The Teleology of Sparring in ITF Taekwon-Do

The following video recording is of my presentation at Stanford University, at the 2019 International Academic Conference for Taekwondo. The video quality is a bit low as I captured it with my mobile phone from the video stream that was made during the conference. When I find a better quality recording, I will post it later. Below is also the abstract for my presentation.

Abstract: The Teleology of Free Sparring in ITF Style Taekwondo

The Korean term for sparring in ITF style taekwondo is matseogi which denotes opposing or standing up against an adversary. This is different from the term gyeorugi (i.e. from gyeoruda, “to compete”) that is used in WT / Kukki taekwondo or the older term daeryeon (“fighting”) that was used in the early development of taekwondo. Matseogi in ITF style taekwondo ought to be understood teleologically as a “Korean martial art of self-defense.” Towards that goal, the ITF pedagogy guides the practitioner through various types of matseogi (from “pre-arranged” to “unrestricted”), which is supposed to sequentially prepare the practitioner for the telos (i.e. ultimate goal) of real-life self-defense. It is very difficult to prepare for a real-life self-defense situation because reality is often chaotic, with many unpredictable variables. Consequently, the ITF pedagogy offers yaksok matseogi (“pre-arranged sparring”) with much reduces variables, so that the practitioner can focus on and hone appropriate skills for specific variables. Progressively more variables are introduced until the practitioner finally practices jayu matseogi (i.e. “free sparring” or “unrestricted sparring”), which is supposed to allow for the inclusion of as many variables as possible to mimic the chaos of a real-life self-defense encounter. This type of training is often referred to as “reality based” training. However, the term jayu matseogi (“free sparring”) has been appropriated for competition sparring at ITF tournaments. Because competition sparring is bound by numerous sparring rules, this type of sparring still has too many reduced variables to reflect the very high variable situation of a real self-defense encounter. Since for many ITF schools competition sparring is considered jayu matseogi, their pedagogic telos is never achieved, as there is no ultimate “reality based” training that mimics the unpredictability of a real self-defense encounter. It is my proposal that ITF competition sparring should be renamed because the current misapplied use of the term jayu matseogi effectively erases the true definition and purpose of jayu matseogi in the ITF pedagogy. Instead of jayu matseogi the term gyeorugi is an appropriate designation for competition sparring. Furthermore, actual “reality based” jayu matseogi needs to be reintroduced in schools where it is not trained, in order for ITF style taekwondo to achieve its pedagogic telos as a “Korean martial art of self-defense.”

Do you matseogi, gyeorugi, or daeryeon?

[Note, June 2026: there are some errors in this essay which I did not have the full facts for at the time of its writing. For a more up-to-date version, please refer to my post: Forging, Competing, Confronting: The Evolution of Taekwondo Through Its Sparring Terms.]

It was Dr George Vitale (ITF VIII Dan) who first pointed it out to me that the Korean term General Choi Hong-Hi, the principle founder of original Taekwon-Do, designated for sparring is different from the general term used for sparring in most other forms of Korean martial arts—including in Kukki (WTF) style of Taekwondo. In General Choi’s ITF Taekwon-Do we use the term matseogi 맞서기, whereas in most other forms of Taekwon-Do the term gyeorugi 겨루기 is used.

At first, I didn’t think much of it. I just assumed it was one of those general differences in terminology that are typical across styles. It was only after considering the systematic progress of “sparring” in ITF Taekwon-Do that I realized that the use of the term matseogi rather than gyeorugi was very deliberate. Of course, I should have known better. The more I study General Choi’s use of (Korean) terms, the more I realize how pedantic he was about his choice of terminology. Unfortunately, much of this is lost in translation, and often official translations into English are far from ideal. But I digress. In this essay, I want to explore the meanings of gyeorugi and matseogi, and point out why the distinction is important. I will also address another related term, daeryeon.

The term gyeorugi is based on the verb gyeoruda 겨루다 which means “to compete, vie for, or content with”. One could also use the term in a political sense, for example when one politician opposes another during an election; i.e. the politicians are contending for the same political office. The inflection gyeorugi, in the context of martial arts, basically means to dual, or to fight as in a competition. There is an obvious sport or competitive connotation to the term. Hence, the English translation of gyeorugi as “sparring” is acceptable, although “competing” is likely the closest translation of gyeorugi. 

On the other hand, the term matseogi does not denote a sport or competitive meaning, although it does suggest a confrontation. The term matseogi as a whole has a particular meaning that we will get to soon, but I’d like to first break the word into parts: mat 맞- and seogi 서기. The former, based on the verb matda 맞다 means to face something, as when you turn your body towards someone to greet them. This example of facing to greet someone is, in fact, one of the ways the word is generally understood. (Not to be confused with the homonyms that mean “correct” and “agreement”.) Seogi, based on the verb seoda 서다 literally means to stand up. If we were to read mat-seogi in this way, within the context of Taekwon-Do, it simply means to take in a position facing your training partner. This interpretation seems very appropriate when we consider the pre-arranged sparring (yagsok matseogi 약속 맞서기) exercises, like three-step sparring (sambo matseogi 삼보맞서기) and two-step sparring (ilbo matseogi 이보맞서기).

However, the term matseogi is generally understood in its entirety, as an inflection of the verb matseoda 맞서다, meaning “to oppose, to confront, to stand up to, or stand against, to face an enemy, or resist a force.” As pointed out earlier, unlike gyeorugi which has a competition association, matseogi implies a completely different type of conflict. Instead of a sport connotation, matseogi has a defensive connotation. The implied meaning is not competitive, but combative. Orthodox ITF Taekwon-Do pedagogy (and by this I mean what is in the ITF Encyclopaedia) has basically no training geared towards competition and tournament sparring. The implication, at least for ITF Taekwon-Do, is that all the so-called “sparring” drills, from three-step sparring to free sparring and self-defence exercises, have as their end goal not improving one’s tournament sparring ability, but rather to improve your combative, i.e. self-defence, skill.

It might actually be a good idea for ITF practitioners that participate in tournament sparring to follow Kukki Taekwondo's lead and refer to this activity as gyeorugi too, so not to confuse it with free sparring (jayu matseogi 자유 맞서기) which is a form of sparring without rules or limits on attacking tools or targets; in other words, a reality based fighting exercise, which is part of ITF's systematic pedagogy. As I explained in my essay on the purpose and value of pre-arranged sparring, each type of matseogi is part of “a continuum of training that becomes progressively less abstract and approaches the real combative encounter in a systematic way relative to the practitioner’s skill level,” for the purpose of combat (i.e. self-defence).

