From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #380 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Tues, 6 June 2000 Vol 07 : Num 380 In this issue: the_dojang: blocks vs. deflect the_dojang: Blocks and Pressure Points the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #379 the_dojang: Books on Tae Kwon Do (ITF) the_dojang: Thanks the_dojang: Re: Gallon Milk Jugs the_dojang: RE: General Choi the_dojang: lack of hand strikes the_dojang: Re: Hai Dong Gumdo Seminars the_dojang: Re: Juche again [none] ========================================================================= The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. 900 members strong! Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. 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To send e-mail to this list use the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and online search the last five years worth of digest issues at http://www.MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "mo :b" Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 09:32:56 EDT Subject: the_dojang: blocks vs. deflect in my dojang, we learn that instead of "blocking" an opponent's punch, we should "deflect" it. by deflecting an incoming punch, we deflect his or her power and flow into a joint lock/counter strike/whatever. instead of "blocking" person's energy and power we "deflect" it away from ourselves and use it against him or her (think speed throws or reversal-of-power moves). ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ From: "Burdick, Dakin Robert" Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 08:29:15 -0500 Subject: the_dojang: Blocks and Pressure Points Remember that the use of forms in t'aekwondo, whether they be the pyong-an, p'algwae, t'aeguk, or whatever, are ultimately there because t'aekwondo came from karate. Karate had forms, so t'aekwondo does too. Moreover, the pyong-an set are just the pinans, so anything George Dillman says about the pinans applies to the pyong-ans too. Ditto with the p'algwaes, which were based on the pyong-ans. Similarly, you can use Dillman's principles to interpret any form, and if it adds meaning to the form, then it is a good interpretation. For my part, I teach the various blocks (high, low, inward, outward, etc.) as strikes, locks and throws as much as I teach them as blocks. I prefer my students to strike rather than block, to take action rather than simply react. As for the pressure points, yes, these are taught in Korean systems as well as elsewhere. And that includes knockouts on the arms and elsewhere. But Dillman certainly deserves credit for popularizing pressure points and more sophisticated interpretations of the forms. Remember also that Oyata and others were doing this sort of thing before Dillman. Yours in the arts, Dakin Burdick burdickd@indiana.edu ------------------------------ From: LJSFLEM@aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 09:30:23 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Re: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #379 In a message dated 6/6/00 12:59:04 PM !!!First Boot!!!, the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com writes: << Tell your friend to stop deliberating and start training! >> Go for it!!! I began at 48 (female). L. Fleming Blue Belt ------------------------------ From: "OLDING, Kate" Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 15:31:58 +0100 Subject: the_dojang: Books on Tae Kwon Do (ITF) Hello I have started doing Tae Kwon Do and I would like to learn more about it. I am interested in the philosophy and culture behind it as well as the actual techniques so I was wondering if anyone could recommend a beginners level book. Thanks Kate ------------------------------ From: "John Oss" Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 10:42:36 -0400 Subject: the_dojang: Thanks Hello Digest Members! Thanks to everyone both on and off the digest for thier input on my query about nutrition for my Black Belt Weekend and encouragement. WOW! What a weekend. It was tougher than my military training (a number of years ago) but what a thrill to go through it. I can't thank my instructors enough for thier support and persistence towards my training as well as my family and friends for putting up with the extra time I spent away from home (running or in class) while training for this past weekend. Our Black Belt graduation ceremony went off without a hitch despite our aches, pains and fear of making a mistake in front of our friends and family despite my little son (15 months) crying when I began my musical form with a loud Kiya! I now look forward to my Saturday mornings when I can help out with the kid's classes at our Dojang. Thier energy and unique sense of humour always puts a smile my face. Thanks again. John P. Oss 1st Dan ITF TKD Scarborough ON, Canada Live & Let Run! ------------------------------ From: d.d.parker@juno.com Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 07:45:15 -0600 Subject: the_dojang: Re: Gallon Milk Jugs <> What an interesting idea Alain. That sounds like a very convenient adjustable weight that one can hold ones hands while I practice basics and forms. I think I am going to give it a try. Bravo! Daniel ------------------------------ From: HwarangTSD@aol.com Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 11:06:16 EDT Subject: the_dojang: RE: General Choi IMVHO martial arts exist for the betterment of our society now. Even the samurai held the idea that one should perfect himself and character through hard training. There are many of you that will think that this is oversimplification, which it is. I personally do not practice ITF Taekwondo, though I am familiar with it. The idea that we can condemn a man, whose mind and thoughts are not privvy to us, is ludicrous.Perhaps Choi, is an ideological prostitute. Or perhaps he realized that there was a problem there, in North Korea, and he was doing what he could to help. Remember, change is usually done in baby steps. Rather than spending time condeming someone else thoughts, and motives, to which we can only speculate anyhow, I think more time needs to be spent helping our troubled youth. Though I'm not a deeply religious man, I would like to end with this thought... even Jesus said, in defense of Mary Magdalene, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone". Sorry for the length, Tang Soo, Master Frank