Exploring the Definition of Taekwon-Do

On another blog, I stumbled onto this contemplation on the "Definition of Taekwon-Do" which I wrote many, many years ago for a little Taekwon-Do publication in South Africa. It was a surprising discovery to find my old writing on someone else's blog. Since it was never published here on my own blog, I thought I'd share it here now.

Exploring the Definition of Taekwon-Do

Reference: Definition of Taekwon-Do (ITF Encyclopaedia: Vol. 1, p. 21-23.)

In volume one of the Encyclopaedia, the definition of Taekwon-Do begins with the statement "A way of life." It would do you good to read through this section in the Encyclopaedia on your own. However, I would like to highlight and comment on some sections.

"To put it simply Taekwon-Do is a version of unarmed combat designed for the purpose of self-defence." This statement says much about how we should consider Taekwon-Do. Firstly it is a form of combat. It is, in other words, a method of fighting, battling or making war! The goal of this combat, fighting or war is self-defense. In Korean history, the Korean nation only went to war as an act of self-defence. This is the same in Taekwon-Do, only fighting when needing to protect yourself or your loved ones.

"It is the scientific use of the body in the method of self-defence; a body that has gained the ultimate use of its facilities through physical training and mental training." It is quite clear that Taekwon-Do training has two parts; physical training being the one and mental training being the other.

The definition continues to say that though Taekwon-Do is a martial art: "…its discipline, technique and mental training are the mortar for building a strong sense of justice, fortitude, humility and resolve." It is Taekwon-Do's aim to uplift the character. The Taekwon-Do Black Belt should courageously and firmly stand for what is right no matter the circumstances, and with humility. (Note how humility is defined in Taekwon-Do: Moral Culture, Part Two, C. Be Humble.)

"It is this mental training," continues the section, "that separates the true practitioner from the sensationalist content with mastering only the fighting aspect of the art." When a student asked his Grand Master 'What is the essence of Taekwon-Do training?' the Grand Master answered: 'It is just mind training.'

Because Taekwon-Do is first and foremost an art of fighting, it has the innate possibility of being misused. Taekwon-Do is a "lethal weapon" intended for the "rapid destruction of…opponents." It is therefore imperative that "mental training must always be stressed to prevent the student from misusing it." This mental training is known as Moral Culture in Taekwon-Do. A student trained in Taekwon-Do, but without the Moral Culture to govern it, is to be compared with a gun in the hands of a child!

How little time is spent on anything else but the fighting aspect of the art? Most Taekwon-Do classes focus only on the fighting aspect. There are many reasons for this, but I am not going to discuss them now. However, the Black Belt must, therefore, make it his or her self-proclaimed obligation to spend quality time at this mental training that is so ignored. This mental training is one of the reason we can call Taekwon-Do an "art of self-defence".

Added to self-defence is "health". General Choi says that Taekwon-Do: "…indicates the mental training and the techniques of unarmed combat for self-defence as well as health…" How pitiful it is when we teach people how to defend themselves against aggressors, but we neglect to teach them principles for healthy living. If we do not teach our practitioners how to defend themselves against an unhealthy lifestyle we can just as well stop teaching them to defend against an enemy, for both have the ability to shorten the life. Self-defence should be broadened to self-preservation, which includes protection from various forms of attack on one's well-being. Do you now understand the importance of something like "Health Principles" in martial art study? It is the natural overflow of studying an art of self-defence.

Taekwon-Do is also defined as a "scientific" method of self-defence. "[I]nvolving the skilled application of punches, kicks, blocks and dodges with bare hands and feet to the rapid destruction of the moving opponent or opponents." This says quite a lot about the characteristics of Taekwon-Do. As a scientific method, it should include the "scientific use of the body" through scientifically sound techniques. In other words, the use of "punches, kicks, blocks and dodges" should make sense scientifically. This means that their use should make sense both on an anatomical/biological level as well as be in coherence with the science of physics.

Taekwon-Do's technical superiority is clear when we consider its understanding in the fields of anatomy and biology in such teachings as "Vital Spots", "Blocking and Attacking Tools" and the "Training Secrets" and in its use of Newtonian Laws in such principles as the "Theory of Power".

What many overlooks is that Taekwon-Do's ultimate goal, as an art of self-defence, is fighting against "moving" opponents. As an art that relies on traditional physics, Black Belts should familiarise themselves with these theories of motion, balance and momentum in the context of human combat. The Encyclopaedia states: "Most of the devastating manoeuvres in Taekwon-Do are based especially on the initial impact of a blow plus the consequential additional force provided by the rebound of the opponents moving part or body."

When I tell students that Taekwon-Do has much in common with styles such as Tai Chi Ch'uan or Aikido they are shocked. This is because of an unbalanced understanding of Taekwon-Do. Clearly, they have never read the following sentence that follows on the previous quote: "Similarly by using the attacker's force or momentum, the slightest push is all that is needed to upset his or her equilibrium and to topple him or her." Does not this sound like something from an Aikido lesson? No, dear reader, this is basic Taekwon-Do theory and part of the "definition" of our art!

The final thing I would like to highlight from this section of the Encyclopaedia is that Taekwon-Do, which is "A way of life" should be natural and instinctive. "In the case of the students of Taekwon-Do who have been in constant practice or the experts themselves, they spend no time thinking, as such an action comes automatically to them. Their actions, in short, have become conditioned reflexes."

In conclusion, I hope that from the above, you as a Black Belt have become aware of some of the voids in your understanding of Taekwon-Do. Study these voids and through practice fill them and you will have attained the mind of a Taekwon-Do Black Belt.

Sine Wave Motion Contributes to Vertical Forces

I apologise for not writing more regular posts, but I am quite busy with work and studies. Once I graduate, which will hopefully be towards the end of February next year, I will probably write more frequently again. There have been many ideas running through my head that are aching to be expressed.

However, recently I've seen a number of people talking about “sine wave motion” again. One person, for instance, wrote on Facebook that one sees all these Taekwon-Do power breaking videos online, but they never use sine wave motion. Another thing I read recently was a small scientific experiment where people punched a bag that was equipped with measuring tools and the subjects punched the bag with sine wave motion and without sine wave motion. The results showed that “sine wave motion” added little to no force to the hits—that the punch without sine wave motion was actually better.

To me the statement about breaking and also this experiment is obviously flawed because the vector in these techniques travel horizontally, parallel with the ground. The “sine wave motion” is not intended to add force to techniques that move horizontally.

It is pretty simple and I don't know why people don't get it. I think it is because of the wrong appropriation of the term “sine wave.” It is not meant to be understood as an actual sine wave. What General Choi tried to explain was the displacement of the body's centre of mass along the vertical axis—up and / or down. If you also move forward and so displace the body's centre of gravity along the horizontal axis it mimics the motion of a wave, which he referred to as a “sine wave”. It was maybe not the best semantic choice, but don't get stuck on the term. See the principle.

What principle? Simply: accelerate as much of your body mass through your technique at the target. That's it.

Sometimes this means bending your knees and dropping your weight for a technique that includes a downward vector. Sometimes it means pushing with your legs up for a high technique. Sometimes it means not going up or down but keeping level, as with techniques that travel horizontally towards the target.

For me the “sine wave motion” (yes it is a bad term, but get over it) simply means I'm pushing my centre of mass upward or letting it drop downward, depending on the direction the technique is travelling towards the target.

Now some might say, that's not sine wave! Their reasoning is that ITF Taekwon-Do's “sine wave motion” always have three parts: down-up-down. Once you understand the principle of relaxation, activation, and execution that is taught through the “sine wave motion” one need not exaggerate them as is often done as a training mnemonic with the “sine wave motion.” The “sine wave motion” is a training tool used to teach principles of motion; it is not a cookie cutter that should be stamped onto every technique. Every sensible ITF practitioner knows this.

But enough about that—I've written about the phases of the sine wave motion enough elsewhere; let me quickly explain why I say the above experiment and breaking observations are based on wrong assumptions.

The “sine wave motion” contributes to vertical force—the rotation of the hip contributes to horizontal force. If the target is to be reached at a horizontal plane, adding vertical force (through dropping of the body weight) will not contribute to the force of the technique. However, if the target is at a downward angle so that the vector includes a vertical (i.e. downward angled) trajectory, then dropping the body weight will obviously contribute to the technique's power.