Fellow Taekwon-Do blogger Ørjan Nilsen brought my attention to a third term, daeryeon 대련, that was used by the early Kwan, such as Moo Duk Kwan, including General Choi's O Do Kwan. General Choi's early Taekwon-Do writings such as the 1966 Taekwon-Do Manual ("태권도 지침") and the 1972 Taekwon-Do Handbook ("태권도 교서") use the term daeryeon for sparring. It is still the term used for sparring in Tang Soo Do to this day. Daeryeon is actually a very appropriate term to use as it translates into English as “sparring” or “fighting,” without the competitive connotation that gyeorugi has. Why then was it not adopted by General Choi and the Kukki Taekwondoists? My hypothesis is because daeryeon is not a pure Korean word, but based on hanja (Chinese characters), 對鍊. Many people are aware that Taekwon-Do had a strong Karate foundation, hence many early terminology were based on Karate terms. The first Taekwon-Do masters, who at that time still basically practiced Koreanized Karate, often used the same terminology based on hanja, but simply pronounced them in Korean. We still see remnants of that in some Korean martial arts; for instance, the term for “knife-hand” in Tang Soo Do and Hapkido is sudo  수도, based on the hanja 手刀. The Japanese equivalent shuto (notice the similarity with the Korean pronunciation), used in Karate, is based on the same hanja. In Taekwon-Do (both ITF and Kukki) the term sonnal 손칼, which is a purely Korean collocation, is used instead. If I'm not mistaken, General Choi was the first to move away from using Shino-Korean (i.e. Korean words based on hanja) to using pure Korean terminology. His motive was very much a patriotic one. He wanted to evolve Taekwon-Do into a truly Korean martial art and a primary way for doing so was to use pure Korean terminology. There was also a practical purpose to this. As Taekwon-Do under General Choi was developed within a military context, he abandoned the more poetic descriptions that were often part of the Chinese descriptions for martial arts techniques. Commanding soldiers requires direct, precise language, rather than the sometimes ambiguous terms still found in some Chinese martial arts.

As a side note, my PhD promotor suggested I look into the possibility that General Choi's involvement with northern Korea as sponsors for his Taekwon-Do Encyclopedia need also be taken into account, as they tend to be language purists and also refrain from using hanja. However, Taekwon-Do historian Dr George Vitale assured me that "the terms were already in use well before [Gen. Choi] ever went to NK in 1980". Furthermore, although the first edition of the Encyclopaedia was indeed printer there, General Choi had autonomy over the content, as the financial support for the printing came from the publisher of the Tae Kwon Do Times magazine, and not from the north, as I had thought.

In short, daelyeon is a good translation for sparring, but it is a more traditional word, based on Chinese characters. As Taekwon-Do evolved, mostly pure Korean terminology were adopted. The pure Korean words gyeorugi and matseogi are now more commonly used. In Kukki Taekwon-Do the term gyeorugi with its competitive connotation is primarily used, and is a good translation for tournament sparring. This was a sensible choice for the Kukki branch of Taekwondo which already evolved towards sportive emphasis from as early as the 1960s. On the other hand, the term matseogi that is used in ITF Taekwon-Do does not denote competition but rather alludes to combat as in a self-defence situation. General Choi's military background may have been part of the motivation in adopting this term. Interestingly, daelyeon seems to be the most neutral term when neither sport or self-defence is implied, but simply referring to fighting or sparring in general.

The Golden Move and ITF Taekwon-Do's Pre-Arranged Sparring

The ultimate goal of pre-arranged sparring is to drill two important skills: attaining superior positioning and simultaneous defence-and-attack (SD&A). Acquiring the ability to always attain superior positioning and apply simultaneous defence-and-attack is no easy task, and requires a systematic learning schema, which will be the topic of this post.

Let’s start by discussing the value of superior positioning and of simultaneous defence-and-attack in turn. Although I think it is obvious why we need to practise these skills, it may be worth it to just review these concepts in case you may not be familiar with them since the ITF Encyclopaedia sadly doesn't discuss them in detail. Nevertheless, they are part and parcel of the ITF Taekwon-Do pedagogy and their importance is touched upon in the ITF Encyclopaedia.

The concept of positioning is often discussed under the concepts of “distance and angle” in ITF Taekwon-Do. Good positioning should do two things: take you off of the opponent's line of attack, and position you so that you can perform an easy and effective counter-attack that doesn't require any further set-up (i.e. no additional steps or positioning adjustment required). We call this advantageous positioning, in which you have both avoided the attack—you are not on the line of attack—and you are in a position for economical and effective counter-attack. Although there is much value in advantageous positioning, the ultimate aim of ITF Taekwon-Do is not merely advantageous positioning, but superior positioning (or a “position of superiority” as it is referred to in one instance in the ITF Encyclopaedia). Superior positioning has you in an advantageous position, but also has your opponent in a disadvantageous position. If your appoint is in a disadvantageous position, it means that he cannot easily attack you from that position and is so positioned that he cannot easily defend against attacks towards openings in his defence. If you have superior positioning you have the advantage of being in a relatively safe position with regards to your opponent and you also have easy access to certain of your opponents vital spots, while your opponent is in a disadvantaged position and will find it relatively difficult to protect his openings and perform immediate counter-attacks without repositioning.

Now let’s look at the concept of simultaneous defence-and-attack. A (self-defence) scenario is usually considered to have two participants: the attacker and the defender. From the very start, the attacker has the advantage because he has the element of surprise and has taken the initiative—he is in control of the action as he is the acting agent. In other words, the defender is re-acting and is therefore innately one-step behind the attacker’s action. Consider the following thought experiment: two people engage in a fight, but each are allowed only one “technique” per move. The attacker’s first move is to attack with a punch. The defender’s first move is in reaction to the attacker’s attack, so he defends the attacker’s punch with a forearm block. The attacker is allowed to perform his second move and now he kicks towards the defender, who in turn blocks the kick with his second move, and so on. In this scenario the defender will always be “defending,” and it is highly likely that the defender will eventually fail at appropriately blocking an attack and will get hit. While this hypothetical situation is very stylized (and is quite similar to the basic forms of pre-arranged step-sparring), it retains the essence of what often happens in a fight between an “attacker” and a “defender.” The solution to this problem is to switch the roles from being the re-active defender to becoming a defending-attacker, who no longer acts re-actively, but takes control of the action. The method for switching those roles is simultaneous defence-and-attack (SD&A).

Unfortunately the ITF Encyclopaedia doesn't provide a single term for both superior positioning and SD&A. Thankfully, in a recent blog post Rory Miller, a renowned self-defence instructor, discussed similar concepts that he combined under the term “Golden Move.” According to Mr. Miller, a Golden Move should (1) injure the threat, (2) protect yourself, (3) improve your position, and (4) worsen the threats position. These are all the things I spoke about above, but succinctly summarised. With a bow to Rory Miller I will henceforth apply his “Golden Move” term to refer to ITF Taekwon-Do's goal of superior positioning and SD&A.

As I mentioned earlier, consistently applying the Golden Move takes great skill; therefore, the ITF Taekwon-Do system—when properly taught—uses pre-arranged sparring drills to guide the practitioner along a path towards that goal. [Read my related post: "Prearranged Sparring: Definition, Purpose, and Value".]

At the lowest level is the first pre-arranged sparring drill: three-step sparring. This basic drill is used to make the defender aware of simple martial art concepts such as the attack line and centre line. The attacker attacks the defender with three—usually linear—attacks towards the defender's centre line, while giving three steps along the straight attack line. The defender is expected to defend against each attack towards his centre line with a basic block. This is the basic level where the practitioner starts to learn about simple attacks and choosing appropriate blocking tools to defend against attacks.

The beginner is also introduced to simple distances of attack-and-defence and at this level much focus is placed on keeping an appropriate safe distance between attacker and defender. Only the most elementary consideration is given to positioning at this stage. The defender is instructed to use the normal retreat reflex, to simply step backwards, away from the attacker’s attacks. However, the defender must maintain a close enough distance in order to apply a simple counter-attack towards the opponent's centre line after the three-step attack is completed. These various initial principles become the building blocks from which the Golden Move will later be taught. After several months of three-step sparring, the practitioner moves on to two step sparring which is introduced at the 7th grade level.

