Here are some of my thoughts;
Karate kata can be viewed as either block-punch-kick or alternative applications. Several founders of Karate Ryus have talked about this in their writings. I've mentioned before that Itosu Sensei was credited with re-labeling the Pinan katas to a b-p-k format in order for it to be allowed into the Okinawan school curriculum. Now, there is nothing wrong with the b-p-k method, and in many instances it is the simplest and most effective response to a violent altercation. It has been noted;
seasoned said:
What I have learned over the years is things sometimes never are what they appear to look like. Case in point are some of the basic high, middle, and low blocks. It is the movement that is important, not what it seems to be doing. Trying some of these blocks in sparring will prove a point very quickly. In GoJu all blocks can also be strikes, done the same way they are done in forms when assumed they were blocks. Also some of the open hand "blocks" are locks and traps, but still look and are taught as, "blocks" to the newer students.
Many different styles of Karate teach this methodology including the ones I took. Blocks can be and are strikes or have other applications. Furthering this thought, the father of TKD is Karate. Since Karate kata can serve a dual purpose i.e. b-p-k and alternative applications, I submit that to an extent, so can TKD forms. The founders of TKD, as I've pointed out in the past, were initially very low level practitioners themselves with at least on exception I'm aware of. Their levels of actual experience varied widely, but mostly they were of very low rank or even no rank. That is just history and not meant to down play their contribution to the establishment of TKD.
Many of the forms in certain Korean arts are simply renamed Okinawan kata. Again, just stating the obvious. However, to their credit, the Koreans did develop many forms of their own for the new art(s). My suggestion is that since Korean forms use many/most of the same movement patterns of Okinawan kata, and since Okinawan kata contains both b-p-k and alternative or more advanced applications, that Korean forms will also contain them to an extent. I do not believe the founders of TKD for the most part were experienced enough in their original training to have any appreciable amount of in-depth knowledge about more advanced applications. They in turn would not understand these principles for the most part when developing their own forms. As I've mentioned before, one can only teach what they've learned or researched or discovered for themselves. Some will point out that the creators of these forms suggest no deeper meanings, and they are correct. They would not have known, again for the most part, the deeper meanings of Okinawan kata and therefore not understood what was going into the forms they were creating. For example, if in an Okinawan kata a certain movement sequence contains a b-p-k and an advance application and that movement sequence is transplanted into a newly created Korean form, then it will have the same b-p-k and advanced applications even if only one is known and/or understood.
I see Okinawan kata as well-written and complete 'stories' so-to-speak. Conversely, I see Korean forms, as far as advanced applications, as somewhat choppy. In other words, most of the words are there but many of the sentences are somewhat broken, fragmentary or incomplete. This is because some/many of the Korean forms were put together with purely b-p-k in mind because the more advanced applications weren't known. Therefore some movement sequences were transplanted intact and some were altered to a lesser or greater extent to make the forms flow as far as b-p-k. However, imo, sometimes the flow of the b-p-k is questionable which, too me, lends credence to the existence of a more advanced application within the sequence.
For an example of what I mean, take a look at the opening sequence of the form in the video.
The practitioner is looking forward initially. As he begins the 'down block' he is also simultaneously looking towards his left. Why? If the attack is coming from the front, what is the attack? What will the 'down block' do to that incoming frontal attack? The follow up is a straight punch to mid-section height at a 90 degree angle to the starting position. If the attack was frontal, what did that 'down block' specifically do to the attacker to cause their body to move a full 90 degrees to the practitioner's left in order to be in position to receive that straight punch to mid-section height?
Or
If the attack is coming in from the left of the practitioner, how is he seeing what type of attack is coming? Peripheral vision? Possibly, but is that good enough to have already committed to a specific blocking strategy? Why is he turning into the attack rather than moving laterally away from it to a position of advantage or better defense? If indeed he was able to identify the mode of attack with peripheral vision, and respond to it simultaneously, is the 'down block' the best option? I can see a down block deflecting a straight kick, but it is a very poor choice against a kick coming in from the side i.e. the radial bone isn't a match against a shin bone unless you've done a LOT of hard body conditioning to your arms. Normally, TKD schools don't center on that type of arm conditioning. Certainly not to the degree of specific Karate Ryus (I know, I've done it). So the question becomes; is this really a b-p-k defense from either the front or side? Or are there better alternatives available using the movements indicated in the form?
Now take into account that writing this stuff may not be as effective as if we were all in a group and I was able to physically explain what I'm saying with a partner to assist. Hopefully I've done a sufficient enough job explaining it to get the point across? I'll come back later with some possible alternatives to offer, and I'd love to see others input on what they see as advanced applications. And to me this is the most interesting parts of forms/katas. They demonstrate more advanced principles and therefore give additional incentive for forms work. Rather than learning a form per colored belt, one could literally spend a year dissecting just one form for all of the nuggets it contains. If they were so inclined.