What people don't seem to get is that a large percentage of Taekwon-Do techniques reach their target not directly perpendicularly horizontal, but often at a slight downward angle. In other words, many Taekwon-Do techniques incorporate both horizontal (i.e. hip rotation) and vertical (i.e. body-dropping) forces.

Here are a few examples of techniques to which “sine wave motion” contributes.

Obviously, low techniques where the dropping of your body weight into the technique clearly contributes towards the force of the technique, for instance a low punch, low block, or low kick.

Most middle techniques too. For instance when doing a punch, the arm is not held up at the top level of the shoulders, but a little below the shoulders, so that the punching arm is not exactly parallel with the floor, but actually angled downwards a bit. Imagine standing in front of somebody your own height and punching them in the solar plexus, the fly ribs, or the kidneys. How should your arm be angled to achieve this?

The brachial nerve is reached at a
diagonal angle, not horizontally.

Many people think that the knife-hand side strike where the arm generally ends parallel with the floor reaches the target completely horizontally. This is just one application of the technique and not how I was taught to do it when I started with Taekwon-Do 20+ years ago, nor the main way I teach it. I was taught that it is a strike to the brachial nerve plexus on the nook of the neck just above the clavicle. It is reached with a diagonally angled strike. Examples of similar targets reached with knife-hand side strikes are the solar plexus, ribs and kidneys.

Many blocks in Taekwon-Do divert the attack not merely sideways, but rather sideways and downwards.

Also, when I started Taekwon-Do over two decades ago my instructor insisted that most kicks should reach the opponent at a downward angle. The sidekick was taught as a “stomp”, the front kick as a “trample”, the turning kick as a “clobber” like with a sledgehammer for which you use gravitation to aid you in the technique. High kicks were never prioritized and even when kicks were performed high, the admonition was that you should hit with gravity as the kick was on its way down.

Let me point out that all these examples of "Taekwon-Do work[ing] with gravity" (as my first instructor used to say) are from my basics. These are techniques I learned over twenty years ago in a Taekwon-Do gym where nobody every mentioned “sine wave motion.” I only learned of the term after I had my first black belt.

Setting up breaking boards (or measuring equipment) to be hit with fully horizontally moving techniques are flawed, I think. If you want to test if “sine wave motion” (i.e. the dropping of the body weight into a technique) adds to the force exerted by a technique, then you should set-up the experiment for techniques where this makes sense, where dropping the body weight into the technique is actually measured. That's why, when I teach breaking techniques to my students we hold the breaking boards at various different angles and heights.

The Value of Patterns (Part 2): Kinaesthetics (Part 3: Controlled Power)

This is the last post for the time being on the kinaesthetic value of the ITF patterns and was published in Issue #72 of Totally Tae Kwon Do Magazine.

In my previous discussion of the value of the ITF patterns I discussed the emphasis put on accelerating as much body mass as possible in order to achieve greater force. There is however a danger in over-zealously forceful techniques, which will be the discussion of this instalment.

ITF Taekwon-Do has an obsession with power generation. Fundamental Movements are often idealized techniques for generating tremendous amounts of force by accelerating as much body mass as possible in the direction of the technique, be it block, punch, strike or kick. Although generating force is the primary goal, it is trumped by keeping proper posture and maintaining balance. The ITF practitioner wants to generate as much force as possible, but without compromising posture and balance. Fundamental Movements, as practised in the patterns, are a way to practise powerful techniques; however, the power is curbed just enough to maintain good posture and balance.

A light-hearted video of a man zealously punching but missing the target,
leaving him in a potentially compromised position. 

Let’s look at some examples. Imagine punching a target, such as a punching bag, as hard as you possibly can. Now imagine doing the same, but just before your fist hits the punching bag, someone suddenly pulls the punching bag away. What is likely to happen? It is likely that the momentum of your punch will swing you off balance. Another example: consider doing a turning kick as hard as possible to kick “through” the target. Let’s say your target is again a punching bag and you kick it with all the force you can muster. And rather than snapping the leg out and back as you hit the target as is the common practise in Taekwon-Do, you instead drive through with all your body mass—in effect doing a Muay Thai style roundhouse kick. And again, just as you are about to land the kick, somebody moves the bag out of range; once more you are likely to be thrown off balance, the momentum of the kick probably pulling you around exposing your back.

A tutorial for the Muay Thai roundhouse kick.

The Fundamental Movements as practised in patterns teach us an important principle, that while power generation is very important, it should never happen at the expense of good posture and balance. The Muay Thai style turning is indeed more powerful than the Taekwon-Do turning kick because it has much more momentum and drive through than the snapped turning kick. However, the snapped turning kick with the reaction force of the arms that are pulled in the opposite direction maintains much better balance and posture, whereas the momentum of the Muay Thai roundhouse kick causes the practitioner to turn and expose his flank and back, resulting in compromised positioning.

Similarly, the over zealous punch also throws the practitioner off balance, whereas the traditional martial art punch that we practise in Taekwon-Do (and similar styles such as Karate) remains full facing, rather than over extend. Certainly doing a punch as a boxer that uses big rotational forces of both the hip and the shoulder would be much more powerful. Why then does Taekwon-Do and other traditional styles often only use hip rotation, rather than also full shoulder rotation, to punch? Why do we emphasize staying mostly full-facing during our punches, when pushing the shoulder forwardwould result in deeper penetration and more force? As I pointed out before, posture and balance trumps power.

Another example we notice in blocking techniques, which are generally in a half-facing posture. A further rotation of the hips into the full-facing position would usually make the block more powerful. Over-zealous blocking are nevertheless avoided, as the benefit of a slanted body angle which reveals less of the body’s surface area and vital points outweighs the possible benefit or more hip rotation that would increase the power of the block. The Fundamental Movements as practised in the patterns teach us that the benefit of more power does not surpass exposing more vital spots.

Instead of increasing the power through over-exaggerated rotational power that may expose vital points, we attempt to increase power through dropping the body weight into the technique in the form of the sine wave motion, where appropriate. (Not all techniques benefit from sine wave motion body-dropping, but a great number of techniques do.)

Why is it that a martial art like ITF Taekwon-Do that is so obsessed with powerful techniques would so often curb its Fundamental Movements in order to maintain good posture, positioning and balance; while other styles like modern western boxing and Muay Thai throw all they have into some of their techniques? The answer is most likely to be found in Taekwon-Do’s original purpose as a system aimed at self-defence, rather than a martial sport. An over-zealous swinging punch in boxing or a big Muay Thai roundhouse kick that spins you around exposing your back to your opponent is a risk worth taking in a sport context. If the technique lands it may knock out your competitor and cause you to be the victor. If the technique misses, you may expose your back to your opponent or lose your balance and fall; however, that is a risk a competitor may be willing to take. Tournament rules prohibit lethal attacks to the back of the head or spine or kicking a fallen opponent, and there is also a centre referee who will look out for your well-being. Even in UFC, known for its brutal and high intensity tournament fighting that is often touted as “no holds barred,” strikes to the spine and back of the head or attacking the head of a downed opponent is illegal. While there is a risk in using over-zealously powerful techniques that may compromise your posture and balance, it is a risk often worth taking by martial sport practitioners because in a sport context it is nearly never a lethal risk and such techniques have the potential to ensure a victory.

However, in a martial art concerned with self-defence such over-zealous techniques that compromise balance and posture are particularly avoided. In a self-defence (i.e. life-or-death) situation, the last thing you want to do is to allow your attacker access to your back, or find yourself on the floor if it could be avoided. Traditional martial arts are therefore often conservative with regards to their Fundamental Movements when it comes to posture and balance.

Taekwon-Do is known for many “flashy” techniques. While such techniques are often encouraged in sport settings, the Fundamental Movements as practised in the patterns are by contrast very conservative. The patterns contain almost no risky, flashy techniques. In the patterns the practitioner is encouraged to practise power generation, but always in a controlled way, so as not to compromise posture and balance.


Further reading:

See also my article "Taekwon-Do Kick versus Muay Thai Roundhouse Kick" and Dan Djurdjevic's article on why traditional martial arts tend to stop their techniques at predetermined points.

Die Kragteorie van Taekwon-Do

This is a translation of ITF Taekwon-Do's Theory of Power into Afrikaans by Retha Fritz from the ITF Encyclopaedia on behalf of the SA-ITF’s Research and Education Directorate.