Clay ------------------------------ From: "Carl W" Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 09:19:58 MDT Subject: the_dojang: lack of hand strikes >I then have read & heard that this is a weakness in some Korean martial >arts >like Tae Kwon Do. Is this a true statement or just one special athlete >doing his thing ? > >McD... It may only be my impression, but when looking for a martial art (style) school for myself and daughter, most of the WTF TKD schools I visited put far greater emphasis on kicking techniques than hand techniques (in fact, if memory serves, I noticed most of the WTF school students sparring with their hands at their sides and\or much lower than I would have expected for defensive purposes). I also think that the WTF does not allow hand strikes to the face. On the other hand, the ITF TKD schools I visited did make more use of hand techniques, especially to the face. For my purposes, I felt that learning hand offensive strikes, as well as hand\arm defensive techniques, is of great relevance, especially in a self-defense or street situation. This is not meant to be one of those "my art vs your art" digs. It was just my observation at the time I was looking for a school. On another current thread, while our instructor does not say that there are no such things as blocks, he does emphasize that the purpose of a block is not to "block" but rather to disable the attacking tool of your opponent. Carl W. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ From: "Todd and Debi Deininger" Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 11:22:45 -0600 Subject: the_dojang: Re: Hai Dong Gumdo Seminars " They don't have an actual school here in the US. Master Park and Master Lee are traveling around the US teaching seminars to build interest for Hai Dong Gumdo here. " Scott, would you happen to have a list of seminar locations. I have a kenjutsu background and would love to see the similarities and the differences. Todd ------------------------------ From: Anders Torvill Bjorvand Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 20:46:05 +0200 Subject: the_dojang: Re: Juche again >Dave Steffen: > > However, isn't it just too obvious that he chose the personal > > philosophy of North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung as the name and > > philosophy for the pattern? > > It is not. Juche is defined as: > >"Juche is a philosophical idea that man is the master of everything >and decides everything, in other words, the idea that man is the >master of the world and his own destiny. It is said that this idea was >rooted in Baekdu Mountain which symbolizes the spirit of the Korean >people. The diagram represents Baekdu Mountain." > > (straight from the ITF web site) > > If, as others have said, Juche means "self reliance", that seems a > perfectly reasonable philosophy for a martial art to espouse. If, as > may be the case (I personally don't know squat about N. Korea), some > nut-case dictator latches on to that phrase, it doesn't change the > intended meaning. Mr. Steffens - it is clear to me that you have misunderstood this greatly. I will try to explain and document this once and for all: Juche is not a general philosophy that both Kim Il Sung and Gen. Choi happen to like. Juche philosophy was invented and introduced by Kim Il Sung in person. The harmless definition of it in the ITF encyclopedia is not the authoritative reference here - the authoritative reference is the guy who invented this philosophy and lead his country through it. Juche or self-reliance is the reason why Kim Il Sung refused to accept international support with foods, clothes and medicine - with the direct consequence that tens of thousands died of famine and disease. If juche was just another eastern philosophy that both Choi and Kim Il Sung happened to adopt, I would not see such a great problem either. However - this is not so. Juche is Kim Il Sung's toy and can not be viewed independent from in and the sufferings of the average North Korean. Adapting Juche as the name and philosophy of an otherwise splendid pattern is an insult to both the people of North Korea that suffer under Juche leadership and to ITF Taekwon-Do practitioners everywhere who don't know what regime of terror their pattern really symbolizes. If you don't take my word for it about the connection between Kim Il Sung and Juche, please look up the world's most respected encyclopedia - the Encyclopędia Britannica. I have found two useful references for you: http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/9/0,5716,46519+1+45457,00.html http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/3/0,5716,114853+1,00.html > > 2) This was done as a tactic to allow for ITF TKD being taught in > > North Korea. As you might know, all martial arts were forbidden > > prior to 2this. > > Nope. The ITF has been quite strong in North Korea forever. ;-) I've > met some of the high-ranked North Korean black belts. They're all, > without exception, A) exceptionally pleasant people, and B) > exceptionally awesome martial artists. ;-) I am no expert on North Korea, but untill Choi came along, I am pretty sure that martial arts were forbidden - several very uptodate taekwondoists have told me so. Officers of the North Korean defense might be an exception. Can anybody fill in on this? > > This makes ITF/Choi a an ideological prostitute. > > This is simply insulting. I won't dignify it with an answer. I like to call a shovel for a shovel. Let me rephrase: This makes ITF/Choi an ideological sell-out. It's so sad. Personally I prefer the ITF style of TKD, but I find especially the Juche thing just too hard to swallow. Sincerely, Anders Torvill Bjorvand ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 14:40:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [none] ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V7 #380 ******************************** It's a great day for Taekwondo! Support the USTU by joining today. US Taekwondo Union, 1 Olympic Plaza, Ste 405, Colorado Spgs, CO 80909 719-578-4632 FAX 719-578-4642 ustutkd1@aol.com http://www.ustu.com To unsubscribe from the_dojang-digest send the command: unsubscribe the_dojang-digest -or- unsubscribe the_dojang-digest your.old@address in the BODY of an email (top line, left justified) addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com. Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply.