|  Author | Topic: Chang Hon: Choong-gun (Read 2,577 times) |
Colin Wee
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|  | Chang Hon: Choong-gun
« Thread Started on Mar 1, 2004, 5:14pm » | |
“A Korean patriot who assassinated the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea” (http://www.itatkd.com/pattern_joonggun.html).
According to Breen, “In 1905, the Japanese army occupied Korea. Ostensibly, they were “rescuing” Korea from the French and Russian troops which had entered northern Korea during the turmoil in Asia surrounding the Boxer Rebellion in China at the start of the century. However, their ulterior motive was the use of Korea as a stepping stone for their subsequent imperialist expansion into China and Manchuria. Hirobumi Ito, a Japanese elder statesman, forced the Korean Government to sign a “Protectorate Treaty”, inviting
Japanese forces to remain. However, this did not reflect the wishes of the Korean populace. Ahn Joong-Gun left Korea for southern Manchuria, where he formed a guerilla army, raiding across the border to harass the Japanese. The success of this and similar groups provoked a Japanese military response in the Kando region of northern Korea, where many of the raids took place, and eventually the Japanese sold the region to China. It was this action, of selling off part of his country, that drove Joong-Gun to his plan of assassinating the Governor-General. When Joong-Gun shot Ito at a train station in 1909, he did so in the full knowledge that certain capture, torture, and death awaited him. It is said that throughout five months of vicious torture preceding his execution, his spirit never broke” (2001 p11).
Choong-gun is immediately about tenacity, bravery, and commitment. However, aside from the qualities the form alludes to, Choong-gun is about perseverance and self-application in the face of oppression and physical restriction. Choong-gun knew he was going to get captured. He knew he was going to be imprisoned. The form essentially has to reflect such confines, and the fighter needs to reflect on the manner of obstruction whilst in a physical encounter. Striking arms and legs are obstruction, grappling is a form of obstruction, the surroundings can be a form of obstruction. So a study of combative maneuvers is part of successful preparation.
Similarly in the idea of distances, Choong-gun also provokes one to think about the interplay between distance and reach. Distance being the physical separation between you and your opponent, and reach being how much you need to stretch or extend in order to deliver the correct force on your opponent.
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Colin Wee
Executive Curator
5th Dan
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Location: Perth, Western Australia
| | Re: Choong-gun
« Reply #1 on Nov 18, 2005, 10:52am » | |
Choong-gun reminds me of a time when I participated in a brown belt grading - I was to help make up the numbers so that the brown belts could do multiple opponent sparring. It was me and another candidate against this other candidate. And then there was the switch. The last bit was both brown belts against me. I wasn't too happy about it because I had just come back to training after 5 weeks off because of shingles - a nasty nerve afflicting disease. Anyways, here I am in front of these two very determined gentlemen and the first thing I do is literally reach out to the brown belter on my left and grabbed a chunk of his hair (step 1 - mid ridge hand block into grab). I pull him in front of my as a shield and do a palm strike (step 3) to his head a few times while making sure he is between me and the other brown belt. Then I knee him in the chest and immediately extend a front kick into his groin (step 2) in the same motion. Pushing him off I then engage the other candidate - one on one.
Choong-gun opens in a real tight inverted ridge hand with open palm strike and front snap kick just like how I dealt with the first brown belt guy who was bent over in front of me. It's really close-in fighting and makes you feel that you're not using this against a person towering over you. Traditionally the bunkai seems to be done on an extended arm, but like I demonstrated above, it works better when you go for the hair grab! If this is close in fighting, the user should try to fold for the block in step 1 providing as much coverage with the arms and elbows. This fold is done as high as possible as strikes to the head at that proximity is highly likely.
Re: Power Generation. From the Yul-guk, the last kata, step 3 and any other technique that gets you standing still or moving in a small step or twisting left to right should demonstrate the hip twist motion. This form demands that we understand the closeness of the opponent.
Doing the techniques again on the other side then you go into again a close range shuto-upward elbow strike. I personally like it that the shuto ends with a grab then the elbow strike is done (step 8) - advocating that this is indeed a strike rather than a block to the side of the head. Then a rather bizarre set of two double punches (step 11-12). I don't like double punches and never had any use for them, so think this move is more of a release from a bear hug or double wrist/arm grab from behind. Such a move is like the initial part of the sankyo (wrist turn in lock) we do ... and it sends the opponent's arms out and over your shoulders. If you change the angle of the forward motion, the two double punches actually apply the sankyo nicely. But that's really stretching what it may be. If we take the meaning or app from Bassai, such a double move could be a take down done by first controlling the attacker's shoulders (add a headbutt when necessary) then going down behind his knees and yanking upwards. The guy should land uncomfortably on his neck.
Anyway, the hands are then crossed, you turn into an upward X block. The X block is another nice and understated technique that allows you to cover your head and neck region from aggressive in-fighting strikes. This is especially useful if you're bent over like how you had your opponent in steps 1-3.
Then an inside forearm block outward into upset punch and high reverse punch (Step 14-16). This I like to envision as an arm lock - someone has grabbed your elbow or shoulder and you turn your arm outside the grab and under. This locks the guy painfully, opening up for a face/neck/rib punch using the other hand. Do again on the other side then proceed with augmented double block in forebalance.
