From: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: the_dojang-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: The_Dojang-Digest V7 #446 Reply-To: the_dojang@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: the_dojang-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: The_Dojang-Digest Wed, 5 July 2000 Vol 07 : Num 446 In this issue: the_dojang: Re: Breaking requirements the_dojang: Sparring with intra-ocular lens implants the_dojang: Over 30 years old the_dojang: Thank you the_dojang: knife question the_dojang: It's out there! the_dojang: . ========================================================================= The_Dojang, serving the Internet since June 1994. 955 members strong! Copyright 1994-2000: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe the_dojang-digest" (no quotes) in the body (top line, left justified) of a plain text e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. 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: Anders Torvill Bjorvand Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 18:09:05 +0200 Subject: the_dojang: Re: Breaking requirements >[Miguel Garcia] At Il-dan I expect a and technique through a block. As usual, the standard font on my system can't differentiate between a small l (l for lambda) and a capital I (I for Indigo). Did you mean the Hangul-numbered 1st dan or the roman-numbered 2nd dan? Then comes my real question: I am not a native english speaker and am unfamiliar with the concept of a block. I know what a brick and a roof tile is, but what is a block in this context - ie material and dimensions. Could you for instance compare it to something else when it comes to breaking difficulty? Sincerely, Anders Torvill Bjorvand ------------------------------ From: John McFee Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 17:06:22 -0600 (MDT) Subject: the_dojang: Sparring with intra-ocular lens implants Further to a query I made to the list a couple of weeks ago, is there anybody on the list who has intra-ocular lens implants (implanted replacement lenses for cataracts) and who spars, or knows of other people who do? Have you or they had any problems with them, regarding being hit? By way of background, my wife is a 1st Dan in ITF TKD who got the lenses a year ago. She hasn't sparred since then, although she trains regularly in everything else. We are trying to find out if it is safe to spar with them and if anyone has had good or bad experiences with them. Our main concern is her getting hit in the eye or head and dislodging a lens. Thanks Dr. John E. McFee Defence Research Establishment Suffield Box 4000, Medicine Hat, AB Canada T1A 8K6 (403) 544-4739 (voice) 544-4704 (fax) e-mail: John.McFee@dres.dnd.ca ------------------------------ From: "tats" Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2000 22:14:59 +0900 Subject: the_dojang: Over 30 years old I'm learning TKD now. I hurt my leg while working on the TKD. Still I feel pain after a few weeks. I don't know why that was happened. I guess getting old. Have you ever felt you got old? How do you care of your body? I know we should stretch the body before we exercise. But I do feel that it is getting different from that I was young. By the way, I am 31 years old. tats ------------------------------ From: "Michael Choi" Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 01:31:37 EDT Subject: the_dojang: Thank you I thank all of you who have replied to my post inquiring about Choi Jung Hwa and his conviction. This information is very helpful. Although such actions are demoralizing, it does not detract from ITF's curriculum. Hopefully, the continuing goodwill between North and South Korea will spill into Taekwondo and we will see a reconciliation between WTF & ITF. To all my Hapkido colleagues, don't worry, Hapkido is still "the bomb!" I'm training in hapkido every night. There's nothing like it. Although I wish I could spend more time training. Sincerely, Michael Choi ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ From: Andrew Pratt Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 15:05:08 +0900 Subject: the_dojang: knife question I have been catching up with some old dojangs. Back in April, David Stovall wrote: 'Personally, I don't like the form. It has little redeeming value whatsoever when it comes to imparting proper knife-fighting techniques and body mechanics. It utilizes mostly traditional stepping patterns (not a good idea to be rooted in a side stance during a knife fight), and the knife techniques themselves consist mainly of wide, arcing slashes. It's an interesting form, but almost totally devoid of any fighting context.' Is it possible to expand on this a bit. It has been obvious to me for some while that knife and sword techniques often lack something in the believability department. What is the correct way to stand when holding a knife and what is the best way to strike. Of course, I only ask this so that I can prepare good defences ;-) Thanks in advance, Andrew ------------------------------ From: Andrew Pratt Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 18:42:04 +0900 Subject: the_dojang: It's out there! The government has finally unleashed the new romanisation system onto a largely unsuspecting public. The KT had a nice table to explain the changes. The KT coverage seems better than the KH. If the new system has one saving grace it is that the planned capitalisation of every syllable did not make the light of day. Now that would have been horrendous! Now that the hard part is done, it is only the easy things left like: Changing all the road signs Changing all the station and airport signs Changing all the maps Changing all government documents Updating all tourist information boards ..and perhaps more importantly... Educating the international banking system of the new romanisation Educating the international logistics companies Educating the international airlines and travel agencies Educating the populace in general Changing everyone's names and company names (I don't kid you, that appears to be one of the aims!) Needless to say, this will all be accomplished by the time of the 2002 World Cup! New Romanization Confuses Public The consonants ?,?,? and ?are always transcribed as g, d, b and j except when they appear at the end of words, according to the finalized amendments to the Korean romanization system. So the present Pusan and Cheju must be changed to Busan and Jeju. Effective today, the revision of the McCune-Reischauer system for the romanization of the Korean language also eliminates two diacritical marks, the breve (V) and apostrophe. Under the new format, the breve mark, which has been used to differentiate the sound values of two vowels ``?'' and ``?,'' will disappear as the letters are represented as ``eo'' and ``eu.'' For example, the Korean alphabet Hangul is converted to ``Hangeul'' while the Korean word for mother is changed from the present ``omoni'' to ``eomeoni.'' Meanwhile, the previous practice that distinguishes the two different sounds of ``?'' as `s' and `sh' are set to be scrapped as the new policy dictates that `s' be