In two step sparring there is usually still no SD&A; however, the attack lines become more diverse as a greater variety of attacks are introduced. For instance, the attacker might attack with a straight punch and then follow up with a turning kick, which has a different attack trajectory. Such changes in the attack lines forces the defender to transition away from positioning based solely on the retreating-reflex. The defender should now also make use of side-steps and other foot-shifting techniques to not only get off of the attack line, rather than merely retreating, but also stay within an appropriate distance from the attacker in order to be able to launch an effective counter-attack. Emphasis is on advantageous positioning. Again, after an adequate time of two-step sparring practice, the practitioner moves on to one-step sparring, while still reviewing two-step sparring.

One-step sparring is introduced at 6th grade level. It is in this drill where the practitioner will eventually transition from mere advantageous positioning practice to superior positioning. Initially the attack is still first blocked and then followed up with a counter-attack towards a vital spot immediately afterwards. However, after some training there also occurs a transition from this segmented defence followed by a counter-attack to actual SD&A; for instance doing a block and a counter-attack at the very same time. A typical example may look as follows: the attacker throws a right punch towards the defender. The defender steps at a 45° angle towards the inside of the attacking arm, and performs a simultaneous fore-arm block with his left arm, and strikes with his right elbow towards the attacker's left temple. While such a defence is good, it is not yet a Golden Move because being on the inside of the attacker means that he can relatively easily defend against your attack and can also easily counter-attack. Another response to the attacker's punch may be to step to the outside of the attacker's right punch, and this time blocking his arm with the right forearm and doing a simultaneous counter-attack with a left elbow strike. In this scenario, since you are on the outside of the attacker and it is much more difficult for him to defend and counter-attack, the defender has achieved a Golden Move.

It is in one-step sparring where the Golden Move in various manifestations is most pertinently practised, and it is therefore the reason why it is the most frequently practised step-sparring drill by higher level Taekwon-Do practitioners. There exists many variations of one-step sparring to increase the difficulty of this exercise. For instance, the initial attack may be completely unscripted, and also the attacker need not stand in front of the defender, but start the attack from any position, such as from the defender's flank or even rear.

A quick side-note with regards to the idea of SD&A. There might be an erroneous assumption that SD&A means that the move should always include an actual simultaneous block with a counter-attack, but this is not necessarily the case. The “defence” in SD&A need not be a block, but can simply be some form of foot-shifting, side-step or dodge that clears your body of the attack. “Protect yourself,” to use Rory Miller's term, can of course mean to literally block the attack, but it can also mean to simply move out of the way of the attack. An example of such a SD&A against someone doing a front kick towards you might be a dodging turning kick—the dodge functions as the defence that gets you off of the attack line, while at the same time allowing for a counter-attack (the turning kick). SD&A involving such dodging techniques, or even flying techniques, are often practised by higher level practitioners.

While one-step sparring is a pinnacle drill because it focuses on the Golden Move, it’s limit on the number of attacks (i.e. just one step, and attack) that the attacker can perform is unrealistic.

To move beyond this limitation there are two additional “dynamic context” drills. The one, which is not so common any more, is known as pre-arranged free sparring. An example is one-step free sparring: there is still an initial attack by the attacker against which the defender has to perform SD&A, but if superior positioning is not attained—in other words, if the opponent is not at a disadvantaged position—then the attacker is at liberty to also defend and counter-attack, to which the defender should then re-establish superior positioning and apply SD&A. The earlier step sparring drills can also be practised as dynamic context drills and instructors often create different dynamic context drills depending on the principle they want their students to practise.

The other more common dynamic context drill in ITF Taekwon-Do is known as semi-free sparring, and is introduced at 5th grade level. Semi-free sparring doesn’t have any pre-arranged number of steps (attacks) that the attacker is confined to. The drill is concluded once the defender has performed a proper counter-attack. Semi-free sparring is most valuable when the defender focuses on the Golden Move. Unfortunately, since many people are not properly taught to progressively work towards striving for the Golden Move, their semi-free sparring becomes simply a form of point sparring, resembling tournament sparring, rather than a self-defence drill. It is the case that semi-free sparring is indeed used as a transition exercise in preparation for tournament sparring. While there is nothing wrong with using semi-free sparring as a stepping-stone for tournament sparring, the original purpose as a self-defence preparation drill must not be neglected.

Finally, of course, is free sparring (aka traditional sparring) that is traditionally introduced at 4th grade level. (Free sparring is not to be confused with tournament sparring.) Free sparring has very little prescriptions, and allows both attacker and defender a full arsenal of techniques for attack and defence. Free sparring is a very important drill, however it is not to be confused as an actual self-defence drill because it assumes that both fighters have “agreed” to the dual. There is therefore no “defender,” defending herself against an assailant. This doesn’t mean that free sparring doesn’t contribute much to the progressive learning curve of the practitioner. Because free sparring has the least amount of restrictions and the most amount of chaos, it does resemble a real combative encounter better than most step sparring drills. It therefore requires the practitioners to constantly improvise over an extended period of time—whereas the step sparring drills hampers such continuous need for improvisation.

Nevertheless, the step sparring drills, and particularly one-step sparring, represent the ideal that the martial arts strive for, namely the Taoist goal of efficacy, often promoted as the idea that a single technique (the Golden Move) should effectively end the conflict; or as the ITF Encyclopaedia puts it: “the ultimate goal of Taekwon-Do in real combat is to win the victory with just a single seasoned blow” (Vol. 5, p. 108).


Related Reading:

•  "Prearranged Sparring: Definition, Purpose, and Value".

On Teaching Self-Defence Drills

Teaching self-defence skills to people is always a tricky business because it is difficult to say what will work or not. Sometimes I teach a particular skill to students, and while it might work for nine out of ten of the students in the class, there might be one person struggling with it. I can walk them through it, and they might get it the technique to work under guidance, but when they do it by themselves they just fail to get it right. Generally I avoid overly complicated techniques for self-defence training, keeping in mind adrenalin dump and the loss of fine motor coordination during a violent conflict. Therefore, I don’t think the “fault” lies in the technique, but is more likely just that the particular skill just doesn’t come naturally for that particular student.

Now, another instructor, convinced of the effectiveness of this particular technique will insist that the student practice it repeatedly until they “get” it. I’m of a different opinion. If the technique doesn’t work for a person with a certain degree of “naturalness” at the student’s current level of proficiency, then the technique is even less likely to work in a stressful context. Also, I don’t want students to become fixated on one particular technique. Of course, we do try and practice particular techniques and try and improve their efficiency, but I seldom hammer on just one technique as the ultimate (i.e only) self-defence skill for a specific situation. Instead I try to provide students with a skill set—a series of related options that are founded on particular martial principles (for example, positioning). I may teach a few techniques and principles and then tell the students to experiment and find what they find to work for them against different opponents. Without being prescriptive, I then comment on what they come up with. For instance, if what they are doing puts them in a vulnerable position (rather than an advantageous position and the opponent in a disadvantageous position) I would point that out and make some suggestions or have them come up with an alternative.

The problem is simply that a violent encounter is dynamic (i.e. chaotic) with only limited predictability. Fixating on one technique, and insisting that it should work is limiting and unrealistic. The ability to quickly adapt and find other solutions is a much more important skill than doing something because that is how their instructor taught them.

