would take us aside, stand us in front of a mirror and demonstrate each movement. One by one slowly progressing until we learned the entire sequence. The next few weeks he would watch us very closely, making little corrections to our form when needed. When he was confident that we had it down, he would give us the nod and inform us that we can now preform it during class with the rest of the students. I never relied on books. I had a few that covered the form but there were always little differences when compared to what I was taught. Besides, I would never learn a form that my master didn't directly teach me himself. He was very traditional and strict, I am positive that it would not have gone over well with him.

 

[cali_tkdbruin]

I'm introduced to a new poomse by my Sabumnim first and foremost. He teaches me all of the basic movements and techniques, then I go home and study and practice them. I also have poomse books with charts and explanations of each form. But more importantly I also have dvds of all of the WTF/Kukkiwon forms that I need to memorize which is extremely helpful to me and assists me in learning a new form.

But the bottom line is that I'm first introduced to a new form by my Sabumnim. He teaches me the basic motions and I go from there.

 

[FieldDiscipline]

I work the same way. With the way the Taegeuk poomse have changed over the years I need someone to correct me!

I have Kim-Jeong Rok's books from the 80's which are very helpful although as I say due to the changes I also use the WTF website videos.

Instruction first and foremost followed by practise, then using media to remind me of any details.

 

[IcemanSK]

I've found that I learn poomsae best when taught in person. I've tried to learn (& even re-learn) some by DVD, but I've never really "gotten it" until someone shows me the poomsae.