In an earlier post I mentioned "The pillars of Taekwondo training". I defined them as Basic techniques, Forms training, sparring, self defense and breaking.(The post I am reffering to can be read by clicking here:)This has long been the format of what is usually labeled "Traditional Taekwondo" and I thought that I should write a little more indepth about each "pillar" this time. In this the fourth part of this rant I will look closer on what many consider "the fourth pillar" of Taekwondo training namely Ho Sin Sul (self defense). I would recomend readers to go through this series in the order they came out. Click here to go to part one (basics), click here to go to part two(Poomsae), click here for part three (Sparring).
Sunday, 25 December 2011
The Pillars of Taekwondo training part four; Ho Sin Sul
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
What was old hard style TKD like?
I often get the question of how old hard style Taekwondo was like. This is a good question and I must say it is very difficult to have an accurate answer to it. You see old hard style Taekwondo was formed in several different schools. The different schools had their simularities but also differenses. For a quick guide to see when the schools opened and who founded them see my Taekwondos Karate roots post. I also had a post titled Taekwondo time travel that featured old style Taekwondo. Because of the number of schools involved and their differenses I have to talk generally here. The other problem is that old hard style taekwondo can be many things. In this post I will focus on the striking art as taught in Korea in the 40s-60s.
Friday, 16 December 2011
The Pillars of Taekwondo training Part Three; Sparring
In an earlier post I mentioned "The pillars of Taekwondo training". I defined them as Basic techniques, Forms training, sparring, self defense and breaking.(The post I am reffering to can be read by clicking here:)This has long been the format of what is usually labeled "Traditional Taekwondo" and I thought that I should write a little more indepth about each "pillar" this time. In this the third part of this rant I will look closer on what many consider "the third pillar" of Taekwondo training namely Sparring. I would recomend readers to go through this series in the order they came out. Click here to go to part one (Basics), and here to read part two (forms/poomsae).
Friday, 9 December 2011
Part Four; A Dan Promotion Test in 1962
Ok ready for the fourth and last part of this series? We have seen the requirements for 1-4th Dan. This time lets see what the students had to do for their 5th Dan. If you are wondering about the background for this post and its source please read through it in order:-)
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Part Three; A Dan Promotion Test in 1962
In my previous posts regarding the requirements for Dan Promotion in 1962 I covered the forms required for 1st to 3rd Dan. This post contiues from part two. As such we are now going to step into the Taekwondo Time machine and see what forms were required for Dan promotion for 4th Dan in 1962. Here is a video from Youtube (please leave a comment if the link dies) with early Korean Taekwondo students doing Heian/Pinan/Pyungahn 2 (the last half at least) and whole number 5. Enjoy
Friday, 2 December 2011
Part Two: A Dan Promotion test in 1962
In the last post I showed what the students had to do to reach their 1. Dan and 2. Dan in 1962. I started listing all the forms they had to do and I found it interesting that there were so many forms to choose from. Maybe it was not so strange after all beacuse the forms on this test was collected so that the students from each Kwan could choose a form he was familiar with. One thing that was interesting however was that there were three names for the Naihanchi form (see my last post). I guess there were three names because the different schools had different versions of the same form. For instance if someone would say that they were about to show me the Naihanchi form I would expect any of its variations accross all the Karate styles, while if someone said they wanted to show me the Tekki form I would expect the Shotokan version as they are the only school using the term. In this post I will continue with the forms list and try to give video examples from the forms as well as little on their background information.
Friday, 25 November 2011
Part One: A Dan Promotion test in 1962
Have you ever wondered how a black belt test was in the old hard style Taekwondo? Would it not be great to go back in time and see what the students had to to get their next Dan rank? I know I would love to do that, but unfortunatly we do not have the technology yet. I do however have some idea of how it all went down after reading a little of "A Modern History of Taekwondo" by Kang and Lee. You see this wonderfull book contains a great part on the Dan tests of old. Hong Jong Pyo kept the paperwork after the first promotion test that the Kwans did together in 1962 and Kang and Lee used his paperwork and testemony to show their readers how the test was conducted.