Paradoxically, when I started teaching this way I at first threw out all “pre-arranged” drills because I believed they were unrealistic and there is no use in teaching things that are unrealistic. I didn’t make students memorize any sequences or specific combinations. I just taught principles, but not particular techniques and expected them to come up with their own combinations within a dynamic context. What I found was that students could not apply the principles in coherently effective ways. They simply didn’t have the “vocabulary” – an appropriate arsenal – to deal with the situation. I soon realized that for beginners there is much value in fully pre-arranged sparring drills, even though they are unrealistic. Pre-arranged sparring drills are a great tool for teaching a “vocabulary of fighting”. Once the student already built up some arsenal of appropriate techniques and combinations, should one decrease the abstraction (by adding more “reality”).

When taught properly, ITF Taekwon-Do is supposed to provide a continuum that facilitate a progression from high-abstraction, low variable practise to low-abstraction, high variable practice. In other words, at first things are predictable while students get to practice particular techniques and strategies. Then the abstraction level is decreased, and the variables are increased. Things are less predictable and the student needs to literally think on their feet. The more variables there are the less prescriptive do I as the instructor get. Ultimately I have to give free reign to the student and allow them to do whatever works for them in that situation.

Facilitating such a progression from high abstraction, low variables (very prescriptive pre-arranged drills) to low abstraction, high variables (unscripted drills) can be difficult, particularly when you have students who are at very different levels. For instance, in a recent class I had one black belt (2nd Dan), a blue belt, a yellow belt, and white belts. They are all at different places along the continuum. Making sure that each one is practicing (and reviewing) appropriately at their level requires some nifty pedagogic negotiation on the instructor’s part. The instructor often has to improvise his or her lesson to fit the dynamics (levels) of the class that can change on any given day.

Nevertheless, this part of the class—working along the continuum with the aim of self-defence—is what Taekwon-Do is for me. If Taekwon-Do is—as it defines itself—“the Korean Art of Self-Defence” [호신예술]—then working towards self-defence is ultimately what all training boils down to.

A Demonstration

Just another video of a Northern Korean team demonstrating ITF Taekwon-Do. Of course it is all choreographed, but that is after all the purpose of a demonstration of this sort. This particular demonstration goes to great lengths to focus exclusively on fundamental techniques (i.e. basic movements) in action. The fact that some of the boards do not break shows that these are actual hard boards, not the cardboard thin planks customarily used in the demonstrations of other taekwondo version.

Whatever qualms people have about the practicability of ITF Taekwon-Do, including its controversial sine-wave motion, they cannot deny the dexterity, power, and precision that this martial art can instil. But with all things, such feats requires lots of dedicated training.

Motion Without (Muscular) Movement

In this post I am going to discuss the way in which ITF Taekwon-Do’s sine wave motion teaches the practitioner to achieve motion without muscular movement; in other words, how to move the body—shift the body’s centre of gravity, without tensing muscles.

The full sine wave motion has three distinct phases in which the body seems to move “down-up-down”, but which is slightly better described as “relax-rise-fall”. In this post I want to speak about an unusual value of the first phase of the sine wave motion—the relax-phase—to actually initiate movement, to cause movement without using any muscular tension. This sounds paradoxical, for all human motion is achieved by tensing muscles. If I want to bend my arm, I need to flex my biceps; conversely, if I want to straighten my arm I need to contract my triceps. For movement to occur there has to be muscles that contract and so manipulate the skeleton like a puppeteer’s strings, or the cables and pulleys in a crane, or the hydraulics in heavy machinery.

Motion Through Relaxation

There is, however, another way that the body can move without any muscular contraction involved. Do this simple exercise: With your arms by your side, bend one arm up towards you as if you are lifting a dumbbell—as your biceps tenses it shortens and causes your arm to bend upwards. To lower your arm again you can go about it in two ways. First, you can contract your triceps (and relax your biceps) and in so doing actively pull your arm back to its original position. Or, second, you can merely relax your biceps  and let your arm fall to your side—instead of your triceps pulling your arm straight, it is gravity’s pull that straightens it. In so doing, you have achieved motion without any activated muscles involved; thus achieving motion without active movement.

The first phase of the full sine wave motion does something similar. The sine wave motion is initiated not by contracting any muscles, but by relaxing muscle. For instance, if you are standing in a walking stance and wish to step forward, the sine wave motion dictates that you will completely relax your front leg, causing your body weight to fall forward towards that leg. Of course, you have to “catch” yourself and activate your leg muscles again lest you completely collapse, but the interesting thing is that you have actually commenced your movement, not by using in muscular tension, but quite the opposite. You have initiated your motion by relaxing!

Of all the different advantages that the initial phase of the sine wave motion has to offer, I think this  “motion through relaxation” is probably the most interesting, and probably one of the most unique contributions the sine wave motion brought to ITF Taekwon-Do. With it you can literally effortlessly shift your body's position. Depending on your initial stance, there are four directions in which you can shift your body weight: forwards, backwards, lateral, or even diagonal.

An Example

In this post I will present an example of lateral body weight shifting achieved through this  “motion through relaxation” method, into a particular intermediate position, and I will illustrate some strategic possibilities that this position and its relation to one's opponent offers. Remember that this is just one example of lateral movement. The effortless way in which forward or backward (or even diagonal) motion can be achieved also offers interesting possibilities.

Let’s look at an example of “motion through relaxation” that is achieved through the first relax-phase in the very first movement of the pattern Chon-Ji. The pattern starts with a low forearm block towards the left. Many instructors fall directly into this block, not passing through the intermediate position. This has a strategic advantage because it is a much quicker way to perform the block than when one actually passes through the intermediate position. However, this particular “motion through relaxation” intermediate position has other benefits. For one, it shifts the body away from the danger, allowing the defender a moment to assess the situation. It also teaches a very useful and practical lesson early on in the practitioner’s training, which will be the focus of the remainder of this post.

Look at the picture in which I move from the “ready position” of the pattern into the first intermediate position. The red line that runs through the first picture is my centre line and, assuming that my opponent is standing in front of me, this is also the likely attack line of my opponent. Without any effort or muscular tension I can shift my body off of the attack line by merely relaxing my weight onto my right leg and in so doing shifting practically all my vital spots out of dangers way. Shifting one’s body weight in this relaxed way occurs surprisingly fast. My new positioning (intermediate position) relative to my opponent also opens up various counter-attack possibilities as the video shows.

The video below begins with the full first movement of the pattern Chon-Ji, then shows how one shifts your body weight into the intermediate position by merely relaxing one leg and dropping your body weight onto that leg, and lastly demonstrates different possible applications from this position.

“Animal” MacYoung's “'great secret' of fighting”

“Gravity is the fastest and most effective way to get your entire body weight in motion! . . . You can move faster by intentionally falling down than you can by trying to muscle your weight out of the way.” – Marc “Animal” MacYoung

Renound self-defence expert Marc “Animal” MacYoung calls this principle the “'great secret' of fighting”. In his book A Professional's Guide to Ending Violence Quickly, MacYoung describes, what he calls the “drop step”. MacYoung's “drop step” and the intermediate position I explored above have much in common as they share the same principle. MacYoung's version is, however, bigger—in ITF Taekwon-Do we find a similar version in other patterns, for instance in Hwa-Rang. Obviously bigger body shifting will require the use of the muscles in the form of side-steps, dodges, and so on. But, once the practitioner understand how this “falling” or “dropping” works, one can easily adjust the technique to different situations. MacYoung's book provides variations and enhancements to his “drop step”, which I'm sure sensible and/or creative students and instructors can infer on their own as well.

