Part 1: The evolution of Hwarang Hyung/Tul/Poomsae 1950s onward

Happy birthday Taekwondo (11th April 1955) I was careful to post at this day :-)

I recently got my certificate from the Oh Do Kwan and I am now a proud 3rd dan :-) Oh Do Kwan was one of the Kwan who merged to lay the foundations of Kukki Taekwondo, so I still do Taegeuk and Judanja Poomsae and use Kukkiwon movement standard, but I also picked up Chang Hon Ryu as I was told to do Gaebaek as well as Taebaek Poomsae as part of my grading. Being the kind of man that I am I did not want to pick up a single form without understanding it in context so I started with Chon-Ji Hyung and worked my way up. Hwarang Hyung however I did not need to study much to pick up because I already knew the framework so to speak. You see I am a history nerd (if you have read more than one post of this blog you should not be surprised by that) and Hwarang Hyung was THE FIRST Korean pattern made closely followed by Chung-Mu Hyung, U-Nam Hyung (a form discontinued before the 1965 book by Choi Hong Hi), Ul-Ji Hyung and Sam-Il Hyung (all presented in the very first taekwondo book published in 1959. 

Hwarang Hyung being the first and oldest Korean martial arts form (even the 8  Bbontae the Taekkyon forms are recent inventions using older techniques strung together according to my original teacher discussing Taekkyon history) made me look closely at it to understand the process or evolution from what was Karate into what we now call Taekwondo. It is said that Grandmaster Nam Tae Hi helped in the formation of Hwarang Tul (Source; Taekwondo, A Killing Art) which also intruiged me, knowing that he was a war hero who actually had to use his skills to survive. Any form where he had anything to do with would be a good one I thought (and I still do).

There have been many attempts at making Taekwondo something distinct from Karate and making new forms so they have their own instead of Karate Kata was a way many would take. Choi Hong Hi and the Oh Do Kwan were first with their Chang Hon Ryu, Chung Do Kwan made Kuk-Mu forms a little later where Kuk-Mu Hyung 1&2 are in Son Duk Sung and Robert J. Clark's 1968 book "Korean Karate, The Art Of Tae Kwon Do". Palgwae and the black belt forms series (Judanja Poomse) were made even later in 1965-67, and Taegeuk and the modern Koryo Poomsae were introduced even later in 1972. 

Many assume that the modern way ITF does their Tul (pattern) is the way it has always been, but looking at the different publications we see some clear changes here and there. Some blame the earlier publications being mistaken or unclear which was later corrected in newer publications, but this is a simplification of the facts. If you look at people doing the Chang Hon Ryu forms who broke away early from Choi Hong Hi you will see them doing things as described in the books and videos from the time they broke off. Videos from earlier times match the older publications showing that the books were largely correct but the forms themselves were changed over time (explaining the opening title of this post). 

I think we can look at the very first movement of Hwarang Hyung to illustrate this: 

After the ready position you step out with your left foot into jochum seogi riding stance (or sitting stance using ITF terminology) and do a "pushing block" with your left arm. I doubt any Taekwondoin (Taekwondo practisioner) practising Hwarang would argue that. But at what height do we do this "pushing block", in what direction? Since I brought this up you can already guess that something has happened in how we do this movement over the years.  

Movement 1 1959 (original? version)

In 1959 the first book written using the word Taekwondo was published the first movement is indeed a pushing block, but it moves inward and stops in front of the chin. The illustration shows this very clearly as do the text: 

(Translated by yours truly from Korean, I am not fluent so if anyone would like to do a better job I hope you will comment I have provided the original text in the above illustration for that purpose, take my translation with a grain of salt): "Movement 1: Move the left foot one step in direction A (refering to the forms movement line but it is to the left) into a riding stance (Choi uses the word "Kima" which means horseriding and is still used in Karate today as in Kiba dachi) and do a front/center-stop defensive technique. The hand should be about one foot(length) in front of the chin."

Above you can see the accompanying illustration for that move. Note how the Makki technique clearly moves inward toward the center line as well as forward. In modern Kukki taekwondo we would label this as eulgeul batangson an makki or high section inward palm block. Again the trajectory of the block in the illustration along with the text makes it pretty clear how it is suposed to be done. 

