Patterns seminar

[Kacey]

I spent most of the weekend at a patterns seminar hosted by the YomChi TKD Association, the organization to which I belong. I am totally exhausted and mentally overloaded - and I had a blast!!!

The seminar was taught by Mr. Doug Arnold, VI Dan, who is my sahbum. He went over every tul in total detail - even better than last year's seminar. In addition to Mr. Arnold, another VI Dan, Mr. Dan Kohler taught part of the seminar, and Master Fred Ackard, VII Dan, stopped in both Friday night and Saturday afternoon and added his expertise to the instruction.

The participants in the seminar ranged from 8 to adults of all ages, and from 7th gup to VI Dan black belt. The seminar covered every Ch'ang H'on tul from Chon-Ji to Tong-Il, plus 4 direction exercises (Saju Tchirugi and Saju Maki). Students were excused from the seminar when their patterns had been covered... which is why there are no yellow belts in the picture; I forgot to take my camera with me on Friday night, and missed a few of them.

Every tul was covered in detail - how each block and strike should be performed, and why it should be that way (a piece missing from many seminars I've taken), applications - not just one, but many, and how to engineer and reverse engineer movements to see how to use them, which body parts blocks block and strikes attack, and how to modify them for other uses - how to teach techniques to juniors (as we got higher up), how to continue to research and experiment techniques, a chance to ask questions, be the person who demonstrated (never do tuls with jumps with a sprained back... but I still learned a lot being the demonstrator for Chung Moo! )... As students reached the highest tul they knew, they were dismissed, although a fair number stayed to watch; as the size of the group shrank and the lower ranks were dismissed, the concepts became even more technical, and included more detail on how to teach as well as how to perform - have you ever seen this Far Side cartoon ?

That's about where I am now, mentally (okay, my head's not too small for my body - but you get the idea). I stuck a notepad and pencil in my dobok jacket because the information was coming too quickly to wait until breaks to go write it down; now I have 40 pages of notepad (one of the little ones, about 2 x 4 - but on both sides) that I have to go back, read through, and organize, both for my own practice/improvement and so I can teach my students things I've been missing or had forgotten.

Here's a picture of most of the participants.

 

[jfarnsworth]

Well, all in all sounds like a really good seminar. I love forms practice.

 

[terryl965]

Sounds like you had a great time.

 

[exile]

I would love to do something along those lines, someday... the idea of getting the reason explained for doing the form in `exactly this way' is so important to getting people to see the value of hyungs. I've encountered that kind of curiosity in kids learning their very first kichos—they're willing to go along with you and learn them as you teach them, but they really want to know why the form is done the way it is, and they make that pretty clear.

My problem with seminars is always retention. Everything makes perfect sense while I'm in the seminar, and by the time two days have gone by it's a total blur... so the notebook idea strikes me as a really good one. Someone should start manufacturing doboks with pockets large enough for a small notebook, eh?!

 

[Kacey]

I would love to do something along those lines, someday... the idea of getting the reason explained for doing the form in `exactly this way' is so important to getting people to see the value of hyungs. I've encountered that kind of curiosity in kids learning their very first kichos—they're willing to go along with you and learn them as you teach them, but they really want to know why the form is done the way it is, and they make that pretty clear.

Well, there's no one, absolute reason why anything is the way it is - the key is learning how to learn to apply the techniques in the tuls and learning why they are done the way they are done - there is an optimum way to perform any technique for maximum effect; for example, all blocks should be performed such that they hit perpendicular to the strike they are blocking, as a perpendicular (90 degree) angle at impact creates the greatest effect, while pressing blocks generally require that the defender remove the target (usually by pivoting), or they'll just deflect the attack to a different body part, or... I could go on, but I need to go through and organize my notes before I get things confused.

My problem with seminars is always retention. Everything makes perfect sense while I'm in the seminar, and by the time two days have gone by it's a total blur... so the notebook idea strikes me as a really good one. Someone should start manufacturing doboks with pockets large enough for a small notebook, eh?!

Well, Century makes pants with a back pocket, and one of the other participants had a notebook that fit in that pocket - but I just stuck mine in the front of my jacket and tucked it slightly under my belt from inside, so it wouldn't move too much... although it still fell out a couple of times.

This was the 3rd annual patterns seminar, and they've all been in Denver (yay!) - and I don't see them stopping any time soon (also yay!). My sahbum, who has taught all three, either as lead or assistant instructor, has an incredible amount of knowledge, not just of the tuls and techniques themselves, but of the theory behind them and how to use that theory to make them most effective, and there's just not time in class to go over everything in detail the way he did over this weekend seminar - there are so many things that get lost due to time constraints, or forgotten, or ignored, and so on - it's so great to have the time - and an instructor willing to spend the time - to go over tuls like this. He teaches all of this in class, although not always in such detail, but there's not time in class to write things down, and I always forget things by the time class ends that I want to put in my notes.

 

[Jai]

I miss days like those. Sounds like a great time!

 

[newGuy12]

Yes! What a good thing. I am going to leave my Kempo Teacher. I have decided that my personality craves to practice with a resistive partner, and to feel contact. The Kempo school that I have been going to does not agree with that.

I went to see the black belt that started the school -- he is the Master Instructor there (our GrandMaster passed). I prepaid for six months. Tomorrow is the first class for me there, and I'm ready to rock-n-roll. I will have to be sure not to pull anything, though, as I am still getting over the "couch potatoe weakness". Now, I say that to say this -- I am reviewing the TaeGuk forms online now -- what a day we live in.