In my mind, the sine wave motion, primarily as it is used in the patterns and some pre-arranged sparring, is ultimately a training tool to learn how to easily “get your entire body weight in motion”, preferably with the least amount of effort, and where appropriate by using gravity for this purpose. In this regard, the initial part of the sine wave motion that moves the body into different intermediate positions is especially important as it teaches the practitioner to attain “motion through relaxation”..

More Drills

There have been a number of posts on drills and prearranged sparring on martial art blogosphere of late. Last week I posted on the Soo Shim Kwan's Three Step Sparring 'Basic Six', and earlier this week I posted about my Human Dummy Drill.

Apart from my blog there are some other bloggers that also posted on drills / prearranged sparring. One that is well worth checking out is Dan Djurdjevic's post in two parts on his blog The Way of Least Resistance. The two part post ("Boards Don't Hit Back" -- Part 1 / Part 2) concludes with a form of prearranged sparring where you actually practice to recover from a failed technique. I think it a very sensible drill, and a thought provoking article. It goes nicely with my earlier post on the purpose and value of prearranged sparring.

At another blog, Traditional Taekwondo Techniques, instructor Collin Wee shows a drill for the hooking block, which you can see in the video below. I really like this drill as it shows the very "waving" nature of the hooking block. Using it, students will acquire a form of fluidity that is part of Taekwon-Do, but which is often neglected.



Be sure to read Mr Wee's post in which he explains more about this drill: "Taekwondo Pattern Yul-gok Close-Quarter Drill."

Human Dummy Drill

The other night we were practising prearranged sparring. While the students found defensive postures like blocking easy enough, some students found it difficult to come up with a variety of appropriate counter-attacks. They tended to fall back on the same counter-attacks all the time, such as a reverse punch or low turning kick. Of course, there is nothing wrong with using those techniques that come most naturally to you. It is good that you have such an arsenal of reflexive techniques to rely upon. Yet part of the purpose of prearranged sparring is to provide an opportunity to practise a greater variety of techniques to apply within a specific scenario. It allows one the chance to ingrain new techniques that could potentially become reflexive responses as well.

Being familiar with the vital spots is important. (You can review Taekwon-Do's primary vital spots at the SA-ITF website, here.) But more than a mere surface knowledge of these points, a 'feeling' for how to reach the vital points, which attacks work most comfortably and most powerfully from whichever position relative to these targets are equally, or probably even more, important.

Human Dummy Drill

One drill I use to help students acquire such a 'feeling' is to have a training partner act as a human dummy and allow the student to move around the training partner while mock attacking different vital spots.

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In a sense, the drill is similar to how one would use the wooden dummy used by Chinese martial arts (i.e. Whin Chun). The wooden dummy drill is in two ways better than the human dummy drill because you can hit the targets with much more force while also conditioning your attacking tools and limbs, but it is not very representative of 'real' targets, nor can you move around the dummy. On the other hand, the human dummy drill is better that the wooden dummy drill because one can move 360 degrees around the 'dummy' and it provides an accurate account of the human body. Unfortunately you cannot hit the targets with too much force since you will injure your training partner and therefore it also doesn't help much with attacking tool conditioning.

Students practising prearranged sparring at
'The Way' ITF dojang in Seoul, South Korea.

To do the 'human dummy' drill I usually start out with the training partner just standing in a natural upright posture, feet somewhat apart and arms raised slightly away from the sides. Moving around the training partner allows the student to identify different vital spots from many different angles. Merely naming the vital spots is not enough. Instead, the student should move around the training partner while attacking the vital spots with appropriate attacks. The student's distance and relative position to the training partner will influence the type of attacks chosen. An important part of this exercise is to continue moving around the training partner. Just standing in one position and attacking vital spots makes one think too much. By continuing to move around the 'dummy' the student is forced to go with the flow and identify and attack vital spots as they 'appear'. This not only practise functional movement from stance to stance, but it also prevents the mind from only seeing a target from one entry point. Later one could have the 'human dummy' move into different postures, like a boxer's guard, like a walking stance punch, a kicking chamber, and so on. Each posture forces the student to identify other vital spots that are most accessible from that particular position. It also changes the three dimensional space around the opponent which will require one to move around the dummy in different ways.

Remember, of course, that this drill is a good exercise to help one expand your awareness of different vital spots and different attacks to reach these vital spots. However, don't forget that this is only an exercise and not reflective of a real combative encounter because your opponent is not moving.

The human dummy drill is a good exercise to do before doing prearranged sparring exercises as it reviews the vital spots and helps the students 'feel' how to attack them better.

Three Step Sparring -- “Basic Six”

There is no fixed sequence for Three Step Sparring, so different dojang around the world teach different routines. The Three Step Sparring “Basic Six” routine is the introductory set we do at Soo Shim Kwan dojang, usually from around yellow stripe and yellow belt level, and is a variation of the “Basic Six” routine I learned from my first instructor, Mr Johan Bolton. Through the “Basic Six” routine the students are introduced to the most elementary blocking techniques in ITF Taekwon-Do. Many of the other blocks in Taekwon-Do are basically adaptations of these “Basic Six”.

The embedded video shows the “Basic Six” sequence. Both Mr De Vos and I have not done the Three Step Sparring “Basic Six” (or just Three Step Sparring for that matter) in quite some time, so we look a bit rusty. Apologies for not preparing a better video -- my time in South Africa was far too limited to record another video. Nonetheless, the video clearly depicts the sequence of the blocks with their associated counter-attacks.



For the Three Step Sparring “Basic Six” all attacks are forward stepping walking stance obverse punches. Blocks #1-3 are performed in walking stance and blocks #4-6 are performed in L-stance. The blocks and counter-attacks are as follows:

I also teach Soo Shim Kwan's Three Step
Sparring "Basic Six" routine to students
at 'The Way' ITF dojang in Seoul, South
Korea.

#1: Outer-forearm outward block, counter-attacking with a reverse punch to the solar-plexus.

#2: Inner-forearm outward block, counter-attacking with a reverse punch to the solar-plexus.

#3: Outer-forearm inward block, counter-attack by stepping forward with the rear foot towards the outside into an appropriate stance and performing a rear elbow thrust to the kidney or floating ribs.

#4: Knife-hand block (to grasping block on the third block), counter-attacking with a side-piercing kick from the leading leg to the liver or floating ribs while pulling the opponent towards your kick.

#5: Ridge-hand block (aka reverse knife-hand block), counter-attacking with a front-snap kick from the leading leg to the epigustrium or solar-plexus.

#6: Forearm-guarding block, counter-attack by dodging to the outside on third step (don't block), while attacking with a turning kick from the rear leg to the epigustrium or solar-plexus. Resume a guarding block.

Once students are comfortable with the “Basic Six” they are encouraged to use it as a template and become innovative in the blocking techniques and counter-attacks they use. It is preferable that they source their blocks and attacks from the techniques in their patterns.

The purpose of Three Step Sparring is to introduce students to partner work, to acquaint them with correct angles for blocking and attacking, to conditioning the blocking tools, and to help students get into the habit of targeting specific vital spots.

