Post by Colin Wee on Mar 1, 2004 17:26:37 GMT 8
In general, the martial arts are exotic and are indecipherable to non-practitioners. People know only so much as what they glean from movies and actors, and what they think martial artists should be.
The fact is martial arts are as multi-layered to martial artists as it is to lay people. Often passed through the generations as a family heritage, historical instructors only needed to ensure that only a handful of students knew the depth of information required to make combative tactics effective.
Compared to how martial arts are organized nowadays, martial arts instructors find themselves challenged to ensure that a students learn the physical moves. Oftentimes, little in the way of cultural background, strategic information, or comparative analysis is ever discussed. This is because most martial arts instructors were themselves never schooled in anything remotely resembling strategic or tactical initiatives.
Yet there is a rich collection of strategic knowledge at the fingertips of most martial arts practitioners. This body of knowledge is also widely transmitted by the kata taught to most martial arts students. Unlocking their secrets and applying such knowledge in training however, remains an interesting challenge.
The objective of this document is to unveil the rich symbolism housed in martial knowledge. Such symbolism is core to understanding how to link martial strategies to fighting principles, and how to link those fighting skills to solid drills and fundamentals. This is the "rational teaching methods" that General Choi said should "be developed so that the benefits of Taekwon-Do can be enjoyed by everyone" (Choi p42).
General Choi said that "each movement in a pattern must express the personality and spiritual character of the person it is named after" (Choi p43). Saying this, once we can define a fighting strategy per kata, each movement and variations thereof should thus relate to this strategy.
This document is above all an open and honest look at traditional practices. There is dialog in the document that is just not available to most martial artists. Use this newfound awareness to discover how to uncover gems found in martial arts books or training programs or your own classes. Above all, tap that knowledge which is pertinent to you.
Please join me in my campaign to promote and preserve the rich heritage in Traditional Taekwondo. My research over the last few years has uncovered a disappointing dearth of information on Taekwondo. Let me assure you that this is not the case with other Asian martial arts. We must make the time to record our knowledge and skills. And we must do this in an organised fashion!
Not to do so will be disastrous to this martial art!
Colin
References
Breen, M., 2001, "An Artistic Interpretation of the Patterns"
Yates, K., 1982, "The Complete Book of Taekwon Do Forms"
The fact is martial arts are as multi-layered to martial artists as it is to lay people. Often passed through the generations as a family heritage, historical instructors only needed to ensure that only a handful of students knew the depth of information required to make combative tactics effective.
Compared to how martial arts are organized nowadays, martial arts instructors find themselves challenged to ensure that a students learn the physical moves. Oftentimes, little in the way of cultural background, strategic information, or comparative analysis is ever discussed. This is because most martial arts instructors were themselves never schooled in anything remotely resembling strategic or tactical initiatives.
Yet there is a rich collection of strategic knowledge at the fingertips of most martial arts practitioners. This body of knowledge is also widely transmitted by the kata taught to most martial arts students. Unlocking their secrets and applying such knowledge in training however, remains an interesting challenge.
"The names of the patterns are derived from the most illustrious people to have been produced by nearly five thousand years of Korean history." General Choi Hong Hi. Taekwondo Encyclopedia. p42
The objective of this document is to unveil the rich symbolism housed in martial knowledge. Such symbolism is core to understanding how to link martial strategies to fighting principles, and how to link those fighting skills to solid drills and fundamentals. This is the "rational teaching methods" that General Choi said should "be developed so that the benefits of Taekwon-Do can be enjoyed by everyone" (Choi p42).
General Choi said that "each movement in a pattern must express the personality and spiritual character of the person it is named after" (Choi p43). Saying this, once we can define a fighting strategy per kata, each movement and variations thereof should thus relate to this strategy.
This document is above all an open and honest look at traditional practices. There is dialog in the document that is just not available to most martial artists. Use this newfound awareness to discover how to uncover gems found in martial arts books or training programs or your own classes. Above all, tap that knowledge which is pertinent to you.
Please join me in my campaign to promote and preserve the rich heritage in Traditional Taekwondo. My research over the last few years has uncovered a disappointing dearth of information on Taekwondo. Let me assure you that this is not the case with other Asian martial arts. We must make the time to record our knowledge and skills. And we must do this in an organised fashion!
Not to do so will be disastrous to this martial art!
Colin
References
Breen, M., 2001, "An Artistic Interpretation of the Patterns"
Yates, K., 1982, "The Complete Book of Taekwon Do Forms"