This translation resorts under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. This means that you may freely use and copy it, but not for commercial use, and that you should always include attribution for translation to "Retha Fritz, SA-ITF Research & Education Directorate", with a link to the SA-ITF homepage: www.taekwondo.co.za. 

Die Kragteorie van Taekwon-Do

Alhoewel oefening ’n uitstekende vlak van fisieke fiksheid tot gevolg sal hê, sal dit nie noodwendig lei tot die verwerwing van uitsonderlike stamina of bomenslike krag nie. Let wel, die beoefening van Taekwon-Do sal die verkryging van ’n hoë vlak van reaksiekrag, konsentrasie, ewewig, asembeheer en spoed tot gevolg hê; die resultaat van al hierdie faktore is ’n hoë graad van fisieke krag.

Boondong Ryeok : Reaksiekrag

Volgens Newton se wet het elke krag ’n gelyke en teenoorgestelde krag. Wanneer ’n kar teen ’n muur bots met die krag van 900 kilogram sal die muur daardie krag met ’n gelyke krag van 900 kilogram teenstaan; of deur die punt van ’n wipplank af te druk met ’n ton gewig, sal dit ’n opwaartse krag van dieselfde gewig aan die ander punt tot gevolg hê. Net so, as jou opponent jou teen ’n hoë spoed bestorm, sal die ligste hou teen sy kop gelyk wees aan die krag van sy eie aanval, plus dié van jou hou. Die twee kragte gekombineerd; syne wat groot is en joune wat klein is, is nogal indrukwekkend. Nog ’n reaksiekrag is jou eie. ’n Hou met die regtervuis word versterk deur die linkervuis terug te trek heup toe.

Jip Joong : Konsentrasie

Deur die impakkrag op die kleinste teikenarea te fokus, sal dit die krag konsentreer en sodoende die effek daarvan vergroot. By voorbeeld, die krag van water wat uit ’n tuinslang kom is groter as die opening kleiner is. Aan die ander kant, die gewig van ’n man, verspreid oor sneeuskoene maak ’n weinige indruk op die sneeu. Die houe in Taekwon-Do is dikwels gekonsentreerd op die kant van die ope palm of die kneukels.

Dit is baie belangrik dat jy nie al jou krag aan die begin loslaat nie, maar geleidelik en veral op die oomblik van kontak met jou opponent se liggaam; die krag moet tot so ’n mate gekonsentreerd wees dat ’n uitklophou verseker is. Met ander woorde, hoe korter die konsentrasietyd, hoe groter sal die krag van die hou wees. Uiterste konsentrasie word vereis om elke spier van die liggaam gelyk te mobiliseer na die kleinste area.

Om op te som: konsentrasie word op twee maniere bereik. Een is om elke spier van die liggaam te konsentreer, veral die groter spiere om die heup en maag (wat teoreties stadiger is as die kleiner spiere van die ander liggaamsdele) na die gepaste aanvalsdeel op die gepaste tyd; die tweede manier is om hierdie gemobiliseerde spiere te fokus na die aanvalspunt op die opponent. Dit is die rede waarom die heup en maag effens kragtig geroteer word voor die hande en voete in enige tegniek, ongeag dit aanval of verdediging is.

Kyoon Hyeong : Ewewig

In enige sport is balans van uiterste belang. In Taekwon-Do vereis dit spesiale aandag. Deur die liggaam altyd in ewewig te hou, dit wil sê goed gebalanseerd, is ’n hou meer effektief en dodelik. Aan die ander kant is dit maklik om ’n ongebalanseerde persoon te laat kantel. Die stans behoort altyd stabiel tog beweegbaar te wees, vir beide aanvallende en verdedigende bewegings. Daar word by ewewig ’n onderskeid getref tussen statiese en dinamiese stabiliteit. Hulle is egter so onderling verbind dat die maksimum krag net bereik kan word wanneer statiese stabiliteit onderhou word deur dinamiese stabiliteit.

Om goeie ewewig te behou, is dit noodsaaklik dat die swaartepunt van ’n stans op ’n reguit lyn halfpad tussen die bene val, of in die middel van die voet indien dit nodig is om die meerderheid van liggaamsgewig op een voet te konsentreer. Die swaartepunt kan aangepas word ten op sigte van die liggaamsgewig. Soepelheid en knieveerkrag is ook belangrik in die behoud van balans vir beide ’n vinnige aanval en ’n oombliklike herstel. ’n Addisionele punt: die hak van die agterste voet behoort nooit van die grond af te wees op die oomblik van impak nie. Dit is nie net nodig vir goeie balans nie, maar ook om die maksimum krag tydens die impakmoment te produseer.

Hoheup Jojul : Asembeheer

Beheerde asemhaling het nie net ’n invloed op die persoon se stamina en spoed nie, maar kan ook die liggaam kondisioneer om ’n hou te absorbeer en om die krag van ’n hou, wat op ’n opponent gerig is, te vermeerder. Wanneer ’n drukpunt getref word, kan bewussynsverlies verhoed en pyn gedemp word, deur uitaseming te stop op die kritieke oomblik. Hierdie vaardigheid moet ingeoefen word. ’n Skerp uitaseming op die impakmoment en die stop van aseming gedurende die uitvoer van ’n beweging maak die maagspiere styf, sodoende word die maksimum inspanning gekonsentreer op die uitvoer van die beweging; terwyl ’n stadige inaseming help vir die voorbereiding van die volgende beweging. ’n Belangrike reël om te onthou: Moet nooit inasem terwyl ’n blok of hou teen ’n opponent gefokus word nie. Dit sal nie net die beweging strem nie, maar ook ’n verlies aan krag tot gevolg hê.

Studente behoort ook te oefen om hulle asemhaling te verberg met die doel om enige opsigtelike tekens van uitputting weg te steek. ’n Ervare vegter sal beslis ’n aanval verskerp, wanneer hy besef dat sy opponent op die punt van uitputting is. Een asem word vir een beweging benodig, met die uitsondering van ’n aaneenlopende beweging.

Zilyang : Massa

Wiskundig beskou: maksimum kinetiese energie of krag word deur die maksimum liggaamsgewig en spoed verkry. Daarom is dit baie belangrik dat die liggaamsgewig tydens die uitvoer van ’n hou, vermeerder word. Dit geskied sonder twyfel deur die heupdraaibeweging. Die groot maagspiere roteer om meer liggaamsmomentum te verkry. Die heup roteer daarom in dieselfde rigting as die van die aanvals- of blokdeel. ’n Ander manier om liggaamsgewig te vermeerder is die aanwending van die knie se veerkrag. Dit word bereik deur die heup effens te lig aan die begin van die beweging en dan die heup op die oomblik van impak te laat sak om sodoende die liggaamsgewig in die beweging te laat val. Om op te som is dit nodig om uit te wys dat die beginsels van krag soos dit hier uiteengesit is, nog net so waar vandag, in ons huidige era van moderne wetenskap en kernkrag is, as wat dit eeue gelede was. Ek is seker dat wanneer jy deur hierdie kuns gaan, beide in teorie en praktyk, sal jy vind dat die wetenskaplike basis van die bewegings en die ware krag wat uit ’n klein menslike liggaam kom, nie anders kan as om jou te beïndruk nie.

Sokdo : Spoed

Spoed is die heel belangrikste faktor van krag. Wetenskaplik beskou is krag gelyk aan massa x versnelling (F = m.a) of (P = ½M.V²).

Volgens die teorie van kinetiese energie vermeerder elke voorwerp sy [toegepaste] gewig sowel as sy spoed in ’n afwaartse beweging. Hierdie einste beginsel word toegepas in hierdie spesifieke selfverdedigingkuns. Om díe rede is die posisie van die hand, op die oomblik van impak, gewoonlik laer as die skouer en die voet laer as die heup terwyl die liggaam in die lug is.

Reaksiekrag, asembeheer, ewewig, konsentrasie en ontspanning van die spiere kan nie ignoreer word nie. Dit is hierdie faktore wat bydrae tot die spoed en al hierdie faktore, asook soepelheid en ritmiese bewegings, moet goed gekoördineer word om die maksimum krag in Taekwon-Do te produseer.

Vertaal deur Retha Fritz namens die Navorsing-en-opvoedingsdirektoraat van die SA-ITF.

This translation resorts under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. This means that you may freely use and copy it, but not for commercial use, and that you should always include attribution for translation to "Retha Fritz, SA-ITF Research & Education Directorate" with a link to the SA-ITF homepage: www.taekwondo.co.za. 