I also have interest in investigating the forms at depth. Its something that interests me a lot. Not all schools teach these things. Sounds like a great resource you have with your Teacher!

There are resources that I have been made aware of through this board for learning about the techniques in the forms.

Hehe --> I have also been taught the ITF forms, a long time ago, and plan to review them and practice them as well!

And look at those students there, very much alive because of good practice, good health because they practice TKD! I love pictures like that!




Regards,

Robert

 

[exile]

Robert, best of luck in your quest for mastery in the MAs. There are limitless depths to these systems, so you'll never run out of new dimensions to explore—everything from the almost cerebral pleasures of working out bunkai for the hyungs and testing them out in realistic partner drills to the intensely physical satisfaction of a really hard, demanding workout, the kind where your dobok is pretty well soaked-through and you find yourself wishing for an oxygen bottle and breathing mask at the end of the session.

The great thing about patterns is that so many of these aspects are right there in them. They are in effect live training manuals for CQ defense techs, once you've learned the code that enables you to crack them; they're terrific exercise, if you make up your mind to do all of the forms you know in succession, and then start the cycle over again, and again... for an hour; and they are a grerat visualization test, because once you've worked out the combat application for each subpart of them, you can train yourself to picture yourself doing each technique against a real attacker, so that in practicing the performance, you wind up practicing the combative content at the same time. And forms can really stress things like your balance skills: instead of just throwing that sidekick and then sort of falling immediately into position for the next tech in the pattern sequence, freeze your leg in the high-mid kick fully extended position for a full five seconds or so and only then come down in the back stance, and go to the knifehand block movement or whatever.

I've found that a daily half-hour to hour-plus long forms workout is about the best investment in solo training time there is, for the benefits you derive in all these different respects. The great thing about the kind of seminar Kacey went to is that you get all this external input—great stuff that you very likely would never have worked out on your own, but which you can add to you store of MA knowledge and technique once it's pointed out to you (if you have the foresight to bring that notebook and can write everything down fast enough)...

 

[Miles]

Congratulations Kacey, sounds like it was a very nice seminar (and seminar series!).

Miles

 

[IcemanSK]

That does sound like a lot of fun. I'm glad you had fun & shared it with us!

 

[terryl965]

Kacey can you send me what and how you guy teach the application for Chon-Ji, you said yours is a little different than the video that was posted just courious as to how. Since must application really never change, maybe it was the way it was tought. Anyway just interested to hear that is all.

PS so glad you had fun.

 

[Kacey]

Kacey can you send me what and how you guy teach the application for Chon-Ji, you said yours is a little different than the video that was posted just courious as to how. Since must application really never change, maybe it was the way it was tought. Anyway just interested to hear that is all.

PS so glad you had fun.

Terry, I'd be happy to help, but I'm not quite sure what you're asking for. I didn't watch the video of Chon-ji - just Gae-Baek and Kwan-Gae, if it's the video I'm thinking of - in which case my primary concerns were with 2 things: the person was moving too fast, and his timing was off, as I said. If it's a different video than the one I'm thinking of, let me know - I'd love to help you, and I may be in Plano this December, visiting my mother - in which case I'm hoping to stop in and visit your dojang, but my plans aren't firmed up yet, and if I do go down to visit, then I'm going to have to talk her into letting me spend a class (hopefully several hours) at your dojang - in which case I'd love to spend time with you going over how things are different between what you were taught and what I was taught. I don't think the moves are different - it's the timing that's the key difference between the videos I watched linked from this post and the way I was taught to do tuls, but while that's easy to demonstrate, it's hard to put into writing.

 

[jim777]

I would LOVE to go to a patterns seminar! I love doing the hyungs, they are by far my favorite aspect of training. Sounds like an absolute blast!
I would have been dismissed at your seminar after Do-San, but I definitely would have stayed and taken notes. Wish I was a bit closer to Denver

jim

 

[KEritano]

It's been quite some time since I've attended a patterns seminar or even performed a pattern. I must admit, I've always enjoyed doing patterns and learning about their finer points.

Sounds like you had a great time ... even had a Master from another organization attend ... fantastic!

 

[terryl965]

Terry, I'd be happy to help, but I'm not quite sure what you're asking for. I didn't watch the video of Chon-ji - just Gae-Baek and Kwan-Gae, if it's the video I'm thinking of - in which case my primary concerns were with 2 things: the person was moving too fast, and his timing was off, as I said. If it's a different video than the one I'm thinking of, let me know - I'd love to help you, and I may be in Plano this December, visiting my mother - in which case I'm hoping to stop in and visit your dojang, but my plans aren't firmed up yet, and if I do go down to visit, then I'm going to have to talk her into letting me spend a class (hopefully several hours) at your dojang - in which case I'd love to spend time with you going over how things are different between what you were taught and what I was taught. I don't think the moves are different - it's the timing that's the key difference between the videos I watched linked from this post and the way I was taught to do tuls, but while that's easy to demonstrate, it's hard to put into writing.

Kacey over the years I have seen so many variation of the ITF forms that I would love to see yours. The seminar sounded great. That is why when people get together and have a great time and it is while they are doing patterns than I feel I missed something. I know it is kinda funny but I just a little jealous of you right now.

 

[Kacey]

Kacey over the years I have seen so many variation of the ITF forms that I would love to see yours. The seminar sounded great. That is why when people get together and have a great time and it is while they are doing patterns than I feel I missed something. I know it is kinda funny but I just a little jealous of you right now.

Honestly, Terry - I understand completely!

 

[newGuy12]

Oh, I think next year I might try to go to such a seminar, plan a vacation around it. It would be a good time!