Category: Beginner Theory

What Are The Techniques In Taeguek movements?

In this post, we’ll discuss some of the common techniques used in Taekwondo’s Taeguek family of forms. Perhaps, I’ll have another article discussing Palgwe or Chang Hon forms, or, I’ll just edit this post. For now, I just want to cover some of the techniques, and highlight some important concepts that will be used in the forms examination posts.

I’ve categorized the techniques into a broad category of stances, hand techniques, and foot techniques. Hand techniques include grabs, releases, and elbow strikes; and foot techniques will include knee strikes.

This post isn’t a canonical list of the techniques, nor is it meant to be. You can find a canonical list of Kukkiwon (poomsae) techniques in Kukkiwon’s textbook, and you can find a canonical list of ITF (chang hon) techniques in General Choi’s Encyclopedia of Taekwondo. As a result, there may be techniques covered in those books, but if they don’t appear in a poomsae/hyung, then, I probably won’t discuss it. Maybe, I’ll cover those esoteric movements in another post, but that will be decided later.

Stances

Stances are designed to help us move from one place to another, or to stabilize our current position in order to effect a technique. I often see instructors have their students remain in a stance for as long as possible in order to build leg muscles or muscle memory, but I don’t think that is a proper training method for learning stances.

First, it creates too much emphasis on the “static” part of the stance – the part you remain still – and not enough on the other part of the stance’s purpose, which is to move you from one place to another.

Second, to have students move up and down a line doing nothing but back stances defeats the training needed to move from back stance to front stance to horse stance to crane stance, and so on.

Third, remaining in a stance “to build muscles” is misguided because in real life, the stance you use is only momentary at best. If you’re in the stance for longer than that, you’re doing something wrong.

Naming A Stance

We typically qualify a stance (left or right) by the majority of weight on a foot. Since in a back stance, for example, the majority of weight is on the back leg, then, it’s a left back stance when the left foot is back and the right foot is forward; conversely, a right back stance is when the right foot is back and the left foot is forward.

But in a forward stance, most of the weight is on the forward foot, so, a left forward stance is when the left foot is forward.

Note that many stances have no left/right or forward/back qualification, because, there is equal balance on both feet. For example, the horse and parallel stances are neutral in this regard. So there is only “horse stance”, while there is a “left forward stance” and “right forward stance”.

Note: some people qualify a stance by whichever foot is most forward. I won’t in this case. Please be mindful of this.

Walking Stance

The Walking Stance is performed as if you were walking a normal pace. One foot pas the other, feet naturally place on the ground.

When performing a technique in this stance, note that your base is more compressed than when in a forward stance; thus, your center of gravity is higher and you have less balance. You do, however, have better opportunity to move about, since you are less rooted to the floor.

The walking stance can be used for any technique, but generally a strike is best – like a punch. You are less rooted to the ground and therefore your punches may be less effective than when in a front stance. In cases where a punch requires such strength, then, a forward stance can be used. Note that our forms don’t (and shouldn’t) require great strength; therefore, forward stance punches are probably not punches at all, whereas walking stance punches probably are.

This stance is classified by whichever foot is forward: left foot forward is a left walking stance. It is consistent with the naming of the front stance, which has more of the weight over the front foot, and therefore, the front foot qualifies the stance.

Front Stance (aka Forward Stance)

The front stance is the counterpart to the walking stance. Your base is a bit wider, offering a lower center of gravity, and therefore more stability and balance. Your weight is more over the front foot, and thus it qualifies the stance based on which foot is forward.

In the front stance, the back leg is straight. I hesitate to say lock the rear knee – that would reduce movement. However, the back leg provides an anchor and stability when pressing against, or throwing an opponent. The front leg’s knee is bent, providing a capability to move it to maintain balance. The more bent it is, the lower your center of gravity and therefore more balance is offered – but at the cost of lesser mobility.

Because of the less mobility offered by the front stance, it is better suited for techniques where the opponent will be finally dispatched, not in the beginning or middle of a sequence of movements. As such, a final punch, or a throw, is more suitable for a front stance.

Because the weight is encumbered on the front leg, front leg movements is all but completely hindered. Sliding, kicking, or side-stepping are very difficult and are not advisable. There are no techniques in any form having any front-leg techniques executed whilst in a front stance.