The Value of Patterns (Part 2): Kinaesthetics (Part 2: Accelerated Body Mass—Not Speed)

In the first instalment on what I consider to be the kinaesthetic value of the ITF patterns I mentioned firstly it's heavy emphasis on relaxation and moving from a state of relaxation. Furthermore, I mentioned how the relatively slow tempo of the patterns helps with improving body awareness—understanding how one's balance changes both statically and dynamically, how your centre-of-gravity changes, how your centre of mass changes, how your weight shifts from one foot to another, and so on. Related to this is an acquaintance with Taekwon-Do's formal stances, Taekwon-Do's basic movements, and the added benefit of improved coordination.

In this second instalment on the kinaesthetic value of the ITF patterns, I will focus on the acceleration of body mass.

Quick Movements versus Forceful Movements

People are often surprised at how slow, unhurried the ITF patterns seem to be. This is true as far as the tempo of the patterns is concerned. With few exceptions there is no urgency to rush from one technique to another technique. The techniques are seldom bundled in clusters of frantic defences and attacks. The patterns are not the primary place for acquiring fighting skills; they are rather “drills” for teaching certain concepts of movement; i.e. kinaesthetics. One such a kinaesthetic concept that patterns are primarily concerned with is to differentiate between mere quick movements versus forceful movements. Therefore, the focus of the ITF patterns is not on moving the limbs very quickly, like for instance in American Kenpo or Whin Chun where the opponent is overwhelmed with a barrage of very rapid strikes.

The video below shows American Kenpo Grandmaster Ted Parker demonstrating their Short Form 3. Once the form gets going, notice the hurried urgency with which it is performed.



Such a urgency is most likely to reflect the hurriedness of a real combat situation. The purpose of the ITF patterns is not shadow-boxing, requiring a flurry of attacks and defences.

Instead, the purpose of the patterns is to teach the practitioner to “accelerate as much body mass as possible in the direction of the technique, with emphasis on strong exhalation, and without compromising your balance and posture.” The Fundamental Movements, as practised in the patterns, are primarily concerned with Newton's Second Law of Motion; i.e. Force = Mass x Acceleration. For nearly every movement in the patterns there must be a lot of mass accelerated. Practising flailing the limbs quickly is not the purpose of the patterns. Rather, the whole body mass should be activated for each technique.

Sequential Acceleration 

In the patterns, the aim is not really to learn how to move quickly; instead, the aim is to learn how to truly accelerate as much of the body's mass behind the technique as possible, but also in a whip-like manner known as sequential motion or kinetic chaining. This entails that different parts of the body initiates the movement at different times.

In the video below Grandmaster Choi Jung-Hwa looks at an exampled of a 90° turn into a forearm block as found in the pattern Chon-Ji, and speaks about the importance of employing  the waist to activate more of the body's mass, rather than just the arm for blocking. If one turns the waist too early it doesn't contribute to the momentum of the block. Different parts of the body is activated at different times in order to create the most momentum.



To quote Bruce Lee¹ on the subject of sequential motion:

The timing is such that each segment adds its speed to that of the others. The shortened lever principle is used to accentuate many of the particular speeds of this uncoil or whip. The rotation of each segment around its particular joint-fulcrum is made at high speed for that particular part; but each segment rate is accelerated tremendously because it rotates around a fulcrum already highly accelerated.

In the ITF patterns the techniques are often started with deliberate relaxation—corresponding with the first part of the sine wave motion. From here, however, the technique is accelerated in such a way that as much of the body mass as possible is engaged, adding to the force of the technique. For instance, when punching it is not merely the weight of the arm that is accelerated for the punch, but the mass of the whole body is engaged behind the punch, while sequential motion is applied to accelerate the punch in a whip-like fashion.

Bruce Lee, again, explains how this would work with analogies from sport:

In throwing a ball, all the accumulated speeds of the body are present at the elbow when the forearm snaps over its fast-moving elbow-fulcrum. . . An important aspect of this multiple action of acceleration is the introduction of each segment movement as late as possible in order to take full advantage of the peak acceleration of its fulcrum. The arm is kept so far behind that the chest muscles pulling against it are tensed and stretched. The final wrist snap is postponed until the last instant before release or, in striking, before contact. In football, the punter puts the last snap into his knee and foot as, or a shade after, he makes contact with the ball. It is this last moment acceleration that is meant by ‘block through the man’ in football or ‘punch through the man’ in boxing. The principle is to preserve the maximum acceleration up to the last instant of contact. Regardless of distance, the final phase of a movement should be the fastest. Maintaining this increasing acceleration as long as there is contact is sound. . .

Controlled Falling

One of the simplest ways to get the whole body's mass accelerated is by employing the constant pull of gravity. Much of the patterns, therefore, is concerned with teaching the practitioner “controlled falling”. In many of the techniques, the practitioner is actually “falling” into them, dropping his or her body weight from a higher position to a lower position and thereby converting potential energy into kinetic energy. Also, when stepping or sliding the body momentum is in a manner of speaking thrown into the technique, so that one is falling towards the target. In ITF Taekwon-Do we use this “falling” as a way to activate our body's mass, and then further accelerate the technique, using the aforementioned sequential motion method, which usually piggybacks on the “fall”; or put differently, while “falling” one accelerates different parts of the body sequentially in a whip-like fashion, thereby adding gravity's force with your own force.

It is important here to understand why I'm referring to it as “controlled falling” and not merely “falling”. One of the cardinal concepts in ITF Taekwon-Do is “to bring the action of [ones hands and feet] into one singe coordinated action . . .” at the same focused moment. Many martial arts believe it proper to first root, then punch when stepping. For instance, one would find in most systems of Karate that they will step, first plant the foot, and then punch. This is to ensure good structure and stability before punching. While this is a valid strategy, it does lose out on some of the power that can be gained from the forward momentum of the step. The problem with first placing your foot and then punching, is that once your foot lands—roots—the momentum dissipates into the ground.

Therefore, ITF Taekwon-Do, and some other martial arts like Xingyi, coordinate their movement so that their stepping foot lands at the same moment as the striking hand. In this way, the technique properly employs the whole momentum of the moving body and transfers this force through the technique (hand) into the target. Of course this is a basic concept in ITF Taekwon-Do and is practised constantly as part of our fundamental movements, but it is particularly in the patterns where we are constantly confronted with this principle in various types of techniques and contexts.

Using Gravity for Initiating Motion

Something I particularly find interesting about this principle when combined with ITF's focus on relaxation is how one learns to initiate movement of the body by using gravity's force, rather than one's own muscular force.

Doing so allows you to stay in a state of relaxation much longer than if you were to initiate your movement through muscular force. (The emphasis on relaxation was addressed in the previous post.)

For instance, a typical forward stepping punch in Karate requires that the Karateka thrusts forward with his rear foot. On the other hand, in ITF Taekwon-Do the way to initiate motion in the patterns is not by immediately thrusting with the rear leg, but rather by first relaxing the forward leg which causes the body to “fall” forward, so that the body's mass is brought forward onto the front leg in a natural, literally effortless way. This “falling” momentum is then capitalised on by the sequential acceleration of the different parts of the body later in the step. It is true that from start to finish the Karateka's forward stepping punch would be faster; however, the ITF practitioner's emphasis on accelerating more body mass is greater. Of course, it is important to remember that the aim of the patterns is not to teach fast, hurried defending and attacking, as might be the case in Karate. For more realistic defending and counter-attacking training other parts of the ITF pedagogy is used. The ITF patterns is building kinaesthetic awareness, and in this instance the goal is to acquire the ability to accelerate body mass sequentially and use gravity where appropriate to help with this, while emphasising relaxation.

Unhurried Tempo, but Hurried Acceleration 

It would be wrong to think, however, that the practitioner is not learning to move quickly. Actually, because there is a focus on acceleration, not merely on hurriedness, the practitioner learns how to accelerate quite dramatically.

Take a look at this video that shows a pattern in slow motion—the slow motion starts at 3:22. Notice, although each movement starts very slow, how fast they accelerate towards the end of each movement.




Even in a video that is artificially slowed down, one can see that the techniques are not slow throughout—in fact, at the moments just before impact, the techniques are extremely fast (even while shown in slow motion!).

So what is it that encourages this sudden acceleration? There is a principle in ITF Taekwon-Do that states that movements of the hands, feet and breath should finish at the same time—“To bring the action of [everything] into one singe coordinated action . . .”