Below you can see a far newer rendition of the same movement, but here done from someone whose lineage broke off from Choi Hong Hi at a fairly early stage, therefore keeping the forms like they were at the break out point (more or less, there are differences such as each and every kick is done high etc)

The opening movement is more or less like the 1959 version (or original version if we dare call it that). It is still a forwards, but clearly toward the centerline (it even crosses it) and slightly lower than the 1959 illustration and text says. Many modern practisioners especially from ITF organisations will look at people doing it this way and saying they are inventing different ways to do a form, when in fact they are doing it as it was done when their master first learned it (before he broke away from Choi at some point). 

Movement 1 1965 (slightly evolved version)

In 1965 Choi Hong Hi wrote and published the very first English Taekwondo book (it is sad how downplayed he is in Kukki Taekwondo circles because he was an extremly important man when it comes to everything Taekwondo today). The forms in that book are still called "Hyung" (Kata in Japanese) but here the forms are much more text based, with very few illustrations. In Hwarang there are only two illustrations, one showing the scissors block or Gawi Makki near the end of the form and the other showcasing the stepping in and grabbing your hand movement just prior to the wrist release, side kick movement. So we have no illustration for the first movement of the form in the forms section. The text says quote from page 188:

"1. Move L. foot to "B" forming R. stance while executing a M.S. pushing block with the L. palm fist."

So there is no mention of the trajectory, and M.S. does mean middle section but that could be all the way up to and including the neck, so stopping the technique with the fingers in front of and at the height of the chin could be considered "correct" using that era of terminology (there are knife hand strikes to the neck which in this book are said to be middle section strikes, as a modern Kukki Taekwondo student a Middle section block using the palm would be delivered at solar plexus height at default). Each and every technique in the forms section can however be explored in the technique section of the book, so for this articles benefit below you can see all information the book contains on the pushing block.

Looking at the above illustration and especially the riding stance one (the one on the right) it seems as the pushing block is done more or less in a forward manner in this version closer to the modern way but still toward the centerline and at about shoulder height. In the illustration he is pressing the arm away close to the opponents shoulder joint (between the elbow and shoulder). This is as a side note an old Karate way of utilizing "blocks" as even Choki Motobu advises us to redirect the opponent limb further up the arm than what is often seen in later Karate texts and Taekwondo texts. 

Movement 1 1980s (modern version)

This version is the best documented version, and it is also how modern ITF organisations will perform the opening movement. The arm is more or less straight and at the shoulder level. The "blocking arm" comes straight out from the shoulder so it is well to the side of the centerline. Below you can see the famous ITF taekwondo master Suska doing the opening movement:

Ending thoughts to part 1:

I do not think any of these versions are better than the others, they are just different. In practical application you would need to adapt your technique to the situation you're in so it would never be perfect textbook example. We do need an exact yardstick on how to perform the movement in the Dojang though, what example or yardstick you'll use depends on what the master chooses. Up until now I have performed the technique like in modern version, but at the centerline, as most kukki taekwondo techniques are performed toward the centerline, that ended up as the natural thing to do for me. After researching this form deeper, and going back to the 1959 book I have been experimenting with a more 1959 version and I like that one too. For me personally since you move your left foot directly out to the side, I think that the technique should be done at centerline or perhaps in the 1959 versions case it might even cross the centerline a little. Doing it straight out from the shoulder it seems to me like you would miss the opponents arm alltogether, but this is my personal preference. One of the things forms teaches us and trains us in is the mind-body link. And the important factor in developing this is to have a set standard that you do each and every time. 

What version is the best depends entirely on the metrics you judge the versions againg, and the metrics will depend on what context you are putting the technique in. Is the most original version the best because it is the oldest and most true to the original intent of the creator (older = better context)? Is the most up to date version better because it represents the final evolution of the creators thoughts (newer = better)? What is the better version for defending against a straight punch (practical application context)? What is the most versatile version to use in combat in any matter you will see fit (pure movement and practical application in self defense and free no rules combative scenarios)? Which version is the most the most pleasing to the eyes (prettier is better context)? Which version will ensure you are not deducted points in forms competition (sportive context)? And so on. 

This was originally going to be just one blog post, but I think those who are interested in Hwarang Hyung/Tul/Poomsae might enjoy looking at movement 4 and 5 as well since they too have changed over the years. Seeing as there will be a lot of overlap into the Kukki Taekwondo Poomsae form Taebaek in the next two posts in this series I am confident that a few Kukki Taekwondoin will enjoy reading those too :-)