Note the name of this stance is sometimes called a “front stance” or a “forward stance”. They are synonymous. The qualification of “left” or “right” depends on the front foot, because most of the body’s weight is placed on the front foot.

Back Stance

The stance allows easier movement from one position to the other. As one shoulder is forward over the other, there is a neutral telegraph. It allows to slide forward (stepping forward with the front foot) without changing shoulders. The distance covered isn’t as great as a full step forward (stepping forward with the back foot), and an experienced attacker will know this. Nevertheless, you are not compromising your options; in fact, you are making some of your options easier – we’ll talk about them as we get to them. A step or slide forward is much easier than when in a forward stance due to the fact that there is less need for body shift (which will reduce the time to take to complete the movement).

Note that also, a foot that is forward and back provides better stability when being pushed or pulled in the north or south direction, compared to when the feet are parallel and are tow-in-line. It provides less north/south movement stability compared to a forward stance. From a lateral direction, it provides more stability than when feet are together, and less stability then when in a horse stance. Thus, this stance is a compromise in stability for various directions, while optimizing options for some other movements

The other thing to note about a back stance, sometimes called a “fighting stance”, in which case the hands are also up in fists, is that it can be seen as an aggressive stance – an invitation to engage in combat. When sport sparring, this is not an issue – we expect to spar. But in self-defense, this hurts our changes to de-escalate.

Hand Techniques

Punch

Ever hear the ages-old complaint about punching in taekwondo? We punch by having the first two knuckles forward (which is correct), and the palm to the floor. Eh…

So the punch with the palm to the floor vs the punch where the palm is vertical depends on context.

If you’re punching to hit someone, then you generally want the punch to be vertical. But that’s only when the punch is straight forward. The dynamics of that punch changes depending on the height of the target relative to the puncher’s shoulder.

If the punch is high, there’s just no way you’re going to land that punch. Sorry. Either method will have you spraining your wrist. If you’re going to punch high, you’re better off with a backfist or an upper cut. Or, maybe the punch isn’t a strike but a grappling maneuver instead.

If the punch is low, then you definitely want the palm down, although there can be argument for a grappling maneuver here as well, in which case the palm down or sideways depends on context.

If the punch is straight through, you can use either. But the stronger punch has the palm vertical.

Double Knifehand Block

Single Knifehand Block

Knifehand Strike

Low Block

High Block

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Quick – get a primer on understanding your forms here

Check out some basic concepts of the first two movements here

The Next Two Movements

The next two movements we do is to turn 180 degrees, from facing west to facing east.

We do that by following these steps, pretty much in order:

With our “punching” (right) hand, we bring it to our left ear in a fist, so that the palm of our fist faces the ear.

1. With our “chambered” (left) hand, we bring it underneath the right elbow or arm pit.
2. Turn the head to the right, so that we can see eastward.
3. Lift the right forward foot, pivoting on the left ball of toe, so that we can turn and face east.  (There are some interesting discussions here, just go with it for a moment).
4. As you turn to the right and face east, step in to a walking stance.
5. As you step down into the walking stance, bring the right hand down into a low block.
6. As you bring the right hand down into a low block, retract the left hand into chambering position at the hip.

Ok, we’ll stop here for a moment. Yes, the 4th movement is a step forward and punch, but we’re not there yet.

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Don’t Tell Me We’re Blocking Kicks Again!

Sadly, the myth continues. If you thought that facing 90 degrees until the last moment where you turned and blocked a kick coming at you was ridiculous, think about this gem:

You’re now facing away from your opponent. That is, you’re facing west, and your opponent is standing at your back, ready to throw a roundhouse. You know this, because when you turn, you are throwing a low block… right? You can’t see him, but the instructor says that the form says that the opponent will be throwing a roundhouse at you.

Hopefully, you’re not buying that babble of baloney again?

We can think of several considerations here. Note that this movement is present in several of our forms, Taeguek 1, 2, and 3. Only, 2 and 3 have us using a full front stance, not a walking stance. I have a thought on why that is, but my reasoning is not particularly strong. I’m open to other people’s ideas.