In other words, for example in the case of a stepping back-fist strike, by the time the stepping foot is planted, the attack (the back-fist strike) should have landed also. In ITF Taekwon-Do one would generally not first step, root your foot, and then strike, as the moment your stepping food lands (and roots your body weight) the body's momentum is dispersed into the ground. So the back-fist strike should occur at the moment or slightly just before the stepping foot roots, causing the accelerated mass of your whole body to “fall” into the strike.

However, in the whole sequence of body parts being accelerated sequentially the striking arm actually starts quite late in moving towards it's target. The motion starts in the legs, then the hips, then the shoulders, then the elbow and lastly the forearm and wrist is flicked. This means that the arm should move very quickly to catch up with the motion of the rest of the body. While the patterns have no urgency in tempo, they definitely have an urgency in finishing the technique before the stepping foot has rooted (or before the “controlled fall” is finished). The focus is therefore not merely on moving quickly from technique to technique; rather, the focus is on accelerating every individual technique sequentially and as quickly as possible so that “the final phase of [the] movement [is] the fastest,” with a significant amount of body mass engaged behind it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a primary value of the patterns is to supply an environment in which to drill the acceleration of body mass in techniques, while using sequential motion to create a whip-like effect, and using gravity's force as an aid where appropriate. Moving with a sense of relaxation is a key ingredient in this regard. Although there is generally no sense of urgency in between techniques (with some exceptions), there is a definite sense of urgency in accelerating each individual technique quite rapidly.

In the next instalment(s) on what I consider the kinaesthetic value of the ITF patterns I will look at rhythm and timing, and breathing.



1. Bruce Lee, “The Tao of Jeet Kune Do”

ITF Breathing

I had the time recently to write my promised post on the kinaesthetic value of pattern training (the ITF way), but I decided to postpone this in order to first talk a little about ITF Taekwon-Do's way of breathing, which is one of the important things we practise in the patterns.

Any professional athlete will tell you, breathing will make or break your performance. I am always surprised by beginners (in martial arts or other activities) who actually forget to breath—or rather, who hold their breaths while concentrating on the activity at hand. One's endurance is severely affected by inconsistent breathing, not to mention ones mental focus.

Taekwon-Do, like most Oriental martial arts, make use of abdominal breathing. Abdominal breathing, emphasises deep inhalations during which the abdomen is expanded in order to fill the lungs fully; then tensing the abdomen to help push out the breath better during exhalation. This type of abdominal breathing is the preferred “natural” way of breathing encouraged for normal activities. It is often practised during meditation.

The Chinese character for Ki (i.e. life force)
also translates as "breath"

In Oriental Medicine and those martial arts concerned with Ki (기) development, abdominal breathing, known as “danjeon hoheub” (단전 호흡) in Korean, aims to increase and store Ki at the danjeon—Ki being the “life force”, often also translated as “breath”, “energy” or “spirit”, and the “danjeon” being the body's center, a point below the navel and a few inches inwards where one can supposedly store Ki.

But Breath Control, “hoheub jojeol” (호흡 조절), in ITF Taekwon-Do also involves another type of breathing, usually described as a “short sharp breath”. The ITF Encyclopaedia (Volume 2, p. 31) describes it as follows: “A sharp exhaling of breath at the moment of impact and stopping the breathing during the execution of a movement tense the abdomen to concentrate maximum effort on the delivery of the motion, while a slow inhaling helps the preparation of the next movement.”

The short sharp breath in Taekwon-Do functions in the same way as the kihap or “spirit shout”. Kihap (기합)  directly translated from the Hanja (氣合) means “energy-unite”, but generally, or rather literally, it is understood as a “shout of concentration” (of both mind and body); more esoterically it is understood as a shout during which you project your Ki through your breath. Many martial arts make use of the kihap, particularly as a form of intimidation. According to martial art legends some great masters have such great Ki-skill (기합술), that they could make people faint or turn and flee with only their kihap. Kihap is also sometimes translated from Korean as “a shout of rage” or even “punishment”. Whether one believe in Ki or not, the psychologically disturbing effect of such a “shout of rage” can very well be of value during a fight.

In ITF Taekwon-Do, however, the psychological effect on the opponent is regarded less than the personal physiological effect, and therefore instead of focussing on kihaps we rather emphasise the value of the short sharp breath. General Choi felt that when students do the kihap for certain movements in the patterns they neglected those movements that did not have a kihap. He felt that all movements are equally important and should receive the same amount of focus and determination, so rather than have a kihap on particular techniques, a short sharp breath on every technique (with some exceptions) is better.

The short sharp breath acts somewhat like a sneeze where the whole body is tensed and focussed in that moment, i.e. the moment of impact. Another analogy may be the natural grunt we make when we pick up something heavy. The exhalation or grunt helps to tense and concentrate the core muscles, which stabilises the body's structure and help to ensure a better, stronger technique.

The breathing rhythm of the short sharp breath is similar to that in boxing. As the person in the boxing tutorial below explains “If you want sharp explosive punches, you need sharp explosive breathing.”




An interesting thing about the short sharp breath is that when done properly, one hardly need any conscious in-breath. Because of the tensed abdomen an artificial vacuum is created in the lungs, so that the moment you relax air is automatically drawn into the lungs. The result is that you can have numerous consecutive short sharp exhalations, without once feeling a need to consciously breathe in, as long as you properly relax in between your techniques. This is very valuable for consecutive and fast motion techniques.

Just as in boxing, every punch (or in the case of ITF Taekwon-Do every technique; i.e. punch, kick, block, etc.) is accompanied with one strong, sharp exhalation. One instructor from Northern Korea advised that the exhale should be about two-thirds of the lungs' air, and that at the moment of impact the lips should be closed to help with tensing the muscles. This is the way breathing works for normal motion techniques. Other motions like slow-motion, fast motion, connecting motion and continuous motion work similarly, but with slight adjustments. In the full sine wave motion (relax-rise-fall) the first two-thirds while the body is relaxing and rising may be used for relaxed inhalation, while on the last third of the motion, while the body is "falling", the short sharp exhalation is used. (Notice the similarities with breathing in Tai Chi Chuan.)

The short sharp breath, therefore, not only teaches one to properly tense the body at the moment of impact, it also teaches one to stay relaxed in between such moments. People tend to unnecessary tense their bodies when it is not beneficial to do so. Correct breathing is therefore not only about knowing how and when to be tense, but also how to stay relaxed in between. Grandmaster Rhee Ki Ha explains it in his book This is Taekwon-Do as follows: “as we move we should feel light, relaxed and flowing like water. When we finish a movement [i.e. at the moment of impact] the body should become strong and hard like iron. The breath is how we can achieve this . . .”

Breathing is not only used to help with tensing the core muscles for added power with techniques, the ITF Encyclopaedia also claims that “Through practice, breath stopped in the state of exhaling at the critical moment when a blow is landed against a pressure point on the body can prevent a loss of consciousness and stifle pain.” The idea of controlling pain through breathing is something espoused by some other martial arts as well, for instance Systema. It is well known that proper breathing has a calming effect and can be used to help to endure stress, anxiety, shock, and even helps while giving birth.

In summary, ITF Taekwon-Do encourages abdominal breathing. For combat purposes the abdominal breathing is adjusted to a short sharp breath that helps to focus both body and mind, helps prevent premature fatigue, helps to tense the core muscles at the moment of impact, helps to relax the body during the rest of time, and possibly even help to stifle pain or to endure strikes to pressure points.

Another Perspective on the Reaction Arm

I wrote about the reaction arm in fundamental techniques, particularly traditional punching, a few weeks ago. In that particular post I basically said that there are two main views regarding the function of the reaction arm. The one view sees it as critical for maintaining proper structural balance. The second view holds that these reaction arms act as pulling techniques. Therefore, an interpretation for a traditional punch would basically be that you pull your opponent towards you with the one hand (reaction hand) while pommeling him with the other. There is a third view which I did not mention in that post, partially because it is such a very traditional view that is dismissed by many people, and because it doesn't apply to most techniques—only a small group of techniques may actually benefit from this interpretation of the reaction arm.

This third view considers the spine of the body as one's central axis and your arms as extensions on opposite sides of each other that rotates around this axis. There are two objects that can help you envisage this view.

A Korean pellet drum,
which is called a do 도 in Korean.