(Step 20-21) Double forearm block in forward stance, chamber left fist, pull back left leg sticking out right reaction hand, go into horse stance and side punch. Is the double forearm block the most ridiculous technique you have to do? Perhaps. Let's work this out as an attack to an opponent who is side on to you, with left leg closest. Opponent strikes or extends left hand. Step forward with left leg - this gets you to move off the line slightly. Double augmented block is a backfist or inverted punch to face while right fist deflects the striking arm and grabs onto mid point of sleeve. This is done in a forward stance. THe opponent reacts either raising hands to cover or reeling back from the strike. Apply pull back tension with right reaction hand while pulling left leg back. The opponent should come forward slightly and have his weight on left foot. THen slide into horse stance and apply a foot stomp on opponent's leading foot. The left hand shoots out in a punch to opponent's mid section while right hand pulls back to your hip. The opponent should fall where he is.
Side punch in horse, grab, sidekick, repeat, than shuto and twin pressing block (steps 25-27). The shuto and twin pressing block - a possible interpretation of this (not the best fit) is that you've got an assailant in front of you holding a knife to your chest. Both hands come up in a 'surrender' gesture (that's your left hand shuto). Then you step away swinging your body to the left. Your left hand makes a circular move under the attacker's right elbow. Your right hand snaps down on his wrist/hand. The pressing block places pressure under the attacker's elbow. This can result in the attacker's arm held straight OR bent, but having his elbow pushed towards the left of his body and his hand pulled to the right. Now if you step forward with your right leg, this will result in either a shoulder or elbow dislocation, or a throw. The best is you through the attacker into the wall.
Never reaclly could understand the twin pressing palms. Another option is that if you took an app out of Hollywood, it would be from Best of the Best 2, right at the end. Remember Barracus and Tommy Lee? Barracus attacks him and Tommy strikes him in the nads and spins him around so that Barracus is looking upwards - then gets his neck broken? Well this move would be it for me .. either a neck break or if done like an irimi, then a throw down readying you for the next challenge.
Step up and punch horizontally at face height while elbow backwards (step 30). This would be a nice release from bear hug or a defence against a person trying to grab you from one side. The punch nails him in the head, the elbow is drawn back and then over as you do a double open hand strike. If one technique flows into the other like this then the opponent would find himself with an arm straightening on your neck and a hard strike done on his elbow - not pleasant. Double open palm strikes are strikes as someone is grabbing onto your neck (step 31-32). Nice defence for another close in attack.
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Colin Wee
Executive Curator
5th Dan
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Colin Wee
Executive Curator
5th Dan
member is offline
Joined: Feb 2004
Gender: Male
Posts: 696
Location: Perth, Western Australia
| | Re: Chang Hon: Choong-gun
« Reply #3 on Feb 21, 2006, 12:23pm » | |
Just modified my initial post to include new info on step 26-27. Colin
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Colin Wee
Executive Curator
5th Dan
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Joined: Feb 2004
Gender: Male
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Location: Perth, Western Australia
| | Re: Chang Hon: Choong-gun
« Reply #4 on Jul 6, 2006, 8:05pm » | |
Quote:(Step 20-21) Double forearm block in forward stance, chamber left fist, pull back left leg sticking out right reaction hand, go into horse stance and side punch. Is the double forearm block the most ridiculous technique you have to do? Perhaps. Let's work this out as an attack to an opponent who is side on to you, with left leg closest. Opponent strikes or extends left hand. Step forward with left leg - this gets you to move off the line slightly. Double augmented block is a backfist or inverted punch to face while right fist deflects the striking arm and grabs onto mid point of sleeve. This is done in a forward stance. THe opponent reacts either raising hands to cover or reeling back from the strike. Apply pull back tension with right reaction hand while pulling left leg back. The opponent should come forward slightly and have his weight on left foot. THen slide into horse stance and apply a foot stomp on opponent's leading foot. The left hand shoots out in a punch to opponent's mid section while right hand pulls back to your hip. The opponent should fall where he is.
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While this idea is good in that it includes uses for both hands in a close quarter situation, I think it's harder to distill a takeaway lesson from this interpretation. I'm more inclined to think that the movement of the knee from front stance, back, and then into a horse stance is somehow more important that what the hands are doing. This movement is very familiar to me - I've used it many times against direct kicks to the knee. I rotate the knee inwards and back in order to modify the angle of which my knee takes the kick, and then am able to sidekick them from there or replace the knee in the same position or another. So I think this quick pullback prompts us to think about knee attacks and how to defend against them. The role of the supporting hand (as interpreted above) is interesting as a deflection of an upper body technique - or it could be a grab to an extended extremity. This way the horse stance could be aimed at the opponent's leg as it returns from the kick to your knee.
Colin
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Colin Wee
Executive Curator
5th Dan
member is offline
Joined: Feb 2004
Gender: Male
Posts: 696
Location: Perth, Western Australia
| | Re: Chang Hon: Choong-gun
« Reply #5 on Jul 24, 2006, 2:53pm » | |
Step 27 and Step 29. Double pressing palm blocks (ala Jitte or Sip Soo). I don't think I've seen any very good explanations for what the double palm blocks are supposed to accomplish. I'd like to propose a drill in which both occur immediately after each other. Attacker comes at you with both hands outstretched. Your blocking hands encircle his arms from the outside, your right hand going downwards and your left hand going up. In this position, then start the exact opposite move. However this time, your left hand encircles the opponent's neck (from the inside) and presses his head downwards, and your right hand goes upward outside the opponent's arm. The opponent is now bowed over with his left hand partially raised. Now repeat the drill, your right hand presses behind his left shoulder blade and your left raises to catch hold of his hand. At this point you can apply a shoulder lock and bring the opponent to the ground or you can throw him by turning to your left.
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