For me, the walking stance is better for landing a punch whereas the full front stance is more suitable for a throw. The reason is this: when you step forward, you must be careful about commitment to that step. Too much, and you can’t back out very easily. Too little, and the technique won’t be effective. In my opinion, a rule of thumb, is that a walking stance is best when used with a punch, and a full front stance is best when used for a throw. When you throw, there is lesser expectation of a need to back out. With the walking stance, the punch may not be effective, or it may be parried or dodged, so you have more of a need for a backup plan.

There are subtleties here worth discussing in class, but remember that the presumption is that students have not yet learned Taeguek 2 or 3 yet, so they may not necessarily understand the nuances here. And ironically in the first movement, we really did focus on the throw with the walking stance, rather than the punch: the very opposite of what I just said!

Like I said, these are open to varying interpretations, and I don’t strongly subscribe to one theory over the other. I think the discussion is worth its weight in gold, much more than any conclusion to be drawn as to whether there ought to be a punch or a throw. In other words, I’m saying it’s better to have a lengthy and even spirited discussion over this and not yield a conclusion, rather than to have a conclusion or to subscribe to a rule of thumb without the discussion. The journey, then, is more important than the goal.

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Why Turn 180 Degrees?

We must ask ourselves, what is the impetus for turning 180 degrees?

Is it that there is someone behind us that we need to dispatch?

Is it that the person we’re currently trying to dispatch needs to be re-dispatched?

Or is it that we’ve dispatched the person attacking us; the new movements presume a completely different attack scenario?

The answer could be either 2 or 3. But for all intents and purposes, movement 3 represents a new attack, it matters not whether the person got up from his throw, or he reversed us, or a completely new person is now attacking us. For our purposes, the attack is the same, it doesn’t matter who or why the attack was chosen or by whom.

However, let it be known that we are not defending an attack by someone who is behind us! Were we to assume that, then, we are assuming the strike that will be used. That’s neither realistic nor practical. Remember: our movements presume the attack has already occurred. Therefore, the person who is further west of us (in front of us), the direction we are facing before we turn 180 degrees, is the person who is attacking us.

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Ole!

Who says that?

Yeah, a crowd at a bull fight. It’s said in approval of a matador’s performance. It sounds cheesy, but it’s a good visual. Think about the bull charging at the matador. What is he doing as the bull charges?

He’s getting out of the line of attack.

Spoiler alert! That’s what we’re doing, too.

Thinking about the matador and the defender, the effects of moving out of the way are the same. He steps aside allowing the charging bull/attacker to run through, continuing along the line of attack. There are some other similarities as well.

The bull fighter does not take a wide berth to get out of the bull’s way. Neither does the attacker – and for very different reasons. The bull fighter will appear to be running away from the bull, which shows cowardice and is not appealable to the crowd. He won’t get an “Ole” for that move. He gets off the line of the bull’s attack, but he stays close by, and he waits until the last moment to do so, otherwise, an early move off the line will give the bull enough opportunity to change his direction, and chase the matador.

The defender similarly doesn’t give a wide berth as well, but not because of crowd appeal, he does it so as not to telegraph his intentions. The same can be said for the bull fighter, by the way.

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What Kind Of Attack

Enough of the bull.

What is it we’re defending against?

It’s a good question, and it can vary with the experience of the student here. A junior student can rationalize being grabbed by the shoulder again, only instead of a dispatch of the attacker by changing the attacker’s line of attack, he’s allowing the attacker to continue on his line of attack – and the defender moves out of the way.

An experienced student could be said to “invite” the attack by making an indication toward his shoulder – an invitation to grab the shoulder. This is a classic concept in Aikido and Hapkido, and the mantra is espoused in the Japanese concept of “Sen sen no sen” – the attack before the attack.

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Important Note!

In order for either scenario to work, the shoulder closest to the attacker must be forward. But in both cases, the wrong shoulder is forward when we consider the punching hand when we’re facing west.

What we want is for the attacker to grab the left shoulder instead.

Why the left shoulder?

Because, that is the side being grabbed, and we are responding with the right hand. Thinking ahead for a moment, we are in punching position with the right hand and right foot forward. We know the next movement is the right hand chambers to the left shoulder in preparation for a 180 degree turn, and then execute a low block with the right hand right over the right knee.

In order to pull this off, we need to look at that turn in a microscopic way.

Let’s break down that turn to 180 degrees first.