Monday, 21 November 2011
Hyung, Tul, Poomse, Poomsae, whats the difference??
Pyongahn Hyung |
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
A combative study of the "forkshaped punch/Chetdari jireugi"
Chetdari jireugi anno 1986 |
Thursday, 10 November 2011
How old is Taekwondo??
Koogoryo toomb paintings often seen as evidence of Taekwondo`s existance thousands of years ago |
Friday, 4 November 2011
The Pillars of Taekwondo Training Part Two; Poomsae/Patterns
In an earlier post I mentioned "The pillars of Taekwondo training". I defined them as Basic techniques, Forms training, sparring, self defense and breaking.(The post I am reffering to can be read by clicking here:)This has long been the format of what is usually labeled "Traditional Taekwondo" and I thought that I should write a little more indepth about each "pillar" this time. In this the second part of this rant I will look closer on what many consider "the second pillar" of Taekwondo training namely Poomsae. Part one was about basic techniques and it can be read by clicking here
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Whats the fuzz about stances anyway?
The "horse stance". Perhaps South east Asian martial arts most famous stance? |
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Learning by teaching
In many years now I have been teaching Taekwondo as well as studying it. I have found that one of the best ways to learn Taekwondo is by teaching it. And many of my most important "learnings" has come by teaching kids.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
The Pillars of Taekwondo Training Part One; "Basic Techniques"
In an earlier post I mentioned "The pillars of Taekwondo training". I defined them as Basic techniques, Forms training, sparring, self defense and breaking.(The post I am reffering to can be read by clicking here:)This has long been the format of what is usually labeled "Traditional Taekwondo" and I thought that I should write a little more indepth about each "pillar" this time. In this the first part in this rant I will look closer on the first one (and many will undoubtfully say the most boring one:-p ) namely "Basic Techniques".
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
Get some function in your form!
The famous "Crane Technique". "When done right no can defend" (Quote from the film) |
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Muyedobotongji The oldest KMA manual part 2
Enjoy:
This is part two of the article regarding Korean martial arts`s oldest manual. If you have not read part one yet I strongly suggest that you read that first before starting to read this part:) It can be read by clicking here
There are a great deal of myths and misconceptions regarding this book and one of the most common is that the unarmed fighting section shows Taekwondo (or insert your KMA here) and is therefore evidence of Taekwondo (or insert your KMA here) being an ancient fighting art.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Muyedobotongji The oldest KMA manual.
Part one
Muyedobotongji (Muye Dobo Tongji) is a martial arts manual dating back to 1791 and is the Korean martial arts answer to Karate`s Bubishi. I wrote an article about the manual called "Debunking the Muye Dobo Tongji" and it was published in Totally Taekwondo Magazine issue 2. In the article I explain the history of the manual (its sources are much older than 1790s), the motivations of writing the manual, the sources of the manual, how it has affected modern KMA, what the manual contains and shedding some light on the myths and misconceptions sourrounding the manual. It is a long article so I have divided it in two parts.
Illustration on unarmed fighting from the manual |
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Strategy and tactics. Whats the difference???
This is an article that I wrote a while back for Totally Taekwondo Magazine. I have included it here on my blog since I think that to have a clear understanding of what strategy and tactics really are can be helpfull for the Taekwondoin ("in" means people or person in Korean) This is especially true for teaching of Ho Shin Sul (Self defense). After reading this article try and ask yourself if you are an instructor: "Do I teach my martial arts strategy to my students or do I teach them a bunch of tactics?" And if you are a student: "Do I learn to master my martial arts strategy or do I learn a bunch of tactics??" A seperate post on what I think Taekwondo`s strategy is will be covered in the future:)
Friday, 30 September 2011
"Teacher I know all the Poomsae in our system! What now??"
"Teacher I know all the Poomsae in our system! What now??" I was asked this by one of my students once. He had on his own studied all the Kukkiwon sanctioned Poomsae by training with senior students and with the great grand master You Tu be. I asked him if he could perform all the poomsae, and he proudly answered yes. Great I said. Now you are a chef who have memorised all the recipies in a coock book, but you are still starving because you have no idea as to how to actually make the food, or what the ingridients in the recipie are for.
(This is not the student in the story) |
"Teacher I know all the Poomsae in our system! What now??" I was asked this by one of my students once. He had on his own studied all the Kukkiwon sanctioned Poomsae by training with senior students and with the great grand master You Tu be. I asked him if he could perform all the poomsae, and he proudly answered yes. Great I said. Now you are a chef who have memorised all the recipies in a coock book, but you are still starving because you have no idea as to how to actually make the food, or what the ingridients in the recipie are for.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Funny Taekwondo videos
In the Traditional Taekwondo world people always seem very serious about their studies and many never jokes or have fun about their training. I am not one of those as I find humor very important:) If you can not step out of the "Traditional Martial Art box", look back in (while you are on the outside) and laugh a little then you will find little or no joy in training. With this in mind I thought that I could share a couple of videos I found on Master Youtube with all of you. Bear in mind that these are not my movies, and that they are meant to be humorous. So if you do not think martial arts is a little funny then do not press the "read more button":) To all the rest: Watch these (and if you share my sense of humour) laugh a little:-D
Friday, 23 September 2011
Taekwondo Time Travel.
Would it not be great to see what "original" Taekwondo was like (if there ever was something we could call "original Taekwondo"?) Fighting has been around since humanbeings came into existence, so it is very difficult to say what original Taekwondo is. If we say that "original Taekwondo" is the striking art(s) taught in the old Kwan (schools) of the 40s and 50s in Korea then we can look at some old video footage from the 50s and 60s and get a glimpse of what the art of the old schools were like. These videos are rare and far between, and there is very little to find on the internet. I bet that as more and more people (re)discover footage and share them on the interent that more and more will be available. To save you from a lot of trouble I have asked Grandmaster Yu Tu Be and I got a few good hits from him. So here we go:
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
A closer look at Poomsae training part two
Application from Taegeuk Yuk (6) Jang. Notice how the "pulling hand" is used to hinder the oponents defense. |
This is the 2nd part of an article I wrote for a Taekwondo magazine. Please read part 1 before reading this part. Part one can be read by clicking here. It is still a work in progress, but I think the readers of this blog will find it interesting:) So without further adu here is part two:
Part 2
Surrounding the Poomsae there are many myths as of why we practise, and what we can acchieve with the training. One of the strongest myths and one I want to put to rest first is the myth that if you are good at Poomsae you are good at fighting/sparring/self defense. Part 2
Saturday, 17 September 2011
A closer look at Poomsae training.
This is part one in an article I wrote for a Taekwondo magazine. It is still a work in progress, but I think the readers of this blog will find it interesting:) So without further adu here is part one:
Author being explained the finer points of the long front stance (apkubi) |
A closer look at Poomsae training:
(By Oerjan Nilsen)
In this article I want to discuss what Poomsae training can do for the Taekwondo students and what it can not. I want to put some of the more common myths to rest and try to shed some light on this controversial and often missunderstood part of our training. To acchieve this we first must define what Poomsae or "patterns" are.
Label disease
Start thinking outside the "box" |
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Where is the interest in Poomsae applications?
Searching the internet for information regarding practical applications for the Taekwondo patterns I study, I am always suprised as to where the information is. All I can find is a big roaring silence. I can find a wealth of information regarding Karate and Quan Fa applications and their history, theories, etc etc, but I can not find anything on Taekwondo. Why is this? Are practisioners of Taekwondo less interested in pattern applications, grappling and vital points applications than their Karate and Quan Fa counterparts?
Thursday, 8 September 2011
The hand on the hip? Why?
If you practise a traditional martial art of Asian origin that focus on striking, chances are that you do some kind of "form" in practise. Prearranged motions strung together into a set series of techniques performed alone. Karate has Kata, Quan Fa (or Kung Fu) has its Quan, and Taekwondo and the other Korean striking arts have Hyung, Tul or Poomsae. One distinct feature in these forms are that the performer will sometimes do techniques with one hand while the other goes back to the hip. Why on earth would anyone do this in a fight? It leaves the head wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open to (counter)attack? Does it not?
If you are one of the people who are wondering why we pull one hand to our hip and you are tired of lame explanations ("It is tradition, now stop asking questions!!!", Because (insert pseudo science answer here) ... ", "more power" etc) then read more:)
If you are one of the people who are wondering why we pull one hand to our hip and you are tired of lame explanations ("It is tradition, now stop asking questions!!!", Because (insert pseudo science answer here) ... ", "more power" etc) then read more:)
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Please read this: Stop with the basterised bowing!
NO NO NO.... WRONG... Do not look at each other... |
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Another long lost form: Chulgi hyung
This time I would like to share with you another form that used to be practised widely in the Taekwondo comunity but wich is now almost dissapeared in Taekwondo practise. Before we had the Chang Hon forms (these are now practised by ITF or ITF derived Taekwon-Do schools), the Plagwae forms (These are now practised by a small part of the WTF/Kukkiwon derived schools) and the Taegeuk and black belt forms (Now practised in all the main stream WTF/Kukkiwon derived schools) we had the old Hyung that the founders of Taekwondo brought from outside sources and "borrowed" to form Taekwondo.
Friday, 2 September 2011
Taekwondo`s Karate roots
In these modern times most main stream texts regarding Taekwondo history maintains the wrong view that Taekwondo is a 2000 (sometimes its even said 5000 years) old native Korean martial art. This is probably due to the nationalist feelings in Korea after the Korean liberation from Japanese rule after world war 2. But is this the true story? I think not. At least not the whole story. Now in this post I will reveal the martial roots of the founders in the original Kwan`s.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
What is "Traditional" Taekwondo?
What is traditional Taekwondo? This is something I have struggled with for a long time. The thing that is truest to say for tradition in Taekwondo is Taekwondos tradition for change. Think about it a little. In 1944 Chung Do Kwan opened its doors in Seoul Korea and the first Kwan of what was to become Taekwondo was opened. Other Kwan followed in the years after the Japanese occupation ended and before and after the Korean war.
Are there practical applications in our forms???
Funakoshi demonstrating a throw. This is from a Japanese source so look at it from right to left:) This is an application from Empi Kata |
Friday, 26 August 2011
Koryo the lost form of Taekwondo?
In my history studdies regarding Taekwondo and its evolution of poomsae I learned something very interesting (at least it is very interesting to me:-p ). In the 1960s what was to become the KTA (Korean Taekwondo Assosiation) started developing the Palgwe forms series as well as the Black belt poomsae series we use today. In the early to mid 70s however the Palgwe form set was replaced by the Taegeuk form set. Poomsae Koryo was also replaced by a "new" version which is taught to the vast majority of WTF/Kukkiwon affiliated Dojang around the world. For some reason the Palgwe poomsae survived to a great extent since many people used them as additional poomsae to the Taegeuk, but the original 60s version of Koryo seemed lost in the sands of time.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
How many poomsae do you know? Part 2
Could this be one intrepretation for the move in part one?? |
This is the 2nd part of two parts. Part one can be read by clicking here.
In my last posting I wrote a little about what it means to actually know a poomsae. I wrote that it was a lot more about your knowledge of how to apply poomsae movements and principles in self defense and combat than your performence of the patterns. The performance part does have its purpose, but it is not the end of poomsae practise.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
How many poomsae do you know?
What is the most practical meaning for this move?? |
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