Introduction
Do you have any idea what you’re doing when you perform your poomsae (hyung, tul)? That is, the series of movements you do when you kick, punch, and block? You might call the forms “Taeguek“, “Palgwe“, “Songahm“, “Chang-An“, “Chil-Sung“, “Kicho“, “Say-Kye“, “Pyong-Ahn“, “Yuk-Ro“, or some variation within? Maybe, you refer to your forms by the name of the first form, like “Chon-Ji“, “Taeguek Il Jang“, or “Kicho Il Bu“.
The name doesn’t matter. What matters is the material inside what you’re doing, and more importantly, do you have an understanding of what you’re doing.
Myths Of Forms
What was it they told you about your forms? I’ve heard the forms teach how to kick and punch. (Meh…) I’ve heard that forms teach how to fight. (Meh…) About breathing, balance, and eyeline.
I don’t entirely subscribe entirely to any of that. Forms can put those things into context, but really – how old are you now? That’s how long you’ve been breathing, looking, and balancing. Forms won’t change any of that. Teach how to fight? Sure. But with no opponent to worry about? Those Kung Fu movies are very entertaining, but not at all realistic.
Itinerary For Novices And Seniors
For the novice practitioner, forms teaching how to kick and punch, breathe, look, and keep balance is fine. But the instructor ought not approach the next form until the truth – the real truth – comes out. And that’s where this article comes in.
The complete story is this. Forms teach many things, and there are things that forms cannot replace. For that reason, your instruction includes much more than just your forms. Your forms ought to be a strong focus on your training, but your training must be well-rounded.
And there is an itinerary depending on your experience. If you are just starting out, the more complex concepts are not there yet. But if you are an experienced practitioner, do not discount the value of the basics, which are everpresent in the forms, even in the advanced forms.
Basics Of What Forms Teach Us
So let’s go over what forms teach us. Let’s start with the basics: what are the terms we use when analyzing our forms?
There are several, and some are synonymous.
To inspect, disassemble, and analyze we use “bunhae“. Bunhae has an equivalent in Japanese, which uses the term “bunkai“, and both are spelled with the same Chinese characters. They are merely pronounced slightly differently, but mean the same: “take apart”, “disassemble”, and “analyze”. Some may also use “bunseok” which is synonymous with “bunhae“, although it is spelled with different Chinese letters. Also synonymous is “hae sul“. It’s common to use “bunhae” by itself, and to use “hae sul” both by itself and together with “poomsae“. For example, one might practice a class exercise called “Taeguek il jang hae sul”, which means analyzing Taeguek 1.
Application
To apply what you’ve learned, the Japanese use the term “oyo“. In Korean, the term to use would be “eunyong dongjak“. They mean the same, but are not spelled using the same characters in Chinese. Both are the opposite of bunkai / bunhae, in that you are given a movement in your form, you analyze how it can be used, then, you apply it.
In practice it works something like this: In your class, your instructor will use your form as an example, for instance, “Taeguek 1”, and extract several movements strung together, for instance the first two or three movements. He or she will then discuss how those movements might be interpreted. This is called bunhae. Many ideas might float around the class, so, the instructor will challenge the student to apply their ideas in one-step self-defense examples. This is called eunyong dongjak.
Poomsae
Your forms are variously called “poomsae“, “hyung“, or “tul“, and there are variations in spelling as well (eg, “hyeong“, “teul“). Don’t worry, they are all synonymous. They all relate to “forms” or “patterns”, which has the connotation of a pre-defined series of movements.
Why Do We Have Forms, While Other Styles Don’t?
You may wonder why we have forms at all; after all, other martial arts don’t have them. Boxing and wrestling, for example, don’t use them. MMA schools may borrow from Karate and/or Taekwondo, depending on their skills background, or they may not use them at all. Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu all use them extensively. So why are they used, and what are their purposes?
That’s where history and politics come into play.
Historically, forms are libraries to our styles. The form itself thus becomes the syllabus for what we are to learn. In Taekwondo, that can hardly be argued these days. Most of the fancy spinning kicks seen in sparring are not at all showcased in a single form, from 9th geup to 9th dan. And most of the techniques in our forms are either outright banned (spear hand, elbow strike, knee strike) or not typically practical for sport (mountain block, crane stances, scissor block).
Poomsae Purpose
So what gives? Why do we do these forms when we’re not allowed to perform them in sparring?
The answer lies in that there was a split in sparring many years ago. In Karate, for example, your sparring was the application of all these techniques. But as Taekwondo emerged as a sport, there evolved a set of techniques involving kicks, and the focus became the fancy kicks we see today. Few schools practice self-defense or forms analysis. For it is in self-defense that our forms apply – not at all in sport sparring. This contrasts with many Karate styles: sparring most certainly uses the techniques they use in their forms.
So let’s take a look at what our forms teach us.