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A Note About Turning

I don’t know how you are taught to turn 180 degrees, but for many people, it goes something like this:

Push off with your right foot, so that your left foot takes the weight of your body, and then you spin clockwise, and when your body fully turns 180 degrees, you’re now facing east – as intended.

I’m not a true fan of this method. First off, for many people, they’re pivoting on the left heel, which is wrong. Others sort of pivot off the whole foot. Somewhat better, but best is to pivot off the ball of toes.

Except, we’re not ballerinas, and we’re not on ice. Any sort of pivot is creating havoc on ankles and knees, and only gets worse when wearing sneakers on grass. That pivot can tear an ACL.

Also, remember we want the attacker to grab the left shoulder, yes? If you don’t offer the left shoulder, guess which shoulder he’ll grab? Yes: the wrong one. And the low block will have no meaning.

So when you pivot, you should do so in these steps, verbatim!

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A Note About Directions

I will indicate several direction methods.  Compass directions, because it’s easier to visualize, but also, clock directions.  As you face any particular direction, we’ll start the clock at the 12:00 position.  So when you are now facing west and punching towards west, you are facing the 12:00 position.  I do this because I want your right foot to land at the 8:00 position in a moment.

The problem is that I could say put your foot at the SSW position (south of south-west), but that’s hard for people to imagine.  I could also keep the clock at 12:00 at all northern facing positions, and so when we face west, we’re facing 9:00, and when we face east, we’re facing 3:00; that means we want to move the foot from 10:00 position to 5:00 position.  I think that’s a lot of imagination for people to think about.  

So what I’ll do is keep the compass directions absolute (north is always the direction you face when you start the form), but the clock will be reset to 12:00 for whatever direction you’re currently facing.  So now that we’re facing west, we’ll reset the clock and say we’re facing 12:00 position.

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Turning 180 Degrees – The Wrong Way

How do you make that 180 degree turn? Let’s take it step-by-step, the way it is commonly, but wrongly done:

1. From the position you are in, facing west, your right hand is extended for the punch
2. As you face west, remember that is the 12:00 position you are facing, and, your right foot is at 2:00 position.
3. Your goal is to turn and face the 6:00 position (east), with your foot landing at the 8:00 position.
4. So do that: face west (12:00), and lean back, loading all of your weight on your left foot, and with momentum from the shift in weight, turn to the 6:00 (east) position.
5. When the right foot lands at 8:00 position, your right shoulder is now forward toward east.
6. When the attacker is offered the shoulder and grabs it (it could be the lapel, ear, arm, etc), your right hand covers his hand (either hand), and then, you turn (pivoting on the balls of toes).
7. As you turn to the east, you are now facing the 6:00 position.  We’ll reset the clock to 12:00 position when we talk about the next two movements.

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Turning 180 Degrees – The Right Way

In my opinion, this is the better way.  We’ll compare the two methods afterwards, and you can see which you prefer.

1. From the position you are in, facing west, your right hand is extended for the punch
2. As you face west, remember that is the 12:00 position you are facing, and, your right foot is at 2:00 position.
3. Your goal is to turn and face the 6:00 position (east), with your foot landing at the 8:00 position.
4. So do that: face west (12:00), but first retreat the right foot to the 8:00 position.  Do not turn your body to the 6:00 (east) position just yet.  Only move the foot.
5. When the right foot lands at 8:00 position, your left shoulder is now forward toward west.
6. When the attacker is offered the shoulder and grabs it (it could be the lapel, ear, arm, etc), your right hand covers his hand (either hand), and then, you turn (pivoting on the balls of toes).
7. As you turn to the east, you are now facing the 6:00 position.  We’ll reset the clock to 12:00 position when we talk about the next two movements.

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Comparing The Methods

I highlighted the text in bold red so show the results from the differences in methods, and the strikethrough text does not apply – we need to discuss that in a minute.

So note the main difference: in the first method, we’re spinning on only the left foot – a single foot. In the second method, we’re spinning on both feet.

Thinking of safety, the second method is safer, because you’re not straining the knee or ankle. You’re spinning on both feet.

Thinking of practicality, well… guess what? When you load up the left foot in preparation for the spin, your body’s position doesn’t provide enough telegraph of the left shoulder (the one we’re hoping the attacker grabs, because it’s the right hand grabbing at the attacker’s hand on the left shoulder).

