Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2006 06:38:45 -0800 From: the_dojang-request@martialartsresource.net Subject: The_Dojang digest, Vol 13 #105 - 5 msgs X-Mailer: Mailman v2.0.13.cisto1 MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net Errors-To: the_dojang-admin@martialartsresource.net X-BeenThere: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.13.cisto1 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net X-Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net X-Subscribed-Address: kma@martialartsresource.com List-Id: The Internet's premier discussion forum on Korean Martial Arts. 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Copyright 1994-2006: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource The Internet's premier discussion forum devoted to Korean Martial Arts. 2,100 members. See the Korean Martial Arts (KMA) FAQ and the online search engine for back issues of The_Dojang at http://MartialArtsResource.com Pil Seung! Today's Topics: 1. article; TKD as a kicking art (Jye nigma) 2. article. cardinal rules of combat (Jye nigma) 3. Comment on Black Belt Retention (Dan Scholten) 4. Jungki Kwan Houston Seminar Series (Todd Miller) 5. Re: Black belt retention (Christopher Spiller) --__--__-- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2006 22:32:53 -0800 (PST) From: Jye nigma To: MartialArtsTalk@yahoogroups.com Subject: [The_Dojang] article; TKD as a kicking art Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net TAEKWONDO AS A KICKING ART The history of modern Taekwondo has been one of constant transition. Both WTF and ITF Taekwondo are very different from the arts taught in the original Kwans established in Korea in the 1940’s and ‘50’s. One of the major differences – and, indeed, the one that most clearly distinguishes Taekwondo from all other martial arts – is its emphasis on kicking, particularly high, spinning and jumping kicking techniques. The reasons for the shift from a style in which hand technique occupied a greater proportion of the syllabus to an art characterised by a considerable kicking content are numerous. In this month’s article our intention is to give a broad indication of how Taekwondo became the kicking art that it now is. ----------x---------- The origins of modern Taekwondo as a predominantly kicking style can be found, among other factors, in the Korean people’s innate enjoyment of the method. A large, vigorous people by Asian standards, their physique and temperament seem to lend themselves naturally to wide, sweeping circular movements and leaps. This tendency was embodied in Taekyon, a combative form first named as such in the early 19th Century. Korean historians often use the names of native martial arts somewhat loosely, but it seems probable that Taekyon developed from earlier unarmed combat methods known as Kwon Bop or Soo Bahk. While many portray Taekyon as an ancient warrior art, the limited historical evidence that is available suggests that it was essentially a recreational or tournament activity, in contrast to the other arts already mentioned. Bouts took place both informally, to settle disputes, or as part of organised youth festivals. Contestants would attempt to knock each other down using kicks, sweeps and throws. Wide, circular and spinning movements were favoured over linear techniques, and kicks to head level were assigned greater value than lower kicks. Taekyon was outlawed by the Japanese occupying authorities in the 1920’s and teaching of the art all but disappeared until a resurgence in the late 1950’s. Taekyon can be seen, however, as a kind of culmination of the preference for kicking technique in Korean martial arts. The high degree of acrobatic skill required for this method is also apparent in the numerous tales of warriors felling or killing outright adversaries on horseback, which abound in Korean military history, another indication that Korean fighters have always held kicking methods in high esteem. In fact, in the early- and mid-20th Century, Taekyon even enjoyed the dubious honour of being a preferred streetfighting method of thugs and gangsters. The need to defend against these kicks is quoted as one of the reasons why Choi Yong Sool, the precursor of modern Hapkido, began to incorporate kicking technique into the Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jutsu which he had learned in Japan. ----------x---------- An often overlooked aspect of Korean kicking tradition is its longstanding use as a martial art in the modern sense, that is, as a means of physical and spiritual development based on combative movements. The training necessary to become proficient in Taekyon and other arts with a substantial kicking content obviously required and promoted many of the qualities sought in modern martial arts training and physical education methods. Cardiovascular fitness, muscle tone, healthy joints, speed, strength, coordination, balance, flexibility, humility, perseverance, discipline and emotional control are all natural products of a strenuous training regime involving large amounts of kicking. Koreans have always used the physical exertion of combat systems to develop desirable traits in practitioners. The Hwarang, the flower of Korean youth, trained in empty hand martial arts presumably not due to their application on the battlefield, where weapons would render them all but useless, but for their educational benefits. Up to and during the Japanese occupation of Korea, Taekyon is thought to have been preserved by Buddhist monks, who must be assumed to have adopted it because of its positive effects on their own spiritual development. Taekwondo is taught in the modern Korean military, not as a combative method for wartime but in order to ensure physical fitness and instil the indomitable spirit into the soldiers. ----------x---------- All in all, acrobatic kicking skills are