The Meaning of Chonkwon poomsae

puunui

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The 1975 Taekwondo poomsae textbook describes Chonkwon as
follows: "From ancient times, the Orientals have believed and
worshiped the sky as the ruler of the universe and of human beings.
Moreover, they have thought that the sky creates and controls
everything in nature. The infinitely vast sky may be a mysterious and
profound world of imagination in the eyes of finite human beings.
Poomse "Cheonkwon" is composed of the motions which are full of
piety and vitality as a man looks up at the sky from the earth,
reminding an eagle flying off toward the high sky."

The new Kukkiwon Textbook describes Chonkwon as follows:
"The word 'Chonkwon' means the Heaven's Great Mighty, which is
the origin of all the creature and itself the cosmos. Its infinite
competence signifies the creation, change and completion. Human
beings have used the name of Heaven for all principal earthly shapes
and meanings because they felt afraid of the Heaven's mighty. Over
9,000 years ago, the founder of the Korean people, "Hwanin",
was meant by the heavenly king. He settled down in the "heavenly"
town as the capital near the heavenly sea and heavenly mountain,
where the Han people as the heavenly race gave birth to the proper
thought and actions from which Taekwondo was originated. The
poomsae Chonkwon is based on such sublime history and thoughts. . .
. The characteristics of movements are large actions and arm actions
forming gentle curves, thus symbolizing the greatness of Chonkwon
thought. The poomsae line "T" symbolizes a man coming down from
the heaven, submitting to the will of Heaven, being endowed power
by the Heaven and worshiping the Heaven, which means the oneness
between the Heaven and a human being."

The 7th through 9th Dan levels are normally considered the ranks of
policy makers - those who make the decisions that ultimately shape
the direction and destiny of Taekwondo. This level of responsibility
requires that the practitioner have a "big picture" viewpoint, the
type that one would have if he or she were positioned in the sky, or
in heaven if you will. The large sweeping motions contained in the
poomse Chonkwon symbolizes the broad sweeping effects that
decision making on this level can have on the art.

Another way to look at Chonkwon is an acknowledgment to
Taekwondo's early roots and one of the major lineages that influenced
Taekwondo - GM YOON Byung In and his YMCA Kwon Bup Bu. GM Yoon was an
eclectic martial artist who studied in both China and Japan.
Similarly, the movements found in Chonkwon reflect such an influence
or background. Even the name of the form, Chonkwon, contains part of
GM Yoon's art name, the Kwon from Joo An Pa (Chuan Fa) Kwon Bup.

GM Yoon's work was carried on by the Chang Moo Kwan, through
GM LEE Nam Suk, and in the original Taekwondo Textbook, GM
KIM Soon Bae, another of GM Yoon's original students, is shown
demonstrating the form.

In addition to the poomsae Chonkwon, the Chang Moo Kwan's legacy and
influence is carried on through the World Taekwondo Federation's logo.
The Chang Moo Kwan's logo includes two horses up on their hind legs,
facing each other. This mirrors the WTF logo, which is two kickers
facing mirroring each other.

The Modern History book recognizes three leaders who were most
responsible for Taekwondo's development during the 1960's, when
the Yudanja poomsae were created -- Chang Moo Kwan GM LEE
Nam Suk, Chung Do Kwan GM UHM Woon Kyu, and Jidokwan
GM LEE Chong Woo. Given the philosophies of Hansu (water),
and Ilyo (Buddhist concept of oneness) is it difficult to figure out
who or what those poomsae are about?
 

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