The first object is a pellet drum, known in Korean as a do 도 / 鼗 or nodo 노도 / 路鼗. A pellet drum has two membranes on opposite ends of the barrel. On the sides of the barrel are two strings with pellets attached at their ends. A pole is attached through the drum (through the barrel, not the membranes).

A Japanese pellet drum toy,
known as a denden daiko でんでん太鼓.

One plays a pellet drum by swiftly rotating the pole in one direction and then in the other direction, which causes the pellets to swing because of the centrifugal force that occurs when the pole is rotated. The pellets hit the membranes and create sound.

Aeolipile, aka Hero's Steam Engine

The second object is an aeolipile, sometimes refered to as Hero's steam engine, after Hero of Alexandria that described its mechanics in the first century A.D. An aeilipile is basically a boiler that is so set-up that it can rotate around an axis. On opposite sides of the boiler are two curved nozzles pointing in opposite directions to each other and perpendicular to the axis of the boiler. When steam escapes from these nozzles, thrust is caused, based on the the rocket principle in accordance with Newton's Third Law of Motion. This causes the boiler to spin around its axis.

Both objects are somewhat flawed to describe what happens in the human body in the third view of the reaction arm. Nonetheless, they help to illustrate the underlying idea. Note that in both cases there is a pair of opposing elements: the two strings-and-pellets on the drum and the opposing curved nozzles on the aeolipile. In both cases the pair of opposing elements rotate around a central axis. The traditional martial art idea is that the one opposing element contributes to the force of the other opposing element. In other words, by forcefully swinging my arm in one direction, this adds to the force of the other arm moving in the opposite direction.

Me trying out Pak Hok Pai in Hong Kong

In some of the Chinese martial arts one sees this idea flamboyantly applied. Sometimes the arms are literally flung in opposite directions just like the strings-and-pellets on the pellet drum. A good example where this idea is applied is Pak Hok Pai, the (Tibetan) White Crane Kung Fu system.



There is definitely power in these techniques caused by the centrifugal force, but I would be hard pressed to say that the arms moving in opposite directions cause the noticeable force in each other. It is probably more correct to say that the arms swing because of the centrifugal force. It is not the arms in themselves that cause the force. It is easy to demonstrate that the arms do not directly influence each other's reaction to the centrifugal force. Stay on one spot and then start to spin around, keeping both arms relaxed so that they naturally swing away from your body because of the centrifugal force acting on them. Now bring one arm towards your body, keeping it tight against you. The fact that this arm is kept from acting on the centrifugal force, contrary to the other arm, does not influence the other arm from still swinging normally as before while you keep on spinning on the spot. The essence of the force, therefore, lies not in your arms working in opposite directions, but lies in the actual rotation of your body that is spinning around an axis. (What is properly influenced when you use only one arm during this spinning exercise is your balance. You have better equilibrium with both arms out.)

The important thing is therefore not the opposite directions that your arms are moving in; the important thing is the rotation of the body around its axis which causes centrifugal force. While I don't believe that the arms moving in opposite directions contribute to each other's force, that doesn't mean that they could not contribute in another way. If pulling back my arm helps me in rotating my body around it's axis faster, then it can actually influence the centrifugal force, which in turn will influence the other arm.

Sanko's Imaginary Jet-Propelled Rotating Glove-Weapon

To explain this, imagine a ridiculous weapon I invented for this post that works similar to an aeolipile. The weapon is made up of a structure with two beams attached at opposite ends of an axis. At the far end of one of the beams is the attacking tool—a boxer's glove—attached perpendicularly to the beam. Perpendicularly attached at the far end of the other beam is a rocket engine. The jet propulsion of the rocket, in accordance with Newton's Third Law of Motion, causes the structure to rotate around the axis, resulting in the glove hitting a person standing close by. We see here that the beam moving in one direction causes the motion of the beam moving in the opposite direction—the glove's force is equal and opposite to the force of the rocket.

Speaking of this principle of Reaction Force, i.e. Newton's Third Law of Motion, the ITF Encyclopaedia states that “A punch with the right fist is aided by pulling back the left fist to the hip” (Volume 2, p. 15). The encyclopaedia doesn't expand on this topic, so it is unclear how pulling back the left fist contributes to the punch with the right hand. The only way I see this to be feasible is if the reaction arm (the one that is pulled back) contributes to the acceleration of the body's rotation around its axis. This in turn will help to push the punching arm which is structurally on the opposite side of the body, just like the glove is opposite to the rocket as depicted in my imaginary weapon.

Many traditional martial arts are of the view that the reaction arm contributes to the force of the acting arm; that pulling back the non-punching arm aids the punching arm. It must be remembered, however, that the reaction arm is not directly affecting the acting arm; instead, it is possible for the reaction arm to contribute to the rotation force of the body. If the reaction arm is not positively affecting the rotation of the body around its axis, then it is not contributing to the force of the strike. On the other hand, if the reaction arm contributes to the rotation of my body around its axis, then it may very well contribute to the force of the punching arm.

It is important to remember, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, that only some techniques—those that potentially benefit from centrifugal force—will benefit from the reaction arm in this way. For many techniques the reaction arm does not contribute to centrifugal force; instead it contributes to better structural balance and its associated benefits.

Read the previous post on "The Reaction Arm."

The Reaction Arm

The reaction arm in traditional martial arts punching and other fundamental movements is quite controversial. The reaction arm is, for instance when doing a front punch, the arm that is pulled back to the hip, while the other fist is flung to the target. Although controversial, for the traditional martial artist there are many proposed reasons for employing the reaction arm. In this post I will mention the two most prominent reasons that I am aware of, as this topic is viewed within ITF Taekwon-Do.

A front fore fist punch with the
reverse arm pulled back towards
the hip. (Image Source)

First, the “reaction arm” functions exactly as its name implies, as a reaction to the punching arm's action. This has a counter-balancing effect. If you were to punch with all your strength and with your whole body weight behind the punch, the resultant force will actually jerk you off balance. Always keeping good structural balance and good posture is paramount in traditional martial arts as the moment you are off-balance or your body structure is unsound, you are strategically disadvantaged, something that your enemy can exploit.

A lot of Taekwon-Do training occurs without hitting an actual target and many of the punches and kicks are done in the air, without any contact. During such training the reaction arm is crucial for keeping good balance and structural alignment. Not doing so may lead to bad habits and overextension of joints, which could lead to long term ailments. However, when you actually do hit something, the reaction arm is not necessarily required because the object you are hitting is providing the reaction force as we know, based on Newton's Third Law of Motion. In other words, when you train against a punching bag or when you actually hit a person, you may at times, and sometimes should, opt to do it without the reaction arm. In ITF Taekwon-Do we actually see this. Certain training is done with the reaction arm (e.g. fundamental technique training), while other exercises are done without the reaction arm (e.g. tournament sparring drills). The discrepancy doesn't mean that the one is “traditional” and the other “practical,” it merely means that one form of training assumes more force that could affect your structure and another form of training that assumes that you will be hitting actual objects.

A knife-hand inward strike with
the reverse arm covering the torso.
(Image Source)

Furthermore, some reaction arm techniques, while aiming to ensure proper balance, also act as guards, covering vital spots on your anatomy. Take for instance the knife hand inward strike where the reaction arm covers the front of your body which has many targets that are potentially easy for your opponent to reach at this close distance. There are quite a number of techniques where the reaction arm seem to have this auxiliary defensive function.

Me demonstrating an arm
bar: pulling with one hand,
while pressing with the other.

The second interpretation for the use of the reaction arm is that it functions as a pull. This is another example where ITF Taekwon-Do seem to base its technical philosophy on Newtonion physics. In this case it suggests that a technique will be more forceful if one combines the oncoming (pulled) momentum of your opponent plus the forward momentum of your own strike. Basically, one can actually pull your opponent into your punch and this will theoretically increase the effectiveness of the strike. It also prevents your opponent from dodging the attack. This is not something one see in most combat sports, not because it is not feasible, but probably because of the nature of the sport and sport equipment—sport rules that discourage grabbing or gloves preventing you from grabbing. When one look at gloveless combat sports like certain forms of Karate, one does occasionally see such pulling-while-punching techniques as in the video below. I personally also like to teach applications where the reaction arm is used to great effect as a grab and pull while attacking with the other arm. This combination of pulling and pushing is a common theme in martial arts.




