Preserving Korean Body Culture in Traditional Dance and Martial Arts

On 12 November 2020, UNESCO ICM (International Center for Martial Arts) hosted their Annual International Martial Arts Academic Seminar, in Chungju, South Korea at the new UNESCO ICM building. The topic for this year's seminar was COVID-19 Pandemic: Martial Arts Response and Beyond. There was a special session within this seminar dedicated to the book launch of UNESCO's Living Heritage Series: Traditional Martial Arts as Intangible Cultural Heritage. As I contributed a chapter to the book, UNESCO asked me to be a presenter during the special session.

The book is available as both a printed book and e-book. The e-book can be downloaded for free from UNESCO ICM's website as a PDF here. My contribution is chapter 15. 

The seminar was originally supposed to be live-streamed but there was some technical difficulties. However, the event was recorded and the different sessions have been uploaded onto UNESCO ICM's YouTube channel. Below is the special session (Session 2: Traditional Martial Arts as Living Heritage), in which I presented. My presentation starts around the 22 minute mark, and afterwards there was a panel discussion about preserving traditional martial arts in the Korean context in which I also took part.

https://youtu.be/IJjHGIh7HnI?t=1295

UNESCO ICM: 2019 International Martial Arts Academic Seminar

 

On October 30th, 2019, I attended the 2019 International Martial Arts Academic Seminar as a discussion panelist for one of the three sessions. The annual academic seminar is hosted by UNESCO ICM, that is, UNESCO's International Center for Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement. The theme for this year's seminar was "Advancing Sustainable Development Goals through Martial Arts". When I first heard the theme, I was rather confused -- what has martial arts to do with sustainable development. However, it was eventually explained to me. UNESCO has identified 17 sustainable development goals as part of its Agenda 2030. Among these goals are gender equality and (youth) education, which are part of the focus of UNESCO ICM. The more specific focus of this seminar was youth development and women empowerment through martial arts.

The keynote speech was given by Susan Vize, who is one of UNESCO's regional advisor for Social and Human Sciences. She focuses on the program initiatives currently in use and being developed by UNESCO for youth development through martial arts. I found it a very useful presentation, and look forward to the resources that are being made available by UNESCO for this purpose.

Session 1 focussed on Martial Arts for Youth and included Professor Emeritus Colin Higgs and Prof Jungheon Kim as presenters, with Prof John Frankl as panelist.

Session 2 looked at Women Empowerment through Martial Arts and included Christopher Matthews and Lina Khalifeh (founder of SheFighter) as presenters and Ana Maria Stratu from the Women in Sport Commission as panelist.

Session 3 aimed at Ways to Promotoe Martial Arts Education and Good Practices, and had Professor John Johnson and Chungju Taekkyun Operation Manager Jounkun Shin as speakers, and myself (Dr. Sanko Lewis) as panelist.

I always find the UNESCO ICM seminars very interesting, but must say that I found this year's seminar particularly practically useful. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to summarize all the great presentations and discussions here. However, a PDF of the seminar booklet that contains prints of the presenter's Powerpoint slides can be downloaded here.

I think I was the only one of the academic participants who
posed for a kick photo! (-;

South Africa Trip 2018

My annual trip to South Africa in January and February this year was quite a blessed one. Apart from spending some quality time with family and friends, I also had the opportunity to visit several martial art schools and friends.

In Cape Town, I visited the Instructor Jaren Philips' ITF Taekwon-Do school in Green Point, where I shared some thoughts on Korean body culture and the overlap between Taekkyeon and ITF Taekwon-Do.

With black belts at the Green Point Dojang.

In Kwa-Zulu Natal I visited my friends at the Pinetown Stingers Dojang where we practiced some of break-falling and joint-manipulation techniques.

With some members of the Pinetown Stingers Club. 

In Centurion I presented an ITF principles seminar with participants attending from the greater Pretoria region, Potchefstroom, and the Vaal Triangle. The workshop centered on re-thinking how we apply fundamental motions in a practical manner that makes full use of different possibilities presented to us within the context of the Theory of Power.

WIth some participants at the workshop in Centurion.