seen by Koreans as something particularly their own, an identifying mark for Korean martial arts and a source of national pride. Founding Taekwondo masters like Choi Hong Hee and Hwang Kee were keen to establish a link between their new art and Taekyon. Pioneers of American Taekwondo like Jhoon Rhee and Henry Cho included a wide range of high and jumping kicks in their syllabus, despite teaching what amounted – at least at first – to a “Koreanised” version of Japanese Karate. Modern Hapkido is considered to be derived from a combination of Choi Yong Sool’s Aiki-Jutsu with Taekyon kicking technique which Ji Han Jae (one of Choi’s main disciples) learned from a Buddhist monk, and credits itself with the popularisation of the 360ş wheel kick among others. Modern Taekwondo exhibitions, particularly those performed by Koreans, are largely based around seemingly impossible combinations of board-breaking kicks, delivered in the midst of multiple jumps, spins and somersaults. Spectacular kicking has become synonymous with the Korean arts, and this association has been actively sought by their practitioners. Modern Taekwondo’s emphasis on kicking is a direct result of the aforementioned factors. In the second half of the 20th Century the martial arts in general have undergone a transformation from the simple, unspectacular and often brutal self-protection systems of the past to the globally accepted and commercially attractive mass recreational disciplines of the present. Taekwondo has been especially forward-looking in this sense, remaining relatively unified in its goals (in comparison to other arts) and seeking international expansion and recognition as a bona fide sporting and educational method. Naturally, any such initiative requires distinguishing features in order to establish its own identity in the public eye. One of the ways in which Taekwondo was made to look less like Japanese Karate was to take advantage of the wealth of native Korean kicking technique, and to emphasise this aspect within the existing framework. With time, kicking grew in importance in competition Taekwondo and featured more heavily in the hyungs and pumses than in the older patterns. As a result of the growing popularity of the tournament sport in particular, a large part of regular training is taken up by kicking drills and physical conditioning to enhance kicking ability. This tendency has continued in the last 20 years or so to such an extent that Taekwondo – particularly the WTF variety, but also the ITF – could be said to have moved away from its origins as a self-defence system to become closer to Taekyon, the tournament activity in which contestants attempted to knock each other down with kicks. Taekwondo’s undeniable progress as an international sporting and artistic phenomenon has meant the inevitable loss of a significant part of its original practical self-defence content. One of Combat-TKD’s principal goals is the recovery of this lost tradition, while respecting the tremendous value of the modern kicking art. --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail Bring photos to life! New PhotoMail makes sharing a breeze. --__--__-- Message: 2 Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2006 22:42:54 -0800 (PST) From: Jye nigma To: MartialArtsTalk@yahoogroups.com Subject: [The_Dojang] article. cardinal rules of combat Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net The following article is based on the principles and techniques taught in the Armed and Dangerous Knife Defense DVD series. It is intended to give a brief overview of the central tenet of knife combat for the experienced martial artist. --------------------------------- Combat's Cardinal Rule by Hanho Sang H. Kim Many years have passed since I survived dozens of missions as a special agent while serving in the Korean military. Many missions involved combat, both with weapons and with fists. A few members of my elite 202 unit survived, many never made it. Looking back, I find something valuable for my friends who couldn't make it at the time. In the Academy for Special Agents at Jeong-Neung, Korea, my combat instructor T.K. Kim used to scream at us during the grueling knife-fighting training sessions, "Do not run away from your opponent, get closer to him! Dissolve the knife in your head!" I remember that most of my comrades who tried to run away from their enemies got killed. Those who got injured by choosing to stay closer, by following T.K. Kim's instruction, survived. The cardinal rule of combat, whether against a knife or an empty-handed adversary is "Stay close to your opponent!" Especially when your opponent is armed with a knife, there is often no way out but to stay close and fight. The keys for surviving in close quarters combat against a knife are: First, read the intent of your enemy. In combat, the enemy has only one motive, to eliminate you and obtain his objective. This often made the first assessment for me simple - there was not option to escape or placate my attackers. In civilian life, however, you must read your attackers intentions. Assess what he wants from you: your money, your car, your pride, your honor, your life - assailants have many motives for attacking their victims. If you can buy your way out of a situation, whether through material possessions or your wits, this is your best option. Do not hesitate to give the attacker if he wants if it means he will spare you injury. Second, assess the intensity of his hostility. Try to determine if your attacker means to hurt you or to kill you; if he will be satisfied by getting what he wants or if he is bent on violence for the sake of violence. Many times you might find yourself faced with an assailant that has no mercy and is bent on inflicting pain no matter how you respond to his demands. If you cannot escape and your attacker is intent on hurting you, you have no choice