These are the two main ideas regarding the reaction arm in ITF Taekwon-Do. The first is that it acts as a reaction force that helps with proper balance and postural structure, which is especially necessary when practicing without the presence of a physical target. If you do hit an actual target you may often omit the reaction arm because the object will provide the reaction force according to Newton's Third Law of Motion. The second interpretation of the reaction arm is that it functions as a pull, which combines with the forward momentum of your attack, resulting in a more forceful collision. The reaction arm may also be part of other pull-push combination techniques.

What are your thoughts on the reaction arm?

Read my follow-up post on the reaction arm, which presents a third view based on centrifugal force: "Another Perspective on the Reaction Arm."

Balgyeong and Gi/Chi/Ki/Qi in ITF Taekwon-Do

In my previous post I established that ITF Taekwon-Do also apply the principle of balgyeong 발경, known in the Chinese internal martial arts as fajin 發勁. This has not always been the case; in its early history Taekwon-Do resembled Shotokan Karate and had little kungfu-like qualities. This changed as ITF Taekwon-Do became much more relaxed in its motions with an emphasis on kinetic chaining and dropping the body weight. And while I believe balgyeong is part of ITF Taekwon-Do, it is not used across the board; some techniques do not lend themselves to the mechanics of balgyeong. There therefore seems to be two types of techniques in ITF Taekwon-Do: those that employ balgyeong; and those that do not. (I'm yet to build up an effective vocabulary to describe the two adequately.)

My discussion of balgyeong has so far been a very mechanistic one and it is possible that I'm neglecting an important part of it. Inherent to balgyeong / fajin, according to the internal martial arts, is the concept of Gi¹—also referred to as Ki, Qi or Chi. Because it is pronounced “ghee” /기/ in Korean, I will adopt the term Gi henceforth even though the ITF Encyclopaedia has rendered it “Ki.” Some traditional stylist say that one need not concern oneself with such esoteric abstractions as Gi to understand balgyeong / fajin. Dan Djurdjevic, for instance, feels that the idea of Gi was developed as part of a “pre-scientific paradigm,” which have become void now that we have a better paradigm (Newtonian physics) to explain the transfer of energy with. So for some internal martial art practitioners it is possible to understand balgyeong / fajin without going into abstruse discussions of ethereal energies. One gets an almost similar sentiment from the ITF Encyclopeadia, which has very little to say about the topic. The actual term Gi (“Ki”) receives no mention in the Theory of Power or Training Secrets. While it may be implied, as we will see later, the emphasis in the Theory of Power is almost exclusively on an application of Newtonian physics.

Nonetheless, the quote Master Kim Hoon gave me regarding balgyeong does refer to Gi and if we are to understand balgyeong and its possible relevance to ITF Taekwon-Do, we have to look at this element too. Here is the definition for balgyeong Master Kim Hoon passed on to me:

발경(發勁-힘을 발휘함) 육합(六合:三盤(다리,허리,어깨),心,意,氣)을 하나로 뭉쳐 온 몸의 힘을 폭탄처럼 터뜨리는 것. (Source)

It basically says that there are six things, two pairs of three elements, which when applied harmoniously creates explosive power. The first group focus on the mechanics of balgyeong and includes the legs, hips and shoulders (다리, 허리, 어깨). It is this mechanistic part of balgyeong that I discussed in previous posts (see here and here). The second group includes the more esoteric elements: the heart or mind 心; one's thoughts, intention or will 意; and Gi 氣.


Let's first look at what Gi is and then we can see how it is part of ITF Taekwon-Do and ITF Taekwon-Do's use of balgyeong.

Literally translated Gi 氣 means air, gas, steam, or vapour. By implication it could also refer to one's breath and connotatively to one's spirit.² It is often interpreted to mean life-energy.

Source

In the Orient it is believed that Gi energy permeates all living things. It can also be found in high abundance in fresh air, especially early in the morning around trees and flowing water, such as rivers and waterfalls.³ Martial artists, especially those concerned with Gi, can frequently be found training in such Gi encouraging conditions. In China elderly people can often be seen practising Tai Chi Quan early in the morning in parks in order to improve their health. In Korea elderly people often go hiking in the mountains for similar reasons. The ITF Encyclopaedia describes Gi as “spirit” or “a form of active energy which fills every physical cell and organ.”

What is interesting is that General Choi Hong-Hi in the ITF Encyclopaedia explained the concept of Gi using two terms; firstly Gi 氣 / 기, which we discussed above, and secondly “Chi” or “Ji” 志 / 지 (Vol. 1, p. 58, 59).

The hanja character for Ji is 志 and is made up of two root forms 士and 心. The first means scholar and the second means heart or mind: together the meaning denotes one's will; purposeful thought; determination. The ITF Encyclopaedia explains it as “will” or the “motivating force.” According to General Choi Ji 志 leads and Gi 氣 follows (Vol. 1, p. 59). In other words, Gi is directed by our will. The application of Gi, life-energy, is achieved through purposeful thought, determination, motivation or will-power.

There is also another, more practical way, in which Gi could be considered part of Taekwon-Do training. If we translate Gi to mean breath, then Gi is a significant part of ITF Taekwon-Do power generation and training. “Breath Control” is one of the six elements that constitutes the Theory of Power and is therefore part of how we perform every technique.

Let's return to the three elements that's part of balgyeong, which we mentioned earlier: First, Shim / 심/ 心—the heart or mind 心; second, Eui / 의 / 意—one's thoughts, intention or will; and third, Gi / 기 / 氣—life energy, breath or spirit.

General Choi mentions Gi and Ji. At first glance it would seem that only Gi corresponds with the three elements above. However, the other two (heart or mind 心, and one's thoughts, intention or will 意) are both implied in Ji. The character 心, meaning heart or mind, is embedded in Ji 志. The remaining character 意 can be translated as heart, soul, conscience, thought, opinion and mind. These are all related to Sim 心 and Ji 志.

Since Ji and Gi are both considered part of ITF Taekwon-Do, then one can assume that all six the elements that make up part of the definition of balgyeong is also part of ITF Taekwon-Do.

Whether all six these elements are in fact practiced in applicable techniques by all ITF Taekwon-Do practitioners is, of course, questionable. Nonetheless, a practitioner wishing to perform ITF Taekwon-Do in a way that actively uses balgyeong / fajin in his or her techniques is in my opinion, from a theoretical basis, at liberty to do so.



Footnotes:

1. The ITF Encyclopaedia uses the McCune–Reischauer system of romanization for Korean into English which renders /g/ as “k”.

2. There exists a close semantic relationship between the Oriental concept of Gi and some Biblical terms; for instance the Hebrew word neshamah נשׁמה, which also means wind or air, as well as vital breath. It is used in the Creation account when God breathes the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam (Genesis 2:7). A synonym is ruach רוּח, which also means wind, breath, strong exhalation, life-energy, or spirit. This term is used already in the second verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:2), referring to the Spirit of God. From the context we understand that the “Spirit” of God is not merely the breath of God, but indeed some intelligent agency. The Greek translation is pneuma πνεῦμα and can also be translated as a current of air, breath, wind, or by implication a spirit and sometimes one's mind. All three variations, while meaning wind or breath, has the connotative meaning of spirit, or some type of intelligence; i.e. one's reasoning ability or will.

3. Interestingly, the air around trees and flowing water has a high content of negatively charged ions. Negative ions are known to alleviate stress, decrease depression and other physiological benefits.

Like Karate or Hsing-I / Crowbar or Ball-on-Chain?

Source

Apparently Bruce Lee once described the difference between strikes in Karate versus the strikes in Kung-Fu as follows: “a Karate punch is like being hit with a crowbar, while a Gongfu punch is like being hit by a metal ball on the end of a chain.” I have not been able to confirm this quotation, but the idea is vivid enough and serves the purpose of this post, which is to ask the question: “Does ITF Taekwon-Do hit like Karate (i.e. like a crowbar) or like Hsing-I or Tai-Chi Quan (i.e. a ball on a chain)?"

The ball-on-chain method is, of course, what is known in the Chinese internal styles as fajin 發勁. (Balgeong 발경 in Korean.) It is described by one martial artist as “impulse” or the “explosive transfer of momentum” and by another as “impact.”