An important point to remember is that pre-arranged sparring should not be confused with actual fighting. As Rory Miller puts it,“drills”, such as Three Step Sparring, are “deliberately flawed” to make them safe. Three Step Sparring is merely a tool to teach certain fundamental principles and skills to the beginning student. Make sure to read my post on the purpose and value of pre-arranged sparring. When all is said and done, be sure to keep Three Step Sparring in its proper place; in other words, do not over train it. While helpful to gain certain skills and learn certain principles, prearranged sparring can be bad for you as it also ingrains erroneous habits like stopping short of the target.

Prearranged Sparring: Definition, Purpose and Value

Edited: December 2014

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In a combative encounter (in other words, in a fight) your brain needs to process hundreds of variables, take in thousands of units of sensory information and make ten thousands of instantaneous calculations. Some things that your brain needs to take into account are how many attackers there are, their intend, the types of attacks that are launched towards you (straight punch? haymaker punch? kicks? weapons?), the angle the attacks are approaching, the relative distance and speed of these attacks, your own ability to dodge (or block?) such attacks, your footing and characteristic of the surface your standing on (is it slippery? are there obstacles?), and a myriad other variables. Most of these variables are never consciously evaluated since there is just not enough time to do so. The body has to react instantaneously and all necessary calculations has to happen reflexively. It is believed by some that the only way to practise for combative encounters is just to get yourself into real fights often and then just slug it out, and hopefully, with time, your brain will start to make sense of the chaos, start to recognise certain patterns, and slowly come up with some survival skills. That is, of course, if you are lucky enough to survive long enough to learn from all of this.

Over time the martial arts have come up with a way to actually practise for certain aspects of a combative encounter that is less chaotic and allows one to train very precise skills. The theory is that if you practise some specific skills, based on some typical combat patterns, hopefully these skills will kick in as engrained reflexes when you are thrown into a chaotic combative encounter.

The martial arts achieve this by making the combative encounter more abstract—less detailed; in other words, by removing many of the variables and presenting the trainer with very specific scenarios. The most simple way to do this is to limit the number of attacks. For instance, it is predetermined that your training partner will attack you with, say, three attacks. At beginner level, the type of attacks may even be appointed. Within the limits of these three attacks you have to adequately defend yourself against the attacks using blocks or dodges, and also retaliate with a counter attack. Such exercises where some of the variables are reduced and specific attacks are predetermined are called prearranged sparring, yaksok matseogi / 약속 맞서기, in Taekwon-Do.

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The noun yaksok / 약속 means promise or agreement. The word matseogi, usually translated into English as “sparring” is based on two root words. The prefix mat- / 맞- means to be positioned face to face or to oppose, while seogi / 서기is based on the verb seoda / 서다 that means to stand up or take up a position. Matseogi, therefore, means to stand up against a foe, or to face an opponent or difficulty. In its totality yaksok matseogi / 약속 맞서기 is a type of sparring that is agreed upon; literally, agreement-sparring. In three-step sparring [sambo matseogi / 삼보 맞서기] the number of attacks, or steps, are agreed upon; sambo / 삼보 literally means three steps. Apart from three-step sparring, there is also two-step sparring [ibo matseogi / 이보 맞서기] and one-step sparring [ilbo matseogi / 일보 맞서기]. The ITF Taekwon-Do Encyclopaedia makes it clear that prearranged sparring involves various assumptions, like “the number of steps to be taken, the target to be attacked and the attacking tool to be used” (Volume 5, p. 19).

The video below shows one example of two-step sparring:



Since prearranged sparring involves such assumptions it clearly lacks the unpredictability of a real life fight. For this reason, people unfamiliar with the purpose of prearranged sparring will immediately dismiss it as unrealistic and therefore useless. Such a conclusion is based on their ignorance of the purpose of the exercise. Prearranged sparring is deliberately unrealistic (abstract) in order to practise very specific skills that one would not be able to practise so intensively in an actual fight. By reducing the variables, the practitioner can practise very specific skills, like defence techniques against particular attacks. As the skill level of the practitioner improves some variables may be increased and the abstraction level decreased. For instance, at beginner level it is agreed that the attacker will only use straight punch attacks, but over time other types of hand techniques may be included like crescent punches (haymaker punches), upward punches (uppercuts) and a variety of strikes. Eventually the abstraction level is so much reduced that the exercise starts to approach the unpredictability of a real fight; however, by then it is hoped that the practitioner will have honed enough skill (e.g. reflexive responses) to be able to more comfortably cope with the chaos of an actual fight.

To assist the transition from high-abstraction, low variable practise to low-abstraction, high variable practise, there ought to be intermediate exercises that have some arrangement involved, but not too much. One such an exercise in Taekwon-Do is called semi-free sparring, ban jayoo matsogi / 반 자유 맞서기. Ban / 반 means half or semi- and jayoo / 자유 means unrestricted, uncontrolled or free. The ITF Encyclopaedia explains that in semi-free sparring the “distance between players, method of attack and defense used, attacking and blocking tools used and number of steps taken are completely optional” (Volume 5, p. 225). The only restriction is that the attacker may only launch one series of attacks. Once the defender lands a counter attack the sparring stops. Semi-free sparring is similar to point sparring used in some martial art tournaments (for instance Karate kumite – see an example here) where every time a point is possibly scored, the fight is stopped, the point is decided upon by the referees and the fight is resumed.

The next step after semi-free sparring is often tournament sparring, sometimes also called continuous sparring to differentiate it from the non-continuous nature of point sparring.

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It would be wrong to think that tournament sparring is free of any abstraction. Tournament sparring still contains some abstraction, i.e. arrangement. The ITF Encyclopaedia is frank about the restrictions placed upon it, saying that while it is “open combat” where there are “no prearranged mode between players, and both participants are completely free to attack and defend with all available means,” there are still, however, requirements of “controlled attacking and prohibition of attacking to certain vital spots” (Volume 5, p. 244). The tournament rules present in such sparring are by definition restrictive of some of the variables one would experience in a real fight. The ITF Encyclopaedia lists at leasts seven points in which free sparring is not “real combat” (Volume 5, p. 257):

1. Prohibition of attacking the vital spots.
2. Limited number of attacking tools. (For instance it is illegal to bite.)
3. Limited number of attacking areas. (For instance it is illegal to attack the groin.)
4. Limited space for fighting.
5. Limited number of attacking methods. (For instance joint breaking techniques or ground fighting might be illegal.)
6. Safety equipment.
7. No full contact and so on.

In a manner of speaking, even tournament sparring is somewhat “prearranged” because of the “arrangement” imposed upon it by the rules within which it functions. Because tournament sparring is much less abstract and therefore tend to mimic a real fight a little closer, it is easy to fall into the trap of focusing too much on it. I discussed the problem with tournament sparring here and here.

There is often a confusion between tournament sparring and free sparring. The former has a sport focus, while the latter, known as jayoo matsogi [자유 맞서기] in Korean, is another exercise with the aim of self-defence preparation. Because some people erroneously refer to tournament sparring as free sparring, some instructors, like myself, sometimes refer to free sparring as "traditional sparring" [jeontong-eui matseogi / 전통의 맞서기]. For the rest of this post, however, I will stick to the original term, free sparring, which is a sparring drill that does not put a limit on the types of attacking tools, attacking areas, attacking methods, and so on, as is the case with tournament sparring. However, since rules are in place for protection, such unbounded free sparring can be very dangerous. For this reason this type of sparring is usually not practised at full contact and sometimes an instructor might suggest a slower pace, in order to avoid injury. Since such adjustments are also variables that are “prearranged,” even this type of sparring is a form of prearranged sparring. Furthermore, since both parties agreed to the exercise, it is more of a dual, than a real self-defence combat situation, because in a self-defence situation there is usually no pre-intention on the side of the defender to be part of a violent situation.