but to fight back with all your might. Third, acknowledge that you will get hurt. Once you commit to a defense against a knife-wielding attacker, you must accept that you will get hurt. Without overcoming this psychological hurdle, you cannot hope to survive. Accepting that you will get hurt, allows you let go of the notion that you must defend yourself perfectly. There is no perfect defense against a knife. Things will not go as you planned or practiced. You must be prepared to respond without prejudice or preconceptions, something you cannot due if you cling to the notion of a perfect defense. Fourth, do not try to intercept the knife. Focusing on the knife is the most deadly mistake you can make. The knife is simply an inanimate object. You place your focus on the stopping your attacker, not the inanimate object in his hand. Fifth, attack the forearm, shoulders, neck, and head. To defeat the knife, you must attack the limbs or if possible the intelligence that is controlling it. The most practical initial attack will be to the attacker's forearm (of the armed hand). The second most practical attack will be to upper arm or shoulder. Both of these targets will allow you to gain partial control of the knife wielding hand or at least to momentarily divert the attack. Your final goal should be an attack to the neck or head of the assailant to either control his body or render him unconscious. Sixth, cut in to the side or rear of the enemy. To attack the head or neck, you must bypass the knife. To do this you have to divert the attack with a looping, deflecting, parrying or cutting technique. Once past the knife, you should always move to the side or rear to take the attacker's balance and keep the knife as far from your body as possible. This is the stage where staying close becomes essential. Once you establish contact with the assailant's body, you have to stick to him like glue. Any space between you and your attacker works to his advantage, giving him space to maneuver the knife or take your balance. Seventh, destroy the central senses of the opponent. When you are in close, you should have access to the assailant's head or neck to apply a finishing technique. In combat, this is often a killing technique, using the assailant's weapon against him. For civilian's a lock, choke, or immobilization technique is suitable until help arrives. Simply put, to annihilate the opponent's intention to use the knife to kill you is the best tactic. When this first option is not possible, the second is to destroy the functionality of the weapon in the assailant's hand by attacking the forearm, shoulders, head or neck. In order to achieve this goal, you must stay close to get the chance to break into the enemy's vulnerability during the split second movement of the opponent's cutting or thrusting attack. When you retreat, you give your assailant space to advance continuously and drive you into the fatal psychological corner that magnifies your fear and desperation. --------------------------------- The above article is copyrighted by the author. All rights reserved. --------------------------------- Brings words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail. --__--__-- Message: 3 Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2006 00:06:33 -0900 From: Dan Scholten To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net Subject: [The_Dojang] Comment on Black Belt Retention Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net Here we go 1st Dan black belts quitting because they get bored or don't understand what black belt means. First I refuse to award a black belt to anyone who has not proven they are committed to life long service to the community, life long commitment to their personal training and the development of becoming a good teacher and coach eventually a Master. Even Jesus Christ said don't cast your pearls among swine. Being a MA instructor is about teaching the spirit not just the body. You must understand that a good instructor losses or shares part of his Chi or energy in order to teach any student, doing this for someone who is unworthy is a total waste of time and energy. They will always fall by the wayside, you weed these people out by Green belt or sooner. I am so fed up with people saying they are bored with kicks or blocks or this and that. The whole point is to free your self from the thought process of how many times you are doing a thing or that it is hard, to understand you never master or conquer a form or technique but they evolve as you mature and evolve. The blocks and movements to a form is sacred and should mean something to a person and this will carry them as they get older and can no longer do as the young boys once did. Forms will feed you, heal you and love you if you will put away your self indulgence and learn what they are really meant for. My master of 36 years just scolded me three years ago when he visited me in Barrow about never stop doing basic technique, blocks, punches ect. Because it is the foundation of what makes you strong and balance. He was singing to the choir on that one but I was not going to say anything. I understand that for many MA is an income but it still must be run traditionally and in the end will be more profitable with retention because you will have better committed students/converts to help you grow your family. A person who becomes healthy and happy due their training will want others to join and share. Kids in America are going strait to hell because they don't possess the basic life skills to take advantage of basic education let along higher learning. Parents lack the ability to tell their kids no or give them any real structure for development. It would be nice if they would grow some balls and at least make them train with a traditional master that could do that for them. Regarding retention: Things only have meaning related to