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I can think of at least two differences when being hit by a crowbar versus being hit by a ball on a chain. The first is the structural integrity of the crowbar. When the iron rod hits you, it does not change form. It stays hard and rigid. On the other hand, the chain to which the ball is attached does not have the structural integrity of the iron rod. As the ball is swung toward the target the chain might be stretched erect and give the illusion of it being a rigid structure, but once the ball has hit the target and the momentum that kept the chain erect is transferred into the target, the chain collapses. Secondly, the crowbar seems to stay connected to the target longer than the iron ball. After the iron ball hits the target its force is transferred into the target and the ball merely drops. The crowbar, on the other hand, is more likely to continue moving with the target; as if, in a sense, pushing the target or it might bounce off the target. True, the ball might also bounce off, but it is more likely to just drop down. Imagine the correctly played white snooker ball that comes to a quick halt after it hits the other ball as most of its momentum is transferred into the other ball; or Newton's collision ball phenomenon. (These latter examples do not really visualize the essence of balgyeong, which is more concerned with transferring energy into the target, rather than through the target.)

So which is it for ITF Taekwon-Do, crowbar or ball-on-chain?

Well, let's look at refer to the ITF Encyclopaedia in search of the answer. In the section on Concentration in the Theory of Power we find the following statement: “the shorter the time for the concentration, the greater will be the power of the blow” (Vol. 2, p. 20). Another section in the Encyclopaedia concerning attacking techniques states the following: “The moment the attacking tool reaches the target, pull it back . . .” (Vol. 3, p. 17). The attacking tool does not spend unnecessary time on the target. Once the momentum is transferred, it is pulled-back. Regarding punching the Encyclopaedia says that one should: “Avoid unnecessary tension of the arms and shoulders” and “Relax the muscles immediately after the fist has reached the target” (Vol. 3, p. 29).

In other words, the attacking tool acts more like a ball-on-chain, very quickly transferring its momentum into the target and immediately “relaxing” afterwards. The structure is not kept like a crowbar, but instead it relaxes like a ball-on-chain. Techniques in ITF Taekwon-Do also adhere to the principle of kinetic chaining where the “hip is jerked slightly before the action in order to concentrate the larger muscles of the hip and abdomen together with the smaller muscles of the four extremities against the target simultaneously.” This, of course happens sequentially. For example, in a punch, first the hips rotates towards the target, then the shoulders, then the arm is snapped forward—all of this is preceded by motion from the legs based on the “knee spring”—forming one continuous kinetic chain.

If fajin / balgyeong can be defined as kinetic chaining with emphasis on the quick transferal of momentum—impulse or impact—into the target, achieved by relaxed movements before and directly after the blow, then I believe ITF Taekwon-Do more closely follow the ball-on-chain method than the crowbar method. In other words, an ITF Taekwon-Do punch is more like a Hsing-I Quan punch than a Karate punch.

It is important to remember that this has not always been (and in a sense is still not always) the case. Taekwon-Do's father is Shotokan Karate and in the early days of Taekwon-Do the movements very much resembled Karate. The real change towards this balgyeong way of moving occurred later in ITF Taekwon-Do's evolution (I'm guessing the early 80s) even though the principles (i.e. Theory of Power) were set to paper from quite early on.

However, the observant practitioner will discover that ITF Taekwon-Do does not utilise the balgyeong method exclusively. ITF Taekwon-Do seems to be using both the ball-on-chain and the crowbar, depending on the technique. The turning kick, for instance, works on the ball-on-chain principle, while the spinning reverse turning kick (not the reverse hook kick) is based on the crowbar principle. The basic front punch employs the ball-on-chain method while the ridge-hand strike uses the crowbar method. The front snap kick is ball-on-chain; the front pushing kick is crowbar. The twisting kick, ball-on-chain; the downward kick, crowbar. And the side-piercing kick can be performed either on the ball-on-chain principle or on the crowbar principle, depending on the desired effect.

Although there has been an evolution in how ITF Taekwon-Do approaches power generation, it has not completely thrown off its Shotokan Karate heritage. It would seem that power generation in ITF Taekwon-Do is situational; sometimes used typically Karate ways of power generation, other times using balgyeong. The determining factor is usually the technique employed, but could also be the effect desired. What is significant, however, is that some of the most iconic Karate-like movements, for instance the walking stance front fore fist punch or the low forearm block, doesn't strictly employ the same Karate-like mechanics any more.

Thoughts on Fajin / Balgyeong in ITF Taekwon-Do

After my previous post on Hsing-I Quan I've been thinking a lot about “fajin” and how it relates to power generation in ITF Taekwon-Do. Fajin 發勁 is a Chinese word and describes a way of doing one's movements in Chinese internal martial arts. In Korean it is known as “balgyeong” 발경 and is almost exclusively used in relation to Taegeuk-Kwon 태극권, the Korean name for Tai-Chi Quan 太極拳. Fajin / balgyeong is sometimes paralleled to sneezing as the energy is metaphorically (or is it literally?) released from deep within the body, similar to a sneeze.

The video below shows a Tai-Chi practitioner demonstrating fajin in his motions.



Looking at motions that demonstrate fajin, I cannot help but see overlap with movements in ITF Taekwon-Do. I asked Master Kim Hoon about balgyeon but he said that while he is familiar with the concept, it has never been his area of study, so he could not expand on it much. Instead he sent me the following description:

발경(發勁-힘을 발휘함) 육합(六合:三盤(다리,허리,어깨),心,意,氣)을 하나로 뭉쳐 온 몸의 힘을 폭탄처럼 터뜨리는 것. (Source)

The description seems to indicate that there are six elements to balgyeong, grouped as a pair of triplets. The first three elements concern the mechanics of the movements, involving the legs, hips and shoulders (다리, 허리, 어깨). The second group is more esoteric and concerns the heart or mind, the intention or will, and gi (aka ki / qi) or life-energy (心, 意, 氣). Regarding the first group, the description basically talks about coordinating the legs, hips, and shoulders sequentially, to generate explosive power. I will have to think more about the second group and how it relates to ITF Taekwon-Do, but as for the first group, I think the relationship of legs, hips and shoulders are obvious to those familiar with kinetic chaining or sequential motion as employed in ITF Taekwon-Do.

One Tai-Chi website, MartialTaiChi.co.uk, describes a fa-jin strike as follows:

The following illustrations will attempt to show levels of relative muscular tension during a fajin strike.

(Source)

The white portions of the body show only peng or background tension, such as that required to stand up. The power (jin) is generated by firing successive muscle groups, starting with the rear foot and pushing up from the braced rear heel through each muscle in turn, adding acceleration through each successive muscle or group of muscles. The red areas show the body parts where the momentum is currently being accelerated and the orange through to yellow sections show the body settling back to a lower level of tension such as that necessary to brace against the impact. The fighter should not rise up as her power pushes through her body, rather she should sink lower and compress to brace the strike. The whole process should happen in a fraction of a second. Notice how the whole body returns to its background peng levels once the power has been released so that the fighter may return to a state whereby she is equally ready to move any portion of her body.

A typical ITF Taekwon-Do fundamental punch works on similar kinetic chaining principles. Before the shoulders rotate, it is preceded by the turning of the hip, which in turn is part of a greater leg-motion initiated by the knee-spring. Although the process is never so clearly described in the ITF Encyclopaedia, the principles are embedded in the Theory of Power and Training Secrets, as well as other descriptive passages in the ITF Encyclopaedia. I've posted about kinetic chaining a number of times before. (See the “Kinetic Chaining” keyword tag.)

But fajin is not merely kinetic chaining. If it was, then we can describe what a baseball pitcher does as fajin or a pro boxer's cross punch as fajin. Maybe I am wrong, and fajin is merely kinetic chaining, but my gut tells me differently. For one thing, in the video above of the Tai-Chi practitioner demonstrating fajin, one can see why the sneezing metaphor is used. The same sneezing metaphor does not fit the description of the baseball pitcher and western boxer. See for example the Fight Science explanation of kinetic chaining as used by a boxer to achieve a knock-out punch. The kinetic chaining is obvious, but there is no “sneezing.”

Dan Djurdjevic describes fajin as “an explosive transfer of momentum - impulse.” For me, ITF Taekwon-Do is all about momentum, but do we approach our use of moment like the Chen style Tai-Chi or Hsing-I practitioner or do we approach our use of momentum like a boxer?

I have my thoughts and will probably divulge them a little later. In the meantime, what's the method you employ? And how do you think ITF Taekwon-Do go about generating momentum?

Further Reading:

• Impact and Momentum Techniques
• Dan Djurdevic's post on "Understanding the Internal Arts" in which he defines fajin.