This is dedicated to coaxing the personalities out of Traditional Taekwondo patterns
This is a list of the first 10 patterns used in Chang Hon Taekwondo. Our system is a 'traditional' Taekwondo martial art system - we don't do sine wave, and we have an equal emphasis of hand and leg techniques. The applications contained herein thus do not include sporting aspects of Taekwondo. Most TKD practitioners will find little similarity with our practice. This is preferential - no one is casting a value judgement on your martial art. Also, the set of patterns are used to transmit the particular experience of *our* own black belts. Meaning what works for us may not work for your Taekwondo school. We do like to listen to your opinions, of course, and we try to keep an open mind.
The historical development of most traditional martial arts is unverifiable, making certain aspects of the practice inaccessible to practitioners. But logic tells us that a martial art is created because someone decided that enough was enough. Self defence tactics were formed and explored, tested, rejected, and then expanded upon. Collaboration was good. Getting killed was not. So anything that would help you figure out how to better defend yourself is what you want to look out for. Let's keep this in mind while going through this forum. Let's be martial artists ... not martial artistes.
Colin Wee Executive Curator 5th Dan member is offline
Joined: Feb 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 696 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Chang Hon: Dan-gun « Thread Started on Mar 1, 2004, 5:10pm »
“Dan Gun is the second pattern in the ITF system of patterns. It is named after the holy Dan-Gun who, according to legend, founded Korea in 2333 B.C.” (http://www.tkd-itf.org/TechnicalPatterns.htm). Breen in an artistic analysis of TKD’s katas included the story of Dan Gun for the appreciation of this form. “Once upon a time there was a bear and a tiger. Whan-Ung, the Son of the Creator, overheard them say one day that they wished to become human. Whan-Ung gave them some garlic and artemisia to eat, and told them if they could remain in a cave for 21 days, they would become human. Both animals did so, but due to the fierce nature of the tiger, it could not stand confinement for so long, and fled. The patient nature of the bear allowed it to fulfil the task, and was transformed into a woman. When she emerged from the cave, she cried out “Give me a son!” And Whan-Ung heard her again, and breathed upon her, and she became pregnant. Her son was named Dan-Gun. He was found by the men of the “nine wild tribes” and made king. He led these people south to Pyongyang, Korea’s first capital, and brought civilisation with him to the primitive people who lived there. Dan-Gun ruled Korea for 1,211 years, until a migrating Chinese army forced him to flee and return to Heaven” (2001 p7).
Personification is the key in understanding this mythic story. Dan-gun the kata takes the powerful strength of the bear and tempers it with the quality of patience. So while there is the imagery of the bear rearing up on its hind legs ready to pounce on you, the very nature of this supernatural tale is that forbearance and the proper use of overwhelming force is the key to coming out victorious.
Can this bear be a totem for a fighter? If you were to fight like the bear, you’d use powerful upper body weapons to rain down on your opponent. You’d be as solid as a tree trunk while attempting to knock him out with hand and arm combinations. An interesting imagery given that forms mostly concentrate on hand techniques over leg techniques to teach combative moves.
Colin Wee Executive Curator 5th Dan member is offline
Joined: Feb 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 696 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Re: Dan-gun « Reply #1 on Nov 14, 2005, 3:17pm »
Dan-gun is a real fierce kata - and thankfully has tools for our students learning to spar. Students just starting to spar are restricted as to what they can use: coverage and blocks are great, and jabs, lunge punches, and reverse punches are excellent. But no kicks are allowed. Opponents can use *whatever* they want on beginners! Don't matter. Chon-ji, Dan-gun and later, Do-san (which they start learning when they start sparring) is all what they need.
We modify the timing and application slightly (as we do in Chon-ji) and the opening moves allow the practitioner to throw a forward jab whilst moving forward (in step 1) and then finish off with a lunge punch to the head (step 2). The cadence of the sequence is totally changed when we revist this as a strike combination, to good effect when teaching the beginner sparring type timing.
The three forward drilling lunge punches (step 6-8) tend to encourage the practitioner to think of a fierce upper body attack done hard/fast. There are some schools that for some reason or other do not encourage face strikes. The point is that someone trying to hurt you will strke your face. Consequently, you've got to learn how to strike the opponent's face and cover/block your own.
The quizzical move using double raising blocks I like to think of as an arm entrapment in order to slip the ensuing jabs into the opponent as he tries to reach out for you. The user can think of starting off with the 'please don't hurt me stance' - with arms held up, palms facing out, and while the opponent throws a technique, one palm provides cover while both arms 'slip' into the opponent's guard, allowing more solid contact to be made with the ensuing relatiatory strikes. This allows you to think of the differences between sparring (which is sometimes done like fencing between beginners) and what we want to see, which is someone displacing your opponent's COG with your own and knocking him out in the process.
What really excites me about Dan-gun is the double lower and then upper block (step 13-14). I always thought of this 'as-is' until I tried to look at it from the standpoint of fighting strategy. If we do, then this set of techniques can be an interesting kick defence. It suggests to cover for long range kicks (pre step 13), chase the kick in (with the lower block) (Step 13), protect the head with a fold (pre step 14), and then strike upwards using either an upper block or elbow strike (step 14). What a fantastic idea for learning timing (attacking after the person attacks), and something really in line with the strategic viewpoint of the form.
