Examining Taeguek 1 - Movements 1 and 2

Quick – get a primer on understanding your forms here.

What Does Learning Mean?

Did you know? Taeguek 1 (Taeguek Il Jang) is only 18 movements long?

How long do you think it would take to learn this form?

Hint: This is a trick question.

I didn’t ask how long it would take to remember how to demonstrate the 18 movements; instead, I asked,

“How long would it take to learn this form?“

There’s a huge difference. For many people, learning the form means being able to perform all 18 movements without making a mistake.

For me, learning a form cannot occur in its entirety. It’s not like you get to the finish line of a race and that’s it. Done. Finito.

Learning a form at a minimum requires remembering the movements, and when you get to that point, that’s where the real learning begins. On the contrary, if you get to that point of learning only the movements and you don’t examine what you’re doing, then your instructor is doing you a disservice. A huge disservice. You haven’t learned anything!

Where To Start

Anyway, what is the first thing we do in the form?

Hint: “it’s not the turn-and-low-block“

Yep. It’s the junbi. The ready position is the first thing we do.

Why?

Urban Legend

If we consider that the usual “first movement” is the turn to low block, we need to ask: “What precipitates the need to turn to the left?”

The urban legend has it that the turn to the left is to block an incoming kick, because it’s a low block, and so what else could the strike be?

The problem with this interpretation is that it presumes the defender will remain standing straight staring forward, until at the last moment turns to the left and instantly knows to block something. If you knew someone was going to come at you from the side, your instinct isn’t going to be to just stand there looking straight, would it? And since this is self-defense, what is to be blocked? The guy could be armed with something, and you want to block?

Let’s get one thing straight: we rarely “block” in our forms. We call the movement “blocks“, but we really don’t want to parry an incoming strike, that gives the person another chance to attack us, unless there are circumstances where that may be appropriate. For example, you may be defending against your drunk brother at a party: do you want to hurt him, are you in fear of your life, or do you just want to control him until he calms down – forget about the police. This is, of course, a rare consideration – but it is nevertheless valid, and is the kind of scenario that is used to justify true blocking in self-defense.

Let’s Go To The Hospital

Now, in this whimsical scenario, we’ve blocked a roundhouse kick. What do you think will happen to our forearm? Remember, we are issuing the “block” with the clenched fist, and are “blocking” with the outer part of the top of the forearm. Tiny bones in there. Roundhouse kick: Big bones in there. What will happen with tiny bones vs big bones?

Correct. You will likely break your arm or wrist.

What else have we not done?

Hint: “get off the line of attack“

Yes: we have not only moved into the line of attack, but also, the stance we use locks us into place. We have no easy way to move out of the way once we’ve moved into harm’s way. No decent self-defense strategy, for a beginner, will have you stepping into danger and then lock you into that position, and then finally do something to break your arm or wrist. If the guy coming at us from the side has any sort of momentum, we will meet that momentum head-on: It’s gonna hurt.

Are We Forgetting Something?

And, what are we doing about the guy’s other hand? Shouldn’t we worry about his other hand, too?

Hint: “yes“

Do you now see the problem with this turn to the left, low block an incoming kick, and then step in for a punch which (we hope) knocks the person unconscious or renders him unable to continue his attack? It’s a long shot. Only the strongest (or luckiest) people in the world have a hope that this succeeds. We need to re-think this fanciful scenario. Let’s go back to the first technique.

Don’t Anticipate

The problem is this: our forms do not anticipate what the primary strike will be; rather, they are reactions to what has already been done. You may argue that you are “reacting to what you are inviting”.

The Japanese call this “Sen sen no sen“, and is a part of a more formal theory of training which includes “Go no sen“, “Sen no sen“, and “Sen sen no sen“. These respectively mean “After the attack (block and counter)“, “Attack the attack (same time, be faster than the opponent)“, and “Attack before the attack (take initiative, invite the attack)“.

I’ve never seen this discussed in other styles or cultures, and therefore I’m relying heavily on Japanese Karate for my source here. I’m not saying such doesn’t exist elsewhere, I’m just saying I’m not aware of it. I presume it does exist elsewhere, and perhaps it’s just not codified in neat little phrases.

The junbi offers that answer: we are grabbed. As a result, we don’t have to stand there until the last minute waiting for an incoming roundhouse and break our arm. This form assumes a very basic frontal grab of the wrist, lapel, hair, shoulder, etc.

And with even more in-depth analysis and practice, we can even react before the grab is successful – this is where the sen sen no sen comes into play.

This is the beauty of sen sen no sen: we invite the strike (the grab) so that we can (1) anticipate, and (2) issue an appropriate response. The beauty is that we are not attacking, so this has direct legal implications. If the person had real intentions to attack, they’ll attack – just in a preferred manner that you invite (we hope). If their attack was disingenuous, then we have not done anything harmful or illegal, and the person was not harmed in any way.