what you pay for them, if you pay little it will have little meaning but if it cost you dearly then it will mean much, unfortunately this has been used as a basis for charging money and is not entirely the point. I tell my students they cannot buy what I know and must earn that by their doing their personal best. People who come and put our 50% or less or keep making the same mistakes over and over and don't really progress are stealing from me and the class by holding everyone back. We have a very good system that ties back to our GM's hand book with a personal student hand book that is like a diary that list what they should be learning for each level and keeps a record of dates and testing schedules. Next student instruction starts after yellow belt, multi tear teaching to develop assistant instructors and coaches. This way you can keep it interesting by having three or more levels of teach going on at the same time. Make them responsible for one or more people's training and progress. Developing a well rounded MA person with self defense, breaking, fighting, forms, history, culture, language ect. Will give them so much to do that they can never learn it all just in one style. My teacher once told me that you must never stop learning or you die. Give your 1st Dan's a goal to find and create another group of students in fact that is required to advance in rank. Look for Boys and Girls Club, YMCA or after school program, when they take their lumps teaching they will have more respect for you. Bring in outside material to keep it interesting and reward progress by allowing participation in higher level training such as Hapkido or Pressure Points, competition or travel. Get involved in grant writing for MA there are millions of dollars available for after school programs and desperate school officials looking for programs that will actually have students show up and effect their behavior and academic progress. The 21st Century Learning Grants for no child left behind was the first program to show quantitative data in some length over three years that the after school programs were having more effect on children's academic progress than in school classes. Because of No Child Left Behind Quotas principals are desperately looking for anything that works. We publish a Rank Request Form that every student under the age of 18 must have signed by every teacher and every parent/guardian that explains they must have demonstrated a marked improvement in behavior and progress at home and in school and to please make comments. If one teacher or subject is a problem they must negotiate a resolution or wait to test until it is resolved. I remember in 1972 when starting the journey for 1st Dan it took five years and the last six months was so hard you had to quit work for the last six months and train full time 8 hours six days a week. Even then 1st Dan was considered only completing the basics and that you should be able to teach them to others. 1st Dan was stepping on the path a beginning that does not end until you die!! Master Dan --__--__-- Message: 4 From: "Todd Miller" To: Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2006 06:01:00 -0500 Subject: [The_Dojang] Jungki Kwan Houston Seminar Series Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net The Jungki Kwan seminar series in Houston was a big success with a total of 28 participants! I want to thank Master White and all of his students for all their kindness while I was at their Iron Dragon Dojang. The attitude and entusiasm for learning the Jungki Martial Arts was very refreshing to me. I want to encourage you all to continue your hard training and persevere through all the pain and discomfort and I am sure that your result will be great. I want to thank Master White and Master Terry Ham for the nice gifts that they both gave to me. It was not expected but greatly appreciated. Again thank you all. Master Todd Miller Jungki Kwan International --__--__-- Message: 5 Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2006 06:17:05 -0800 (PST) From: Christopher Spiller To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net Subject: [The_Dojang] Re: Black belt retention Reply-To: the_dojang@martialartsresource.net We are considering adding > to our curriculum at 1st, > 2nd, and 3rd Dan. What do you do to retain black > belts in your schools? > > Gordon Okerstrom Does this mean that you don't currently have any additional material at dan levels? Or do you mean that you're simply considering expanding the curriculum you already have at those levels? When I achieved first dan there was a ton of new material to learn, same with 2nd, 3rd and 4th dan. Besides the new patterns at each level there are new hand techniques, new kicks, new ho sin sool techniques, strikes and kicks from a seated position, foot sparring, etc. I would add that all the new techniques are from Taekwon-Do, not from other arts that have been added in to "fill out" the curriculum. I have no problems with cross training, mind you, but it should be done to gain a specific skill set not covered (or not covered enough) in your core art, not simply to make things "interesting," imho. If I give up Taekwon-Do or become bored with it that certainly won't be as a result of needing *more* in the curriculum. Heck, I won't technically be done learning techniques until 6th dan (if I even make it that far). Taekwon, Chris __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com --__--__-- _______________________________________________ The_Dojang mailing list The_Dojang@martialartsresource.net http://martialartsresource.net/mailman/listinfo/the_dojang http://the-dojang.net Old digest issues @ ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com/pub/the_dojang Copyright 1994-2006: Ray Terry and http://MartialArtsResource.com Standard disclaimers apply. Remember September 11. End of The_Dojang Digest