Honoring the Pioneers of Taekwondo; Ro Byong Jik

A while back I started writing a series of posts on the pioneers of Taekwondo. So far I have written one on Lee Won Kuk who founded the Chung Do Kwan, Hwang Kee who founded the Moo Duk Kwan and a commentary on Choi Hong Hi`s Theory of Power (Choi Hon Hi co-founded the Oh Do Kwan). There is a great deal of material on these three individuals as they were important throughout Taekwondo`s history or maintained a great deal of followers after the Kwan-merger in the early 70s in Korea. I am not saying that Ro Byong Jik is not one of them, but I generally find less material on him and the school he founded (The Song Moo Kwan) when compared to the Oh Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan and the Chung Do Kwan and their founders. I want to contribute with one post here so people can learn a little more on this Taekwondo pioneer who was an important factor in early Taekwondo history.

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Micro Post; This months quote

This time I have picked a quote from a fellow Traditional Taekwondo exponent; Master Doug Cook. His books on Taekwondo are well written (allthough I never fully agree With what he Writes but then again that is not a bad thing since his writings makes me think) and he is indeed one of very few People out there writing about traditional Taekwondo these days when most books printed about Taekwondo focus primarily on basic techniques, poomsae and competition sparring he Writes about the "whys" of Taekwondo training, the philosophy and history behind the Martial Art. I thank him for his job With promoting traditional Taekwondo.

“The most difficult part ot traditional taekwondo is not learning
the first kick or punch. It is not struggling to remember the
motions of a poomsae or becoming aquainted with Korean culture.
Rather, it is taking the first step across the threshold of the dojang
door. This is where roads diverge, where choices are made that
will resonate throughout a lifetime.”
― Doug Cook, Taekwondo - A Path to Excellence

 

I do not have this book in my Library but his book; Taekwondo: Traditions, philosophy and technique comes highly reccomended (as long as you are not looking for a poomsae Applications book).



Micro post: Taegeuk Cipher DVD clip Taegeuk chil (7) Jang practical aplication

Hi there:-) This is the first real post of 2014 the first one being more of a "what do you want to see next" post. In the (so far only) reply the wish was for practical applications to our forms. I have written and shared quite a few of my own, but at the end of 2013 with the launch of the brilliant Taegeuk Cipher DVDs from Simon O`Neill he shared a few clips on Youtube from the DVD. He has done it again now this time with a puzzling sequence from Taegeuk Chil Jang. The application is almost (about 90%) the same as my own take on the same movement (I use it from a slightly different situation but the same mechanics apply).

I write "puzzling sequence" because from a dogmatic block, kick strike point of view this sequence makes very little sense if any at all. In my personal view the fact that there are so many instanes of the Taegeuk forms set that makes no sense from that point of view is one of the main points in favor of the belief I have that they were designed with more depth in them than what is usually said to be.

So with that being said, here is the clip itself:

2013 retrospect plus what would you like to read in 2014?

It is that time of year again. Time to sit back and see what 2013 brought and look forward to this years writing. I have allready had a survey (17 voters) on what People would like to read more about. The interest seemed to be

1. Historical articles/posts
2. Practical Application of Poomsae
3. Basic Techniques/Poomsae (Performance)
4. Philosophy (only 1 vote!)

I will try to keep philosophy out of my writings the next few months and focus on history, basics and practical Application of Poomsae. Allthough I never know where my writing takes me:p