Unlike non-traditional martial artists that are categorically against all forms of prearranged sparring, I see value in it, if it is taught with its original purpose in mind, which is to hone specific skills, without confusing the exercise for the thing itself. In other words, as long as prearranged sparring is not confused for real fighting, but merely as a tool to learn specific skills that may be valuable in a real fight, I believe it is a very important part of martial art training. If such an approach is followed sensibly and progressively, it will dramatically increase one's ability to cope with the multitude of variables in a fight. Unfortunately many instructors do not properly facilitate true progression from high-abstraction, low variable practise to low-abstraction, high variable practise. The ideal practice should move from prearranged sparring, to semi-free sparring, to tournament sparring and free sparring, to self-defence practise. In the same progression the abstraction level will be reduced (i.e. more variables will be introduced) and the intensity will be increased. The progression will also become more and more “reality based”.

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In short, prearranged sparring is a valuable training tool used to hone specific skills that may be valuable during real combat. Because of the deliberate abstraction, prearranged sparring intentionally does not look like real fighting, nor should it be confused with real fighting. The reduction in variables are on purpose so that we can focus on certain specific variables that we wish to train for. Prearranged sparring is part of a continuum of training that becomes progressively less abstract and approaches the real combative encounter in a systematic way relative to the practitioner’s skill level. While there is value in prearranged sparring, an over emphasis can actually become counter productive because practitioners may become too used to the reduction in variables that their preparation is not reflective of the huge number of variables in a real fight. A systematic progression from prearranged abstraction to "reality based" reflection of real combat is crucial.


Further Reading: 

• "The Golden Move and ITF Taekwon-Do's Pre-Arranged Sparring"
• "Boards don't hit back": The Missing Link Between Practise and Reality by Dan Djurdjevic.

I Don't Like Your Self-Defence

Whenever I look at self-defence requirements in most martial art syllabi (including Taekwon-Do) I am left with much concern. Where do these requirements come from and how are they relevant to us, here and now, to my students?

One of the first self-defence requirements in the syllabi of most Taekwon-Do and other martial art schools is a release from a wrist grab. One has to wonder why this is so? Surely this is not the most common attack, is it? Ask ten people who have been in physical confrontations and see how many of them were actually grabbed by the wrist. Of all the students I’ve taught, only one has told me of having been grabbed by the wrist. Maybe another reason for this self-defence technique being taught for a beginning martial artist is because it is such a simple manoeuvre? Merely pull the arm free at the grip's weakest point, namely the thumb. Even so, the simple wrist grab scenario is never that simple.

In a real life situation, the wrist grab is usually just a set-up for a more serious self-defence scenario. If an attacker grabs your wrist / arm / clothing, it is usually a setup for another attack. At least three scenarios come to mind: (1) the attacker grabs you to keep you close so that he can pummel you with his free fist; (2) the attacker has another weapon, probably a knife, pressed against you and has taken hold of you so that you cannot easily move away from the weapon; (3) the attacker has taken hold of you in order to pull you away for better positioning, so that he can continue his assault somewhere else. In only one of these three scenarios is the wrist grab release the first priority. In scenario #1 the first priority is not escaping from the grab, but defending against the attacker’s free fist. In the second scenario the first priority is the weapon in your side. And even in scenario three, where a release from his grip is priority, the type of self-defence technique taught in most schools are not taught against an opponent that is forcefully pulling you, with you most likely being off-balance. I’m not saying that students should not learn how to escape from a wrist grab; what I am saying is that the actual wrist grab is seldom the most pressing issue when the arm is grabbed. It is the rest of the attack, the associated punch, the weapon by the side, the pull, which are the more important problems and unfortunately these are seldom considered.



What is generally taught as self-defence is actually Model Sparring – a form of pre-arranged sparring that demonstrates idealised defence against an attack. The instructor tells your training partner how to attack you, and tells you exactly how to defend against this particular attack and also which counter-attack to exactly which vital spot will work best for this specific positioning of yourself and your training partner. When done properly, pre-arranged sparring is often quite pretty to watch, and seemingly very effective. But Model Sparring is not how a real life self-defence scenario plays out. In an actual violent encounter you seldom expect the attack, which is completely opposite to Model Sparring. You seldom know when the attack will happen or what type of attack it will be. And it would probably be better to talk of attacks (plural), rather than attack (singular), because the attacker is likely to do more than just grab your wrist and stand there waiting for you to do a wrist grab release.

When we as instructors teach Model Sparring and call it Self-Defence, we are misleading our students.

I had a student, whom I’ll call Ruth. As far as Self-Defence went, Ruth was one of my star students. During promotional tests I would tell the attacker how to attack (sometimes Ruth would be privy to what attack would come, sometimes not). Ruth would guard herself from the attack and then counter with strong successive counters, probably thumbs to the eyes, attacks to the throat, elbow strikes to the side of the head or knee strikes to the groin and thighs. Afterwards she would retreat sufficiently, not merely stepping back in a ready posture. Ruth’s self-defence demonstrations were never pretty, but anybody witnessing it would agree to its efficiency. She always convinced me that if she was to find herself in a violent assault situation that she would not be an easy victim and I therefore always gave her high scores on the self-defence section of her promotional tests. However, I also knew full well that if another instructor – one used to pretty wrist releases and picture perfect counter attacks – were to grade her, that her score would be far less than what I gave her. The reason would be not that she is bad at Self-Defence but that her Self-Defence did not resemble Model Sparring.

Since I do not always test my own students, I eventually started to teach them two types of self-defence techniques. The first type of "self-defence" techniques are based on Model Sparring:

The attacker grabs your wrist. You step forward into a walking stance, releasing your grabbed arm by turning it out in the weak part of the attacker’s grip and counter-attacking with a punch to the solar plexus with your other hand. You may include a kiap for effect. Step back into a guarding stance.

This type of self-defence is better called something else; maybe "Model Defence"?

The second type of self-defence techniques are based on likely real life scenarios.

The attacker grabs you and start pounding you with his free hand. Defend yourself.

For the first type of “self-defence” I teach specific attacks with specific counter techniques. The aim is to make it look effective. For the second type I teach basic principles for surviving an unexpected attack. There are usually no “blocking” techniques, merely guarding. Counter-attacks are not prescriptive, rather general suggestions are made based on the weakest points on the opponents body and the best attacking tools that require the least amount of conditioning. The eyes and throat can easily be injured even if the attacker is well conditioned. A palm heel strike is better than a fist (which could easily break against the hard skull of the attacker). Elbow strikes and knee kicks are very strong, even for physically smaller people.  The aim is not to make it look effective; the aim is to be effective.

I think that what is considered self-defence requirements are often traditional or cultural. Many Oriental martial arts, for instance, have self-defence techniques based on people sitting on the floor. While these are interesting to know, they are quite irrelevant to my particular students who hardly ever sit on the floor. Self-defence requirements should also have a certain profile in mind. Women are more likely to be grabbed; hence women need to learn more defences against grabs. However, most students training in martial arts are men; why then are such a big percentage of self-defence techniques taught grab releases?

