Sharing some Quotes, Notes and other stuff Part 2

In part one we saw a lot of quotes on various topics of martial arts, and notes on a theory lecture of self defense. The presentation of this stuff might be a little disjointed but I am sure everyone who enjoy this blog can find something in these posts :-) As I explained the background of this series in Part 1 you can go there to read the intro there, in this Part 2 I will simply continue on where I left off. For those who do not bother reading the intro in Part 1 (I know you are out there :-P ) the things written here in cursive writing is taken from my notes while everything written in regular writing is my comments to provide a little context etc on it :-) So without further adu lets go straight into it:


First out is some notes I took when I was planning a Poomsae applications lecture in Traditional Taekwondo Union's Winter Camp in late January this year. I decided to keep the theory to a minimum and since I only had around 2 hours I decided to keep things on a technique based level. You might have read my series The ABC's of Practical Poomsae Applications which will give you an idea on the level that I taught from. In the Dojang I teach at regularly I give consistent dripps to the students so I can go much more indepth. Here I would get 2 hours and not see the students any more until next camp or seminar and there is no guarantee that I would teach at that point (I am a very low Dan rank in my org).

Theory:

-We break apart; Boonhae
-We analyse; Boonseok
-We find and train practical applications; Eungyoung

My 3 demands of an application (my core premise, theory cont)

1. Use the whole movement
2. There is just one opponent
3. Must be able to work in self defense or close quarter combat (no rules)

Common Taekwondo Basic Techniques:

Makki:
-Arae makki
-Momtong an makki
-Momtong bakkat makki
-Sonnal Geodeuro Makki
-Eulgeul Makki

Jireugi:
-Dangkineunson (pulling hand)
-Jomeok + other variations (open handed, standing fist etc)

Chigi:
-Maejomeok (an, bakkat, naryo)
-Sonnal
-Palkeup (Pyojeok chigi, ollyo chigi, dollyo chigi)

Chagi:
-Ap Chagi
-Yeop Chagi
-Moreup Chagi/Chigi

Poomsae applications technique based:

Arae Makki
-Release from wrist grab
-Takedown
-Armbar

Momtong An Makki
-Elbow hyper-extension
-Hammerfist strike
-"Defensive entry"with a hammerfist strike

Momtong Bakkat Makki
-Parry-Pass vs linear attack singular
-Parry-Pass vs 2 punch combo
-Parry-Pass with different follow ups depening on inside or outside of the opponent
-3 point drill to drill parry pass movement

Sonnal Geodeuro Makki
-Defense against haymaker
-How to deal with the opponents block if he bridges on the outside of your arm

Eulgeul Makki
-Forearm strike
-Parry-Pass to high
-Lapel grab defense 2 variations

Jireugi
-Striking point variations
-Applications/uses for the pulling hand

Palkeup
-Wristlock from Taegeuk Oh Jang
-Parry-Pass with various elbow follow ups
-low side kick, low inward kick with pyojeok palkeup chigi follow up

Chagi
-How to use the chamber and flow into the kick, front kick, side kick
-Overall role of kicks in poomsae

As you can see there was a whole ton of material to work with. Around 80% of the applications above was used in the training session. A few had to be cut for time. Unfortunatly there was not a lot of interest from many in the group, but there was a core within the group that was very interested. I think most people practising today do so without any focus on the practical applications. They have little to no interest in that area of study and simply want to excersise and have fun. Nothing wrong with that :-)

Next up is some notes I took from a theory lecture by my teacher Cho Woon Sup 9th Dan. I will provide the notes here, the ones participating will understand, the ones who simply read the blog will gain some insight but a few things might not make much sense (but most will I think). He held it in Norwegian so I am translating my notes here into English (Norwenglish)

Theory lecture by Master Cho 26/01-2019

-We train "Taekwondo"

-"Tae" means foot, the shape of the foot, the way we walk. Foot or the shape of the leg or Poom

-Kwon means hand, closed hand, punching, blocking, holding and grasping

-Do means thought mentality, spirit

- In ITF they call it Taekwon-Do, WT = Taekwondo. We do not seperate body and spirit as ITF with their hyphen does. "The Master" asks: Is your room and your house 2 things or 1?

-Training means we are walking a road, it is hard, difficult and dark as a tunnel. We need light to see, we need a torch, but we need a battery to gain the light. The instructor is the battery. 

-Master Cho started when he was 11 years old. As a white belt there was no formal training, only observing of the training and hard menial labour to gain acceptance. He and the other white belts kept the Dojang squecky clean (floor, walls, windows etc). He would clean the Dojang first, then sit down and observe the senior students. He would sit in formal kneeling posture for the entirety of the session, not moving, no speaking. Sometimes a seneior student would demonstrate a few basic techniques (horse stance, punch, blocks), but otherwise they would simply observe. 

The instructor would show up 5 minutes before the session started to change into the dobok. Everyone would have done their warm ups beforehand, because the session started straight away when the instructor was ready. The instructor would never do any warm ups with their students. There was no talking allowed, only Kihap. The Kihap in the formal sparring became the signals on when to start the attacks and when the attacker and defender was finished. No questions were allowed. You had the responsibility to learn yourself. There was no explanations given.

-Taekwondo philosophy is about love (love the next of kin, love for the fellow man). This has to be discovered through taekwondo training. Your own experience is the best one. Without hard training with the foot and hand with harmony you will never understand "Do". 

-"Do" might look beautiful, but is it the correct "Do"? Or is it like the plastic food that the resturants display that look good but really is plastic?

-The black belt means "Winter". The season is dark. We have to focus on the inner core of our beings, keep warm. We need to develop ourselves AND our school.

I hope you got something out of all of that. In the very least it contains some interesting observations on the training done in a traditional Ji Do Kwan Dojang in the early to mid 1960s. He has written about his early training in one of his older books. I will try and translate those paragraphs on a later date as I am sure people will find it very interesting.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - T. Roosevelt

Image Source

The above quote speaks a lot to me (which is why I wrote it down), but to give one example, think about all those who "wants to train" but have to wait until they (insert time, location or special equipment or clothes here). Just listen to the man and do what you can, with what you  have, where you are allready :-P

"You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing everything with logic. If words control you that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass." - Bruce Lee

If you know me you will know that I am a huge fan of Bruce Lee! A huge one I tell you :-P Remember back in part one of this sharing of notes series? In my notes of the self defense theory lecture I wrote that most of physical violence is based on "feelings". All physical violence based in feelings is illegal. So you think that Bruce Lee is simple saying to keep your cool, but he is actually saving you from a world of trouble when it comes to self defense ;-)

I will end part 2 here. We are now in early March 2019 in my notes so there is definitly more to come as I re-read them to reflect. I will only share martial arts related stuff here though, but I know theres more to come :-)