I was delighted to be able to visit the Potcheftroom Taekwon-Do school this year. I started this dojang exactly 20 years ago and couldn't have imagined that it would continue to exist for such a long time. The school have always been relatively small, but the quality is consistent and under instructor Philip's care, I am happy say that the Potchefstroom Dojang is doing very well.

With some students at the Potchefstroom Taekwon-Do Club.

Apart from my Taekwon-Do adventures, I also gave an introductory Hapkido seminar in Cape Town. There are hopes that from a small Hapkido training group a Hapkido school will open in the Mother City.

With Anthony Lapperts

I also introduced, for the first time in South Africa, hopaesul -- the study of a Korean weapon known as hopae. The introduction was presented to some higher level black belts as an addendum to the Centurion workshop.

With the Korean weapon, hopae. 

Jan & Feb 2017 South Africa Report

I would like to report a little on my journey over the last two months during my annual South Africa travels.

The first dojang I had the privilege of visiting was the Pinetown Stingers club, in KwaZulu Natal. Whenever I visit the Durban area, I also try to visit the Stingers dojang. With my previous visit I wasn't able to visit the dojang, but I did visit with Sabeomnim Sean Cremer at his house. This year, however, my travels coincided with their training, so I could attend one of their session. As always, it was lots of fun training with the KZN guys. My friend Damien, who was a student with me here in Korea and also tested for his black belt under me, was also able to come through from Durban to visit. I've always had a close connection with KZN Taekwon-Do and visiting them is like visiting family.

Of course also visited my Soo Shim Kwan family.

First was my visit with Horangi Dojang in Grobblersdal. This club is just going from strength to strength under the leadership of Instructor Gerhard Louw. I was impressed with how the higher ranking students have improved since I saw them last year -- their are defintely some future champions among them, and the eagerness of the lower belts shows me that Instructor Gerhard is doing a great job.

During the two nights that I taught at the Horangi Dojang, I tried to cover several principles. On the second evening, I was requested to demonstrate some patterns. Last year when I performed patterns there, I was a little sick, so was disappointed with my demonstration. This year, I performed several patterns and felt much more pleased with what I was able to present to them. Bsbnim Gerhard and I also did Gae Baek Tul together, and we also demonstrated some slightly more advanced self-defence techniques, to the glee of the students. For the much of the evening, we practised some self-defence techniques, but more simplified since the Horangi dojang's members are mostly children.

Near the end of my time in South Africa I went to Potchefstroom and visited the other Soo Shim Kwan dojang, the Potchefstroom Taekwon-Do Club (PTC). Under the guidance of Instructor Philip de Vos, there is a good standard amongst the students. The Potch club have always been small in numbers, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Since PTC is an adults only club, I used the opportunity to explain some important principles. I expounded on the ITF pedagogy as a whole. The club has a few new members, so I wanted to give the students a broader understanding--a theoretical platform--to understand how ITF Taekwon-Do progressively guides a person with no prior fighting experience through a slow process of conditioning (physically and mentally), for a violent, combative encounter. I touched on ideas like the sparring phases, the Golden Move, and how ITF Taekwon-Do attempts to prevent the freeze reflex and trigger a fight response during an adrenalized encounter. The classes had a little bit of a lecture feel to them, which is not a bad thing occasionally since it is associated with a university.

Next year PTC will have its 20 year anniversary. I started the club in 1998. As part of the celebration, PTC will be the host for the National Championships in 2018. I really hope I'd be able to attend the event.

A highlight of this trip was, of course, the Hapkido Seminar that I presented in Pretoria. It was the first Korea Hapkido Federation seminar hosted in South Africa, to a primarily black belt audience.

This seven hours long hands-on workshop covered the most important aspects of Hapkido, from break falls and rolling, to joint locks, throws, pins, and even some unique kicks. The attendees were all tired, bruised and nearly broken, but their eagerness to learn kept them from quitting, and even after such an exhausting event they were still able to muster the smiles you can witness in the photo above. This seminar functioned as the first formal KHF event, with the intention of establishing an offical KHF branch in South Africa. I in particular want to thank Sbnim Sean Cremer and the other KZN members that travelled so far to attend the seminar.