used to represent both sounds. The sound ``?,'' which has been been noted as either ``oo'' or ``u'' will now always be represented as ``u.'' The current proper names of people, companies and associations can be used for the time being, until a standard format is developed for implementation. However, they are strongly encouraged to follow the new system, said Culture-Tourism Minister Park Jie-won during a press conference on the new romanization system at his ministry yesterday. In consideration of difficulties in adapting to the new system, the two formulas will be used together until February 2002. The government is set to change road signs and public notice boards in accordance with the new system by the end of 2005, the costs for which are estimated at 170 billion won. Shim Jae-kee, director of the National Academy of Korean Language (NAKL) which spearheaded the new formula, said the change is inevitable since Korea is becoming increasingly global and the need for more simple transcription methods is growing. Citing that diacritical marks not permitted in domain names for Internet sites, he claims the new system fits better with computer users. In November last year, the government made public a draft for the revision of the M-R system which has been in force since 1984, inviting a vortex of criticism from all walks of life, including foreigners living in Korea. Minister Park said the final amendments were made after some 20 public hearings and meetings. Despite government's complacency, the new system is expected to touch off another round of uproar and contentions again. The following is a feature article: New Romanization System Benefits No One In a move that is expected to stir another round of controversy, highly contentious amendments to the Korean Romanization system have been finalized, taking effect today. During a press conference at his ministry yesterday, Culture and Tourism Minister Park Jie-won said that updating the current system was necessary to correct the existing chaos by eliminating the cumbersome diacritical marks, and to accommodate a society increasingly entrenched in computers and the Internet. ``The new system is basically a compromise between phonetic and transliteral systems,'' he said. Drawn up by a six-member committee of the National Academy of the Korean Language, the proposed plan was the source of furious debate when it first went public last November. Critics, many of whom were foreigners, attacked the new draft as highly impractical and nationalistic in nature. Shim Jae-kee, the director of NAKL, claimed the purpose of the change is ``to present the true linguistic integrity and identity of the Korean language to the world.'' Since the criticism, NAKL said it has held some 20 rounds of public hearings on the issue. ``But in the end, we reached an agreement that there are no better alternatives to the new proposal,'' said Shim. However, it is doubtful whether the hearing process properly reflected the voice of foreigners in Korea, who will be the main users of the new system. When asked how specifically foreigners were involved in the process, Maeng Yong-jae, an official at the Culture and Tourism Ministry said, ``We invited some embassy officials at one time, and foreign press people at another, but apparently most were not interested in the issue since only few showed up at the hearings.'' His remarks evidenced that a number of foreigners in Korea, including language experts and longtime residents who vigorously issued their opinions in daily news papers like The Korea Herald, were ignored during the process. The latest move came as frustration to many who over past months have warned about problematic elements in the revision. They say the revision, which is intended to be more faithful to the sound values of Hangul, will only cause more confusion and inconvenience for foreigners, and even among locals. For example, under the new system, the consonants ?,?,?,and ?, which were represented as k, t, p, and ch at the beginning of words, are always transliterated into g, d, b and j, except when they come at the end of a word. This may ease the trouble of many Koreans who have difficulty grasping the reason why the same Korean letters should be noted differently according to its location in a word. But it ignores the fact that foreigners tend to feel more comfortable to use k rather than g in pronouncing ?at the start of a word like ? since the initial ?is voiceless. Besides, the`g' sound could lead to two different pronunciations, `g' and `j,' a factor that could become another source of confusion. Moreover, such changes will cause troubles not just among foreigners, but also locals. Most Koreans now feel more accustomed to spelling the essential Korean side dish as ``kimchi'' instead of ``gimchi,'' the southeastern city as ``Kimhae'' rather than ``Gimhae.'' Also, if the new system is applied to names of people, which the ministry said it will work on soon, surnames such as ``Kim'' are to change into ``Gim,'' and ``Park'' into ``Pak.'' What can happen then is that a grandson will have a surname different from his grandfather. The biggest irony is that, while the new formula claims to return to the Korean language the original sound values in its Latin transcription, it can work exactly the opposite. The new vowel transcription format is an example. According to the new system, ``eo'' is adopted for ``?,'' while ``o'' continues to represent ``?.'' Another Korean vowel, ``?,'' is replaced with ``eu'' instead of ``u'' and ``?'' is transcribed as ``u.'' And the results can be disastrous. For example, the Korean phrases ``There is not ---'' should be transliterated as ``eobs-eoss-seubnida.'' One would doubt whether this is closer to the original pronunciation, let alone simpler, than the current transcription of ``opssum-nida.'' As seen above, the new revision may not only stir immense confusion among non-native speakers of Korean, but also lead to another kind of distortion in the use of the Korean language within the international community. In fact, the latter point is where the new system loses most of its legitimacy, since the central idea of the scholars who created the new formula is to promote correct pronunciation of the Korean language by foreigners. Some say the current system is not perfect, but it is better than its replacement. Besides, the current McCune-Reischauer system is just taking root in Korean society since its adoption in 1984. The real issue, others say, is not so much which system to use but how to enforce consistent use of a system. Japan, for example, has stuck to one system for a long time and has been free from the sorts of hassles experienced in Korea. Greater consistency in romanizing Korean may be the key to helping foreigners have accurate information about Korea and to keep Korea on the right track for globalization. ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2000 6:53:04 PDT Subject: the_dojang: . ------------------------------ End of The_Dojang-Digest V7 #446 ******************************** 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.