There has been a good deal of discussion regarding forms on this board. The Tae Geuk Poomse have not fared well in these discussions, often being criticized as sport oriented rather than SD oriented due to some of its narrower stances. Another critique often cited is the lack of practical application known in JMAs as bunkai. These notions could not be less accurate. The Tae Geuk poomse are full of practical applications for the use of SD, some might say too many. Before I address the applications of the poomse, I should first discuss some of the lessons that I learned at my school so that you may gain insight on my perspective.
The basic curriculum of my school divided the core of TKD into four pillars. 1) Philosophy and Principles: This began with an ethical and moral code of conduct and moved on to fighting philosophies and principles of application, the what we do and why we do it of TKD. 2) The Basic Skills and Techniques: There were 18 basic techniques at my school, 6 stances, 6 kicks and 6 strikes. Proficiency with these techniques is key; by combining or modifying them you can perform a seemingly endless multitude of distinct skills and techniques. 3) Sparring: This included a variety of force on force training exercises with the ultimate goal of gaining practical experience by simulating the intensity of a real confrontation as closely as possible. 4) Poomse: I never learned the forms as a simulated fight but rather a collection of thematically similar movements geared towards SD and anti-smothering/anti-grappling. Each segment of the form was its own maneuver with all the techniques being preformed in one fluid motion. It did not necessarily have any thing to do with the segment before or after it but they complemented each other. The fighting philosophies and principles are the key to unlocking the application of the forms, without their knowledge the poomse are meaningless movements. Conversely, the poomse allow for better understanding of many of the philosophies and principles by bringing them out of the theoretical world through tangible demonstration.
I was taught that H2H combat consisted of two components, 1) fighting and 2) SD and anti-smothering/anti-grappling. Fighting is basically the delivery of extreme force to your adversary; the goal is to overwhelm them with speed, power and aggression, knocking them unconscious as quickly as possible. We were taught to own the violence of the altercation. Fighting generally favors kicking techniques to hand techniques 70/30 and is instinctive and reactionary, see an opening hit it, perceive an opening hit it and keep on hitting until there is nothing left to hit. Your opponent may attempt to stifle your fighting ability either by catching you of guard with a surprise attack or by smothering and grappling with you. In this case you lack the time and/or the space needed to employ your fighting skill. This is when the SD or anti-smothering/anti-grappling techniques need to be used. These maneuvers generally favor hand techniques to kicks 70/30 and can be found in the Tae Geuk poomse. SD refers to techniques that respond to an unexpected attack, the Im walking down the street minding my own business when all of a sudden I notice a fist or foot flying at me or a body lunge towards me from the corner of my eye scenario. These are often very simple block/strike or strike/strike maneuvers. Since they are reactionary techniques where time is of the essence you may not have the opportunity to step into a deep powerful stance so they are often but not all ways preformed from a narrower stance. The goal is to get your hands up deflect the blow as much as possible, create some space and buy yourself a few fractions of a second to assess who is attacking you, with what they are attacking and how many are attacking. Anti-smothering/anti-grappling techniques are meant to break holds and create space. It is very difficult to hit someone with a powerful blow if they are holding you or pressed up very close to you. Power blows require a certain amount of movement in order to build that power; deprived of that movement the blow becomes dramatically less effective if not useless. The anti-smothering/anti-grappling techniques help create the space needed for your powerful fighting blows.
Now on to the forms; keep in mind that there are several variations of the Tae Geuk poomse. Apparently the KKW has made several minor changes to their official version over the years, some still practice the older variants. Many individual schools also have their own take on the forms. I, for example, never learned the walking stance, we used a front stance but it was not an overly labored front stance, it was just at the end of ones natural stride and would still be considered somewhat shallow by traditionalist who prefer the front knee near parallel to your rear, deep front stance. This is not to say that deep stances are lacking in the poomse, which is a popular misconception, there are many deep stance within the Tae Geuk poomse. Deep stances are executed along with shallow stances, accompanied by an appropriate technique, demonstrating the wide range of mobility within TKD footwork. Other differences I have noticed include the palm blocks. I have seen many perform the palm blocks with an inward motion, I was taught to do them downward. The changes to, and variations of the Tea Geuk poomse have led some to criticize them as having no traditional consistency, therefore having little to no real practical value. It should be no surprise to you by now that I strongly disagree with this opinion. Of all the minor variation I have seen, none have conflicted with the underlying philosophy or principle, which is key to the effective application of the movement. Making a stance a bit shallower or changing the trajectory of a strike from inward with some downward movement to downward with some inward movement has never affected the theory behind the technique, which is most important. I find it ironic that people who have to modify the techniques of their forms when applying them in a practical manner, (accounting for their stature and the stature of their adversary, which is fine because the theory remains the same) scream bloody murder when the movements within the form itself are modified in a similar fashion.
With regards to application, one must understand that the use of a particular technique varies based on which of the philosophies or principles you are applying. Many segments with in the forms have several applications; this is one reason why I believe that the KMA equivalent of JMA bunkai is not generally taught along side the poomse. Teaching them all would be overwhelming and very confusing, and focusing on just one could hinder the students later understanding of the complexity and flexibility of the poomse. Rather one focuses on the movement itself, engraining the motion into their body and mind, only later over time receiving the keys to unlock the multiple meanings behind the movement.
Later, Ill poast some applications of the poomse.
Thanks for reading- Foot2face
The basic curriculum of my school divided the core of TKD into four pillars. 1) Philosophy and Principles: This began with an ethical and moral code of conduct and moved on to fighting philosophies and principles of application, the what we do and why we do it of TKD. 2) The Basic Skills and Techniques: There were 18 basic techniques at my school, 6 stances, 6 kicks and 6 strikes. Proficiency with these techniques is key; by combining or modifying them you can perform a seemingly endless multitude of distinct skills and techniques. 3) Sparring: This included a variety of force on force training exercises with the ultimate goal of gaining practical experience by simulating the intensity of a real confrontation as closely as possible. 4) Poomse: I never learned the forms as a simulated fight but rather a collection of thematically similar movements geared towards SD and anti-smothering/anti-grappling. Each segment of the form was its own maneuver with all the techniques being preformed in one fluid motion. It did not necessarily have any thing to do with the segment before or after it but they complemented each other. The fighting philosophies and principles are the key to unlocking the application of the forms, without their knowledge the poomse are meaningless movements. Conversely, the poomse allow for better understanding of many of the philosophies and principles by bringing them out of the theoretical world through tangible demonstration.
I was taught that H2H combat consisted of two components, 1) fighting and 2) SD and anti-smothering/anti-grappling. Fighting is basically the delivery of extreme force to your adversary; the goal is to overwhelm them with speed, power and aggression, knocking them unconscious as quickly as possible. We were taught to own the violence of the altercation. Fighting generally favors kicking techniques to hand techniques 70/30 and is instinctive and reactionary, see an opening hit it, perceive an opening hit it and keep on hitting until there is nothing left to hit. Your opponent may attempt to stifle your fighting ability either by catching you of guard with a surprise attack or by smothering and grappling with you. In this case you lack the time and/or the space needed to employ your fighting skill. This is when the SD or anti-smothering/anti-grappling techniques need to be used. These maneuvers generally favor hand techniques to kicks 70/30 and can be found in the Tae Geuk poomse. SD refers to techniques that respond to an unexpected attack, the Im walking down the street minding my own business when all of a sudden I notice a fist or foot flying at me or a body lunge towards me from the corner of my eye scenario. These are often very simple block/strike or strike/strike maneuvers. Since they are reactionary techniques where time is of the essence you may not have the opportunity to step into a deep powerful stance so they are often but not all ways preformed from a narrower stance. The goal is to get your hands up deflect the blow as much as possible, create some space and buy yourself a few fractions of a second to assess who is attacking you, with what they are attacking and how many are attacking. Anti-smothering/anti-grappling techniques are meant to break holds and create space. It is very difficult to hit someone with a powerful blow if they are holding you or pressed up very close to you. Power blows require a certain amount of movement in order to build that power; deprived of that movement the blow becomes dramatically less effective if not useless. The anti-smothering/anti-grappling techniques help create the space needed for your powerful fighting blows.
Now on to the forms; keep in mind that there are several variations of the Tae Geuk poomse. Apparently the KKW has made several minor changes to their official version over the years, some still practice the older variants. Many individual schools also have their own take on the forms. I, for example, never learned the walking stance, we used a front stance but it was not an overly labored front stance, it was just at the end of ones natural stride and would still be considered somewhat shallow by traditionalist who prefer the front knee near parallel to your rear, deep front stance. This is not to say that deep stances are lacking in the poomse, which is a popular misconception, there are many deep stance within the Tae Geuk poomse. Deep stances are executed along with shallow stances, accompanied by an appropriate technique, demonstrating the wide range of mobility within TKD footwork. Other differences I have noticed include the palm blocks. I have seen many perform the palm blocks with an inward motion, I was taught to do them downward. The changes to, and variations of the Tea Geuk poomse have led some to criticize them as having no traditional consistency, therefore having little to no real practical value. It should be no surprise to you by now that I strongly disagree with this opinion. Of all the minor variation I have seen, none have conflicted with the underlying philosophy or principle, which is key to the effective application of the movement. Making a stance a bit shallower or changing the trajectory of a strike from inward with some downward movement to downward with some inward movement has never affected the theory behind the technique, which is most important. I find it ironic that people who have to modify the techniques of their forms when applying them in a practical manner, (accounting for their stature and the stature of their adversary, which is fine because the theory remains the same) scream bloody murder when the movements within the form itself are modified in a similar fashion.
With regards to application, one must understand that the use of a particular technique varies based on which of the philosophies or principles you are applying. Many segments with in the forms have several applications; this is one reason why I believe that the KMA equivalent of JMA bunkai is not generally taught along side the poomse. Teaching them all would be overwhelming and very confusing, and focusing on just one could hinder the students later understanding of the complexity and flexibility of the poomse. Rather one focuses on the movement itself, engraining the motion into their body and mind, only later over time receiving the keys to unlock the multiple meanings behind the movement.
Later, Ill poast some applications of the poomse.
Thanks for reading- Foot2face
). Maybe this thread can really grow into an in-depth analyses of the SD applications of the Taeguk poomse.