Technique
It can hardly be argued that individual techniques aren’t showcased in your forms. In Taekwondo, though, the line can be blurry: all of the techniques your instructor has you practicing ad nauseum up and down the dojang floor are easily found in your forms. Punches, low blocks, front stances, etc are seen in nearly every single form. But the other way around isn’t so clearly seen: crane stances, scissor blocks, head smashes, eye pokes… how often do you practice these techniques outside of your form? For many schools, this would be rare, if ever. Better schools will pull a technique out of a form, analyze it, discuss it, practice it, and apply it. Nevertheless, technique is a huge showcase in forms.
Eyeline
Where you look, when you look, and your facial expressions are all contributors to other aspects of what forms teach us, especially technique, balance, moving, strategy, and getting up from a fall. How often do you hear an instructor to turn your head before you turn the body, or keep the chin up, etc. This all relates to the eyeline.
Balance
It’s easy to throw a punch from a forward stance. But what about a reverse punch from a back stance, or a spearhand from a crane stance? Haven’t you heard your instructor tell you to pivot on the ball of toes and not on the heels? This is all about balance. When throwing a technique, you want to remain centered and often rooted to the floor.
Breathing
We breathe all the time. Controlled breathing helps throw a technique, receive a technique, manage pain, and distract the opponent. Proper breathing allows us to throw a technique with the best possible aim, power, and effect. It need not be a mighty strike – often that’s not desired – but accuracy and efficacy is most important.
Moving
Whether we are moving forward, backward, turning 45, 90, 180, or 270 degrees, moving helps us in strategy and in technique. How we move is important: are we stomping, are we moving with the feet along a railroad track, or are we moving with a K-step?
Joint locks
Taekwondo is full of joint locks. Some of the strange movements you see that don’t quite fit into strikes or blocks are probably joint locks. Ever see examples of “cup and saucer” (fist held over fist)? This is showcased in Won Hyo hyung, Chung Moo hyung, Se Jong hyung, Keumgang poomsae, and others.
Pressure points
Pressure points are single nerve points about the body used to affect a reaction. It could be pain, release a grip, or release a weapon. Pressure points are struck, rubbed, or squeezed, and which one is performed depends on the pressure point. It could be argued that any strike is striking at a pressure point or vital area, but there are some techniques that can introduce further discussion, such as Gye Baek hyung with it’s exposed knuckle punch. Any knifehand and punch are also subjects that can use pressure points.
Vital areas
Vital areas are collections of nerves in a single general area, like the groin, solar plexus, neck, eyes, etc. They are similar to pressure points in that application requires intensive study and with the recognition that they may not always work. The opponent may be affected by drugs, alcohol, psychosis, injury, or experience, or their physique or attire, or your experience all play an important role in their efficacy. Always have a backup plan in case these don’t work. Nevertheless, many techniques – like the spear hand – can have applications here. Many of your punches and knife hand strikes use vital area targets.
Throws
Yes, Taekwondo has throws. Some spear hands and scissor blocks are nothing more than throws. This can be seen in Taeguek Sa Jang poomsae, Taebaek poomsae, Keumgang poomsae, Won hyo hyung, Chung Moo hyung, Choong Jang hyung, and many others.
Falls
This is seen less often in Taekwondo poomsae and hyung, and it is more commonly seen in many Japanese Karate styles. There is a case for ground techniques in Keumgang poomsae’s crane stance, but that’s not fall. There’s also a case for a kick from the ground position in Choong Jang hyung, but that’s also not a fall.
Getting up from a fall
Like falling, there are few examples of this being employed in poomsae or hyung. I will say that Choong Jang’s kick from the floor is an imperfect, if sole, example where getting up quickly is needed.
Pain management
Pain management is not a specific technique you’ll see in a particular form. Rather, it’s a way of life. You manage pain via your breathing and in some of your slow motions.
Bone breaking
Many of your strikes and blocks are all about bone breaking. Inside blocks and low blocks are examples of bone breaking.
Chokes
There are two kinds of chokes: blood and air. Which you use depends on context. Any of your headlocks are potentials for chokes. And headlocks are often represented in cup-and-saucer (fist over fist) techniques, such as in Keumgang poomsae, or Po Eun hyung.
Reversals
Reversals are a vague concept in Taekwondo, especially in schools who do not practice any grappling, but such can easily be adapted to nearly any grappling technique. One good example of a reversal in a form would be in Keumgang poomsae’s “little hinge block” (cup-and-saucer) where you step over, around, and land again in a cup-and-saucer again. This is an example of a headlock escape, and a reversal is not difficult to imagine after that.
Stances
Stance comes from a word that derives from a definition meaning “still”. I see schools having their students remain in a stance for long periods of time to develop muscles. I don’t get that – that’s not what stances are for. They’re very dynamic, and are used for the express purpose to move from one place or position to another. If you remain in a stance for more than a moment, you’re not doing something correctly. Nevertheless, every form has stances; the trick then is to know what your stances are doing: how are they helping aid the technique?
Strategy
Strategy as taught in forms is a long shot, hence last on my list. Your strategy is discovered through discussion on the form, rather than looking to a specific technique or movement within the form. In that regard, the exploration of your options during self-defense is where the learning and teaching happens.