(As we get more experience, we can imagine other parts of us being grabbed. But let’s get this part figured out first.)

Grab Or Punch?

Why a grab? Why not a stab, or a double leg take-down?

Because one of the rules of forms is that when we have a clenched fist, more often than not, we are grabbing, or we are being grabbed. In the other occasions, we could be punching. Also, this is Taeguek 1. A basic form. Let’s start with easy principles first. Later, we might imagine more advanced attacks and imaginative responses with the first movements in the form. For now, let’s keep it simple.

When The Body Turns

And why the turn to the left, shouldn’t we worry about the other side as well?

Because, most attackers are right handed, and turning to our left turns to the attacker’s right. And yes. And your practice will address that. The form offers us a scenario, it’s up to us to analyze it, apply it, and practice it – any side.

The Attack Begins

Let’s imagine (we’ll do a lot of imagining in our forms; and we can adjust and change things up slightly to see how our techniques might adjust. For the moment, though, let’s just keep it simple) we have been grabbed by our right shoulder with the opponent’s left hand (this is called a “same-side grab”), and his intention is to use his dominant right hand to strike us with a punch to the face. That’s a very common and likely scenario, and basic enough for a beginner to understand.

So as we stand face to face with the opponent, our right lapel is grabbed. A “same-side grab”, means their left hand grabs our right side. A “cross grab” means the opponent grabs with right hand to get our right side – his arm crosses his body to get to us.

I’ll start by explaining a dirty little secret: Our turn and low block is not a low block. We’re not blocking anything at all! Here’s the gist of what’s happening, we’ll analyze it in a minute. The motions to execute the low block don’t change. The interpretation of what we’re doing does.

Primer – What Does The Form Have Us Do?

Recall all the little details that we do in the form:

Start by facing north
Turn our head to the west
Lift the left fist to the right ear
Do these things at the same time:
1. Lift and prepare to move the left foot
2. Step into a left forward walking stance
3. Pivot on the right toes to turn our body westward
4. Reach westward with the right fist
5. Bring the left hand down into a “low block” just above the left knee
6. Bring the right hand to the waist or chest into “chamber“

Interpretive Example

Here’s what we’re doing in actuality:

Start by facing north
Turn our head to the west
Lift the left fist to the right ~~ear~~ shoulder, grabbing the hand that’s grabbing the lapel
Do these things at the same time:
1. Lift and prepare to move the left foot
2. Step into a left forward walking stance
3. Pivot on the right toes to turn our body westward
4. Reach westward with the right fist
5. Bring the left hand down just above the left knee
6. Bring the right hand to the waist or chest into “chamber”

If you try this with a partner, you’ll see some amazing things happening. Let’s analyze each of these steps.

Analysis

Step 1 Why face north?

Because that’s just a reference point. We can face any direction, but the other steps are done with this reference point. Basically, we face “forward”, then turn left. With respect to the other movements in the form, it’ll be more clear to use compass directions. North is forward, relative to the starting position of the form. West is to the form’s left, east to the right, and south is opposite North.

Step 2 always turn your head before you turn

Why? Because you don’t want to step onto something dangerous, or turn into someone who could hurt you. As you turn your head, you are looking for friends or foes, an escape route, safety in your step location, and, for the next movement we haven’t done just yet, we need a place to put him: that could be onto the floor, into an opponent, into traffic, or into a wall. Your ethics will determine this, but this is one of those strategy concepts we talked about in the previous post.

Step 3 initial preparatory movement for “low block”

Why the fist? Why not an open hand?

Because, we’re grabbing something. As it turns out, that “chamber” at the ear is a grab: we’re grabbing his hand which is latched onto (or about to latch onto) the lapel.

And that grab of the lapel? We need to be sure we grab the right thing, and the correct way. Otherwise, if he’s got a hold of our clothes, we’ll be fighting his grip on the clothing, and that will mess up our “low block”. So we need to apply the proper grab of his grabbing hand. Place your left thumb on top of his thumb/hand joint just above the webbing of his hand. Place your four fingers on the other side of his hand. As you turn, peel his hand off of your lapel. That should release his grip. There’s a pressure point in the hand that, if done properly, that should make it easier to release his grip.

Step 4 we are doing a few things at the same time.

Step 4.1 Why step with the left foot and not the right?

Because after we step with the right foot, that would place our right foot next to his body. That gives him something to grab onto and use against us. Also, that prevents him from falling into our space, which is where we’ll place him in the next movement. By stepping with the right foot as we face westward, we prevent him from getting into that space. But by stepping with the left foot, we create a sort of pocket we can “dump” him in a moment.

Finally, by stepping with the right foot, we’re moving ourselves into the line of attack. The same may be said for moving the left foot, but with the former we don’t take him off-balance, whereas in the latter, he is off-balance.

There’s a subtlety with that balance. By stepping with the left foot, we pull him slightly forward while we maintain our balance. By stepping with the right foot, we allow him to maintain his balance, although we still maintain our own.

Step 4.3 another subtle thing about balance

We turn on the balls of the toes, not the heel. Why do you think that is?

Answer: if we turn on the heel, we’ll end up rocking backward. That will pull him into our space. That means, both of us are out of balance. When we pivot on the ball of toes, we have much more control over our balance. We’re not pulling him into ourself, either.

As we turn westward (to the left), notice what happens to the opponent’s body. Because we’ve held onto his grabbing hand, he cannot easily let go. Because we kept his hand close to the pocket of our shoulder, he can’t easily fight his way out, try as he might, we have the technical and tactical advantage. And now that we’re turning, guess what happens to his body?

Yes: it’s turning too – and it’s turning westward as well – the same direction we’re facing as we turn.

And you know what’s happening to that hand that was preparing to strike us in the face? It’s now becoming less of a worry, because his body is turning that arm back as it faces westward.

And as we turn to our left, we have now changed the line of attack.

Step 4.4 Extending a punch

In our forms, we’re taught to extend the right hand in a sort of clenched fist – like a punch – and then when we issue the low block with the left hand, we retract the right hand. This is the famous “chamber” that everybody fights about.

What we’re doing now with the right hand is this:

As we are turning westward, he’s potentially trying to get out of this wrist lock we’ve got him in with our left hand. The safest way for him to do that is to bend his elbow as much as he can. That will get him closer to us, potentially allowing him to reverse the wrist lock, or strike or stab us with his other hand. Or go for a double leg take-down.

We don’t want any of those to happen. So with the right hand, in the fashion of extending the fist, we grab the cloth in the crotch of his elbow, or we grab the elbow (and note our chamber is a fist, and when we grab something, we represent it with a fist). As we issue the low block, we’re pulling his horizontal arm into our belly. This allows us much more control over his arm, and he can’t bend it for a reversal or escape.

Do you bring the right hand to the hip or to the shoulder? Recall all the arguments about where to chamber. The true answer is this: whatever works for you to keep that arm in control. By bringing your fist/his elbow to your hip, his arm will rest across your groin. He can’t get up since his arm is down. This is a kind of a weak shoulder lock. If you bring his elbow to your chest, you allow him more space to get up and potentially reverse you. Also, his elbow will naturally bend, and tactically, this is advantageous to him. In this case, then, I would “chamber” to the hip.

Step 4.5 Where is the hand facing

Notice as we bring his grabbing hand down to the knee: how is our hand facing?

Correct: in the form, our hand is a fist and the palm is facing the kneecap. (So, kind of downward facing.) In application, our fist is grabbing his hand, but our hand is completely turned over, and our palm is facing outward – completely opposite of what the form calls for.

So, that our palm is not facing the same direction as the form has us doing it is telling. It doesn’t mean the form is wrong (indeed, it isn’t), but what it does mean is that it we need to come up with an interpretation of an attack where the fist is not thus overturned.

End Of The First Movement

So, there’s a lot of principles at play, and we only made one real movement: a low block. We talked about balance, strategy, pressure points, eyeline, technique, realism, the chamber, and about pivoting on the toes.

Partner Practice

Now, go thou and get a partner and practiceth much. Rinse and repeat. And keep doing it. Practice being the attacker, and practice being the defender. Be sincere with your partner. That doesn’t mean try to beat the hell out of each other, but rather, offer realistic strikes and reactions so that you can get to understand the nuances of each of the elements just mentioned. And do that over and over.

Now, let’s play a little.

Changeup – sternum grab

Suppose we are instead grabbed by the clothing at our sternum? How does the form change here?

This is a perfectly valid alternative, and it’s also a realistic attack that can be addressed by this form’s technique. The only change here would be that instead of reaching for the hand grabbing the shoulder or lapel, we’re just reaching for the hand grabbing the clothing in the middle. Everything else remains the same.

Changeup – wrist grab

Suppose we are grabbed at the wrist. Suppose he grabs our right wrist instead. Does the basic movements of the form still work?

You bet it does. Same if he grabs hair or shoulder.

Changeup – cross hand lapel grab

What happens, then, if he grabs the right lapel with his right hand this time, instead? This is a cross grab. Can we do the same thing?

It turns out it can be done, but there’s a lot of fancy footwork to pull it off, and it would tend to violate the form’s teaching. So while it could be done, you’ll need to practice it. Does that mean this is an invalid self-defense strategy? No, it does not. But it may be too advanced for a beginner to grasp. It’ll be handled in another form, I assure you.

Conclusion

If you follow this post, you’ll find enough material to last a few months of practice and experimentation; by that time, you can probably cross over to an alternative technique (the Japanese call this a “henka-waza“, and in Korean, we say “byonhwa–gisul“) and play with the other hand grabs.

Please, send comments!

Examining Taeguek 1 – Movements 1 and 2