The self-defence requirements for martial art syllabi should always get serious thought. Requirements should reflect the likely violent scenarios practitioners are to expect within their own society. Focus should also be given to the most likely victims of violent encounters, statistically speaking that is young men. Furthermore, pre-arranged sparring (i.e. Model Sparring) should not be confused with proper self-defence training.

I like the two videos below, directed by Master Alexandris, as they are much more reflective of actual self-defence than what is typically labelled self-defence.

A Strategy for When You Are Hit

(This post is an extension of the ideas discussed in the previous post “Distance and Angle” that I posted a week ago.)

The final position for most blocks in ITF Taekwon-Do is with the defender in a half-facing posture. It was explained to me when I just started Taekwon-Do that it is in case an attack breaks through your defence and hits you, the force of the blow will be less serious because of the oblique angle. If the blow were to hit you perpendicularly, i.e. straight on, your body will absorb all the force. However, when your body is turned somewhat, the impact of the blow skids off you, and you only experience the force of the blow partially.

Having studied other martial arts, like Hapkido, that requires much blending with the force of one’s opponent, I agree with the half-facing posture idea. However, I’d like to suggest a reversed application, where you actually move into a half-facing posture, if you happened not to be in one, at the moment of impact. For instance, say you were full facing when your opponent hit you in the chest; at the moment of impact you can then rotate your body away from the incoming force. By tilting the target area, you can help disperse some of the force of the blow.

While this is not an ideal – the ideal is not to get hit in the first place – it is consistent with other Taekwon-Do principles. One can extrapolate this strategy from these principles. First, there is the half-facing preference already mentioned. The Encyclopaedia (Volume 3), when discussing principles for defence, states: “Always maintain a half facing posture during maneuvers toward and away from an opponent with a few exceptions.” Clearly preference is given to the half-facing posture. Second, the Encyclopaedia also admonishes the defender to keep a “flexible ready posture at all times.” That the defender’s posture should be “flexible” implies that it should be able to move easily, even when being hit – it should not stiffly absorb a blow, but with flexibility disperse the blow. The Encyclopaedia also says that the blocking tool should be “withdrawn immediately after contact.” I believe the same principle is applicable for the whole body, not only the blocking tool. One is therefore to keep relaxed and flexible, withdrawing from an impact. Furthermore, the Theory of Power, when discussing Breath Control, suggests that one exhales at the moment impact is received from an opponent. We also have the principle of Distance and Angle that teaches how techniques have certain distances and angles at which they are at their most powerful. The implication is that one can weaken the force of an opponent’s attack by changing the distance at which the attack reaches you (you can either move in and smother the technique, or move away and let the blow dissipates its force). Alternatively, you can weaken the attack by changing the angle at which the force hits your body. For instance, if a punch hits your chest straight on, if you are able to turn your torso – even at the moment of impact – some of the force from the blow will slide off at an angle. One often sees this Distance and Angle strategy used by boxers when they receive body blows. They literally roll their bodies into the blow or twist their torsos so that the force of the blow is lessened. This "rolling" and "twisting" ("bobbing and weaving") motions changes the angle at which the punch hits the body and changes the distance so that the blow is somewhat weaker.

Watch this video in which a pro-boxer explains "How to Take a Punch":



If you should get hit, try to apply the following:

• Keep the body flexible.
• Change the angle at which the attack reaches your vital spot. Turn into a half-facing posture or other appropriate angle.
• Try to change the distance at which the attack will reach the vital spot so that it does not hit the body at its most powerful point in motion. Either move the body closer and smother the incoming blow, or move the body away and let its force disperse.
• Breathe out at the moment of impact. 
• Finally, the Encyclopaedia says that one should "remain constantly aware so you are able to execute a counter-attack the instant an opportunity avails itself."

One can easily practise the points in this "strategy" as exercise drills in class. All these exercises should start out slowly and at moderately low force. Under the supervision of an instructor the drills can be speeded up, and the power of the attacks may be increased proportionally.

Drill 1:

Two partners square off punching distance in full facing postures. The Attacker uses his palm and strongly pushes the shoulder or upper chest of the Defender. The Defender "accepts" the blow, but immediately turns his body so that the force skids off to the side.

The exercise can be amended to include a counter-attack. When the Attacker pushes the shoulder or chest, the Defender uses that force as part of his Reaction Force that helps him to propel an attack from the opposite side. For instance, if the left shoulder is pushed back, the Defender can use that turning motion to strike the Attacker with the right arm.

In the video below, John Graden explains a similar concepts which he calls "Riding the Power." Here the attack is done to the head (rather than the shoulder or chest) and the Defender moves with the force of the blow, leading his head backward. Later in the video he intercepts the blow with his head. Both of these examples rely on changing the Distance so that the punch does not reach his vital spot when it is at its most ideal distance (the moment in the motion when the technique is at its most forceful).



In the Discovery Channel clip below, from their Time Warp program, we see how not to do it, unless you like experiencing your face warped.



Drill 2:

This is also a conditioning exercise. The Attacker punches at Defender's abdomen. The Defender try to intercept the punch with his abdomen before the punch is at its most forcefully. At the moment of impact the Defender also changes the angle at which the attack is met by tilting the attacking surface. (See how the Shaolin monk does it in the video.)

Drill 3:

This is also a conditioning exercise. Start of by standing, facing your training partner (the Attacker) in a full facing posture. The Attacker then hits or kicks your body square on. Apply the strategy points above in order to weaken the force of the blow.Try to change the Angle (turn your body) and Distance (either smother the blow or retreat from it). Remember to breathe out at the moment of impact. An example of this exercise could be a side kick to the abdomen. As the kick comes to you, move into it quickly and so smother it before the Attacker's leg has time to properly extend. Alternatively, as the kick reaches your body, dodge back a little and shift your weight back into a rear-foot stance, and stiffen your abdominal muscles as you strongly breath out to absorb the kick's force.

The drill can be amended with a good guarding posture where the Defender is allowed to "guard" but not yet to block. "Blocking" occurs by turning the guarding arms ("rolling" the torso) into the blows and so deflecting the force. Focus only on body turning, but no actual blocking.

The tempo of this exercise can be increased, changing the drill into a sparring exercise with one person only attacking and the other defending. Later, start to include counter-attacks.

C K Choi's Sparring Patterns

Grandmaster C K Choi, one of the Taekwon-Do pioneers with General Choi, created a number of Sparring Patterns, which are basically combination drills focussing on specific techniques. I think they make for excellent introduction to specific sparring techniques and is worth the effort trying out. Below is Grandmaster Choi's Punching Sparring Pattern which look at straight punches, turning punches, and upward punches.

Model Sparring

These YouTube-videos show examples of "Model Sparring", which involves the demonstration of basic techniques in a fluid sequence. Model Sparring is often used for demonstration exhibitions. In other words, it is used to "show off" Taekwon-Do techniques. For Model Sparring the sequence of techniques is often shown slowly at first, and then repeated in real (i.e. fast) time. This helps the audience to get a better idea, since Taekwon-Do techniques are frequently very fast, and an untrained eye might not appreciate the dexterity and skill of the practitioners. Accuracy and balance are probably the two elements that can make or break good Model Sparring. Also, creativity in counter attacking greatly enhances the performance for the audience, while Taekwon-Do instructors are usually more impressed with the correct use of attacking and blocking tools, targeted at the appropriate vital spots.