The last knife hand folds (step 18) are interesting - very different from Doh-san which are done in a horizontal fashion. These knife hands descend between the opponent's extended hands ... and cause devastation from a very close range move. This, and moves like the three face-high lunge punches and the first initial jab, is like using "powerful strength ... temper[ed] with the quality of patience" form the Dan-gun myth. None of competitive type strikes to the outside aspect or edge of the body. Or untargetted strikes. You use good strikes on points on the opponent's body to effect a knockdown or TKO.
Colin Wee Executive Curator 5th Dan member is offline
Joined: Feb 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 696 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Re: Chang Hon: Dan-gun « Reply #3 on Jan 18, 2006, 1:54pm »
Quote:
The three forward drilling lunge punches (step 6-8) tend to encourage the practitioner to think of a fierce upper body attack done hard/fast. There are some schools that for some reason or other do not encourage face strikes. The point is that someone trying to hurt you will strke your face. Consequently, you've got to learn how to strike the opponent's face and cover/block your own.
I think there's a slight difference between the lunge punch from Dan-gun as opposed to Chon-ji. In Chon-ji you've got a nice finishing blow suggesting that the technique is performed at a shorter range, and thus making you aware of the 'lifecycle' of the punch - first to an upset movement, and then to the extended strike. In Dan-gun, it seems that the lunging technique is done towards and opponent who is backing away or attempting to ward off your initial strikes.
This is like a point sparring match - to do this successfully, you need to launch the first strike and rapidly chase it down with several more. When I do this in sparring, I ensure that the speed is generating using a 'sprinting' motion. Don't sync the punch and the legs - go ahead and accelerate towards the target and either keep your arms still or perform a feinting or distracting movement. Then at the last possible moment, strike towards the head region. The opponent may pull back or twist and evade. You have to continue the forward move, either by continuing the sprint or do the 'horsey gallop' and strike again. Use the counter hand to control the opponent's gi or to cover. Additionally, the counter hand can be used to strike the opponent using a hook or jab.
Just uploaded some video. It should be adequate to explain what we do for Dan-gun. Sorry about the kiai. Couldn't shout because it was about 6am in the morning.
Colin Wee Executive Curator 5th Dan member is offline
Joined: Feb 2004 Gender: Male Posts: 696 Location: Perth, Western Australia
Re: Chang Hon: Dan-gun « Reply #5 on May 20, 2006, 10:22am »
Was working on the basic soodo/shuto block that is used in Dan-gun. If you do the shuto, you'll notice that it's hard to generate the power necessary to hurt anyone. Some ideas: 1. You need to connect the shuto with the lower part of your body whilst rotating and dropping your body down. For instance if you just strike with the hand, that's not going to generate any power. If you connect the hand using a tightening of the lats, the twist of the waist, the dropping of the hips and the tightening of the legs, this will create a much more powerful strike. 2. Your hands have got to snap into the strike. If you think that you're just 'blocking' or moving the hand into position, this is not going to create the speed needed to strike the target. Speed is created through relaxation and the proper tension needed right at the end. 3. The folding back of the shuto gets the body 'expanding' and the striking requires a contraction of the body. 4. The breath is very important for this strike to help the practitioner time the snap.
The shuto is a versatile strike that allows you to navigate through raised arms. It can be used nicely against smaller targets, more vulnerable targets, especially those that are not open to punches.
Dr Bruce Clayton of Shotokan's Secret talks about his preference to strike the central trunk of the body when doing the oizuke - lunge punch, as you'd see in Chon-ji. Maybe when you strike what he calls 'satellites' of the body, you need to strike more than once and pursue the target? It is a skill in itself to keep running at the target, deflecting blows and controling the person in order to knock him out. A neck break at that speed or direction may not be the way to see it - most neck breaks would be done on the spot, at most with a step forward or backward -- as can be seen with the interpretations you had in your book. Even in Shotokan mythology, this chain of 3 punches have been used - Itosu was said to have used 3 punches on one opponent when confronted by a group of attackers, knocking him out. I myself have used these lunge punches with really good effect during sparring. They're easy to do and pack a lot of power. Colin
Taekwondo (also spelled Tae Kwon Do or Taekwon-Do) is the most popular of the Korean martial arts and is the Korean national sport. It is also one of the world's most commonly practiced sports. The World Taekwondo Federation's style of Taekwondo is currently an Olympic sport.
In Korean, derived from hanja, Tae means "to kick or destroy with the foot"; Kwon means "to punch with the fist"; and Do means "way" or "art". Hence, Taekwondo is loosely translated as "the art of kicking and punching" or "the way of the foot and the fist." Taekwondo's popularity has resulted in the divergent evolution of the art. As with many other martial arts, Taekwondo is a combination of combat technique, sport, exercise, entertainment, and philosophy.
Although there are great doctrinal and technical differences among Taekwondo styles, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, using the leg's greater reach and power to disable the opponent from a distance. In sparring, roundhouse, front, ax and side kicks are most often used; advanced kicks include jump, spin, skip, and drop kicks, often in combination. Taekwondo training includes a comprehensive system of hand strikes and blocks, but generally does not emphasize grappling or close-in combat.
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Don't matter. Chon-ji, Dan-gun and later, Do-san (which they start learning when they start sparring) is all what they need.