Martial art wise, it was a particularly productive visit for me this year. On my way back from South Africa to Korea, I stopped over in Hong Kong, where I also got to train a little in Wing Chun, which was a wonderful experience that opened my eyes to new ideas and helped me to rethink my understanding of ITF Taekwon-Do as well.

I wish all the Soo Shim Kwan members, and all other readers of this blog, a wonderful 2017. My you experience progress in your martial art path, and also grow in the other areas of your life: vocationally, relationally, mentally and spiritually.

Sincerely,

S

Introductory Workshop in Seoul

I'll be teaching an Introduction to ITF Taekwon-Do Workshop on behalf of the Seoul Global Village Center, Yeoksam Branch, in Gangnam, Seoul next Friday, 31 July. Participation is free but the space is limited. There is still some space left though, so if anyone is in the area and interested, please contact the Yeoksam Global Village Center directly via the contact details provided in the image below.

Martial Arts Lessons in China

During my recent trip to China I participated in a nine day long camp with (mostly high school and college aged) Chinese students, who I taught various classes. Among the classes I taught were basic martial arts -- a combination of Taekwon-Do and Hapkido. They enjoyed a lot. I focussed mostly on low kicks, basic strikes, and some joint manipulation.

With some of the older students who had a little Taichi Quan experience I did slightly more advanced techniques, including pushing hands drills.

In Korea where Taekwon-Do is losing popularity, Taekwon-Do is gaining popularity in China. Taichi Quan, it seems, is now associated with training for "old people". The opposite is the case in Korea, where Taekwon-Do thought of as a kids activity.

Visit to the ATC Pretoria Dojang

Taking students through warm-up drills at ATC Pretoria

I was in Pretoria last week and got to visit Sabeomnims Karel and Annari Wethmar, and Boosabeomnim Chris van der Merwe. On Thursday night I visited ATC Pretoria Dojang where I presented a workshop similar to the one I did at the Soo Shim Kwan Potchefstroom Dojang the week before, focussing on ground work (break falling and rolling), joint mobility and posture, and some thoughts on the Golden Move. I also spent a little time on the sine wave motion and how to ensure it is practised and applied sensibly. Afterwards there was a nice Q&A session.

The Dan Gun Kwan (ATC) and Soo Shim Kwan friendship has come a long way. Not only do we have our promotional tests together, but we also share seminars. Whenever I visit South Africa I'm always invited to ATC to share some of what I have learned during my stay in Korea. I'm always honoured to do so, and very much enjoy their hospitality and the students' eagerness to try new and somewhat unconventional things.

Random Seminar Photos

Just some random photos of the warm-up section of a seminar I presented in South Africa in February, showcasing various core-muscle and balance exercises, stretching exercises and other fundamentals.

  

Pinetown Stingers Taekwon-Dojang

Pinetown Stingers Black Belts and I

Last night I attended the Pinetown Stingers Taekwon-Dojang. The Stingers Clubs are part of the San Kwan, which is the principle federation in the KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa. The Pinetown Dojang is one of the oldest Taekwon-Do clubs in South Africa. I think it has been at the same physical address for nearly 15 years now.

The San Kwan and the Soo Shim Kwan has a long history. I lived in KwaZulu Natal at one point and opened a dojang under the San Kwan. I was also on the organizing committee (as event designer) for the National Taekwon-Do Championships when it was held in Natal (Richards Bay) in 2003.

Last night was only my third or fourth time to visit the Pinetown Dojang. I've visited in the past as an assistant examiner with Sabeomnim Garnet Ronander. While my previous visits with the Pinetown Dojang have been few, my history and familiarity with the San Kwan and the Natal instructors made me feel quite at home.

Unlike my other Taekwon-Do stops in South Africa during this trip, the Pinetown stop was not on the original itinerary, so I did not plan to teach anything particular. Nonetheless, Sabeomnim Sean Cremer, San Kwan's chief instructor and head of the Stingers Clubs, asked me to share something with the students. I based the class loosely on the points I shared with the ATC dojang in Pretoria last week. My main purpose was to expand the students' understanding of the sine wave motion and to help them see that it is part of the wave / circle principle.

I also spend some time to show how Taekwon-Do was influenced by its two roots: Shotokan Karate and Taekkyeon.