Further, when the attacker grabs you as you make your 1-foot spin, your balance is completely compromised (if our esteemed attacker hopefully grabs the left shoulder), and our evasive maneuver is completely ruined (and we can be reversed much more easily) if he grabs the right shoulder.

This is bad karma. Don’t load up your weight on a single foot to effect a spin, you need to have both feet on the floor at the time you are grabbed. This is nearly universally true, and applies to all turns in all forms. So I won’t generally repeat this again unless it’s important to do so.

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Moving On

So timing of the spin is important here. If you are late with the turn, then, the attacker grabs the wrong shoulder or barrels into you. If you are properly timed with the step back, but late with the body turn, then the opponent can still barrel over you. If you are early with the body turn, you could break the opponent’s grip – we don’t want that; when he’s gripping, we have control over him.

We want to turn early enough that the left shoulder is offered; as he grabs the left shoulder, we want to allow his momentum to follow through, so, we step backward (foot at 8:00), then turn and pivot.

This is the key here: the turn is done on two feet, not on a single foot.

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What Happens After The Spin?

So the esteemed attacker has taken the bait, and has grabbed the shoulder, lapel, elbow, sternum, ear, or hair – all basically on the left or center side. We’ve turned to the right (clockwise) so we’re facing in the completely opposite direction. And now what?

As the attacker grabs us, remember, we’ve got a close fist with the right hand, and the form has us put it on the left shoulder, suggesting that we’re grabbing that which is grabbing us. As we turn and effect the “low block”, the momentum of our turn pulls the attacker in a line that moves east-west; because we stepped into the 8:00 position, we’ve stepped slightly off the attacker’s line of attack, allowing him to pass through.

Whether he grabs with the left or right hand, it doesn’t matter – although the effects will be different. Nevertheless, he’ll be thrown using a wrist throw, not unlike the first movement. The difference between the first movement and the third movement is that in the first, the opponent is not moving, whereas in the third movement, the attacker is moving – toward us. We simply get out of the line of attack, and “invite him to pass on through”. Because we are controlling his wrist, he’ll hopefully barrel into a forward roll, whereas in Aikido or Hapkido, he’ll end up doing a high-fall. If the attacker resists, he’ll sprain, strain, or break his wrist.

If you want to help him along in a forward roll (or push into traffic…), you can effect that by grabbing a part of him (preferably something around the waist – shirt, belt, pants, etc) and step forward with the left foot. The form says “step forward and punch”, but are we really punching? Maybe, maybe not. The “punch” is represented by a closed fist, suggesting a grab. We could, in theory, be punching him.

And importantly, that’s where different interpretations of the form lay: step and punch (although I don’t know what you’d be punching, since his position will be awkward enough that there wouldn’t be a viable target), but then again, circumstances may be that the throw fails, and your recovery is to step and punch him. Either way is a good interpretive method of the form’s movement. This kind of thing can apply to every single movement in every single form – there’s rarely a technique that has a singular purpose – almost everything has multiple interpretations. I don’t like to make categorical statements, but on the other hand, I really can’t think of anything offhand that has only a single purpose.

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Conclusion

Like the last post, if you follow this post, you can find enough material to last a few months of practice and experimentation. What is remarkable is we’ve only covered 2 movements (and two movements in the previous topic, albeit with some background details not covered here).

One challenge I raise to the reader: can you find an alternative to a throw from a grab of the shoulder? I don’t mean to include subtle differences such as “grab of the lapel, ear, hair, sternum/neck” as alternatives (although they are), what I want you to do is get out of the mindset that you may not necessarily be throwing; and your opponent may not necessarily be grabbing at anything.

Get creative, while being completely realistic. (That means, one attacker at a time!) And what you should do is go to a place where you can try it out on a partner. Your partner should be engaged, and should make an earnest and thoughtful attack.

Please, send your thoughts comments!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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Primer – What Does The Form Have Us Do?

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

1. Start by facing north

2. Turn our head to the west

3. Lift the left fist to the right ear

4. 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“

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Interpretive Example

Here’s what we’re doing in actuality:

1. Start by facing north

2. Turn our head to the west

3. Lift the left fist to the right ear shoulder, grabbing the hand that’s grabbing the lapel

4. 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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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