The Q & A session after the class revolved mostly around my experiences in Korea, ranging from how it feels to be a foreigner in Korea, to what one can expect at a typical Taekwon-dojang in Korea.

I had a irritable stomach bug yesterday that caused for painful sporadic cramps. I tried not to show it while teaching, but I'm sure some of the more perceptive students must have seen my spasmodic frowning every so often. Nevertheless, I think the exercise did me good, since I felt much better this morning.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

At a Dojang in Pretoria

Last night I taught at a dojang affiliated to the Dan Gun Kwan. The Dan Gun Kwan and the Soo Shim Kwan have very good relations as Sabeomnim Karel Wethmar, co-federation head of the Dan Gun Kwan, takes care of our (Soo Shim Kwan) gradings here in South Africa while I live abroad.

I taught at the ATC Dojang in Pretoria. After general warm ups, I covered a number of different concepts. One thing I started with was my sequence of five basic kicks, which I've titled 오주차기 Ohjuchagi -- or Five Basic Kicks. The kicks include the front snap kick in front of you; the turning kick to your side-front; the side-piercing kick to your side; the hook kick at a fourty-five degree angle to your back and the back kick; all done with the same leg.

Next, I shared with the students some Taekkyeon. We did same basic Taekkyeon stepping and a few typical Taekkyeon low kicks. I even had them do some partner work. Considering that they only had around 15 minutes to practise these motions, they did pretty well.

Finally, I spend some time on the sine wave motion, the wave principle and the circle principle and attempted to get them to understand that all of these concepts are in effect the same principle, merely approached from different points of view.

The evening finished with a Q&A session. I quite enjoyed the thoughtful questions and hope that I answered them adequately.

Attending the ATC Dojang once a year is always one of my Taekwon-Do highlights during my annual South Africa trip. I'm especially thankful for the hospitable friendship I receive from the ATC-instructors.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Thoughts on Triangles

The following is from Retha's keyboard and also features on eSAITF as message #348:

Seminars with master Kim are always an experience. Since this seminar comes as a new deal between him, our kwan and a sister/brother kwan (is a kwan male or female?), he has started revising the very basics of Taekwon-Do with us.

He spent some time, showing us the angles in our triangles :-) I knew this before, but I never knew it like this. In any technique a triangle can be formed in multiple ways. The interesting thing is that in some guards and hand techniques the three points are represented by your body. In a stance, for good balance the third point is outside of your body; your body forming the base of the triangle. If you want to topple your opponent, you would attack him from the direction of the empty point. And interestingly enough, at some point he also demonstrated that in some cases (specifically sparring) the third point becomes your opponent. I think he showed the base points in your body, but when I think about it in sparring there is an empty point. You and your opponent would form the base of the triangle, while the third point represents the direction you could move in: moving towards the empty point gives you the most chance of successful flight, moving from the best chance of successful attack. It seems that there are triangles everywhere.

These two pictures are from the ITF Encyclopaedia depicting the triangle in the parallel stance and L-stance punches.

1st Session with Master Kim

We had a good session yesterday with Master Kim at the Vanderbijlpark Dojang. This was the first of five sessions with him planned for this year, and co-hosted by us (Soo Shim Kwan) and the Shim Duk Kwan.

I’ve learned a couple of new things. I also realised that I don’t always practise what I preach. Although I know the theory, I sometimes fail to implement it in practise. That is the nice thing about training under someone. As an instructor I seldom have someone checking my techniques – so it was great to have Master Kim showing me on my mistakes. The importance of spotters in training was emphasized I think – so when you train outside of class hours, try to train with a friend that can spot your technique, or train in front of a large mirror.

I liked how he simplified the stances by focussing on how they overlap, i.e. the knee position for the back-leg in the L-stance is the same as in the sitting-stance; the knee position for the front-leg in the L-stance is the same as in the walking-stance, etc.

Master Kim also affirmed the importance of breaking down techniques to their simplest building blocks, in order to learn proper technique and not attain bad habits – which take a long time to unlearn.

The next session with Master Kim will be hosted at our dojang in Potchefstroom.

Taekwon!

Bsb Sanko