TitanicX's blog: "Survey says...Poomse!"

Morning Fubarians! Its been a little bit since I wrote here. I had finals last week so that took much of my time, but school is out for two weeks so Im free! Woohoo! Anyways I am going to start on my series about the actual Poomse, hope you enjoy it! There are many types of Poomse taught in the world, and from school to school the poomse vary as well. In my Kwan, or organization we start with the Ki-bon forms. These are simple I pattern forms that have only a couple of moves within them. So they are ideal to help teach the basics to beginners young and old alike. All forms teach muscle memory and how to move while performing moves. These are very important to learn. As Bruce Lee once said "A good fight should be like a small play...but played seriously. When the opponent expands, l contract. When he contracts, l expand. And when there is an opportunity... l do not hit...it hits all by itself (shows his fist)." While learning the form itself is not the secret to martial arts its a good place to start on the path to becoming a true martial artist. I should mention here that while I am not yet black belt (I expect it with in about 5 months) I am well qualified as I am Utah AAU state champion as well as taking gold at the Utah Summer games and 4 other tournaments over the last 4 years in forms. Ki-bon hana (one) has only two hand movements and one stance. The pattern is done in the shape of an I. The hand moves are simple down block and straight punch. The stance through out the form is a front stance. There is one sorta tricky spin that most all people have a problem learning at first, but thats what practice is for! To begin you start in you Chum-bi stance, or ready stance (hands in front of the belt approx. one fist and held apart approx one fist, legs about shoulder width) the first turn is to the left (most all forms turn to the left to begin!)as you turn 90 degrees you drop to a front stance (for a list of stances and moves see the 4 previous blogs) and down block with your left hand. This is to simulate blocking a kick being thrown at you from your left side. Then you attack. The next move is a step forward to another front stance and a middle punch with the right hand. Then a 180 degree turn towards your back. This is dropped to a front stance to a right hand down block, step to a left hand straight punch to attack. The next move is a 90 degree turn to the left back to the original direction with a down block. Then there are three steps forward (each to a front stance) with alternating punches starting with the right hand and ending with teh right hand (right, left, right). At this point you would Ki yup (yell). The next turn is the tricky turn I mentioned. This is a 270 degree turn towards the left to end up on the right (confusing huh!) basically after your last punch you would turn to look over your left shoulder and set up for a down block with the left hand. You would then take your back leg and lift it to begin to turn towards your back. Your back leg ends up as your front leg in the front stance and your left hand blocks. The follow up is the straight punch to the middle with another front stance. The turn is the made towards the back, 180 degrees, to a down block with the right hand, then a step forward to a middle punch, front stance. The next move will start to take you back to the start position. Its a 90 degree turn to the left into a down block with the left hand and front stance. Three steps forward (front stances) with alternating punches starting with the right hand and ending with the right hand. Another Ki yup here. Then the tricky turn again to the left to end up on your right for a down block withe the left hand. The next is a step forward, front stance right hand middle punch. 180 degree turn to the right to a down block with the right hand step forward to a front stance with a left hand middle punch. Thats it! you then return to the starting position and call it good! To se what this looks like http://www.natkd.com/movies/NATKD_Forms/Kicho1.wmv and no this isn't me, my school is working on our site to place videos like this on there and I most likely will be the person in them, though that hasn't been decided yet. Though this isn't the most exciting of forms, it gives a good base of whats to come! Hope that you enjoyed my little description here ! I look forward to discussing more forms and what the mean in future blogs! Thanks again and you stay classy Fubar!

Good afternomorning my Fubaraholics! Hope you are found well today, and if not hope you are just found! This is the last of these basics blogs. After this I can talk to you about the forms themselves! (cause then you'll understand!)The last thing we have to cover is stances. The way you stand to deliver or receive an attack can be just as important, and many times, more important then the attack. These control accuracy, balance, movement, pretty much all that is involved in TKD. Stances are the breath of life in a fight. They can harm or save. If you have any questions ask me! Choon Bee - This is the ready stance, the basis and starting position of all stances. Very simple. Start with the feet together, then step out with the left foot till its right about shoulder width. The hands come up to the chin area then come to rest in front about belt high, hands in fists. Front stance - This is the bread and butter stance of most all martial arts. This is a strong and quick stance. To perform this you stand with your feet a little wider then your shoulders then stepout wide and long with one leg. This leg bears most of the weight of your body. The knee is bent on the front leg while the back leg is straight. Feet facing forward as well as chest being square to the target. Walking stance - This is an odd stance to get used to at first. Its very simple. Take your feet shoulder wide facing front, and step normally. That is the stance! Fighting stance (side stance) - this is most common when fighting/sparring, etc. Take your feet at shoulder width, step back with one foot till they are facing mostly to the side with the hands held up to protect the body and head. The back foot most often is held at a 90% angle to the front and the front foot is usually at a 45% angle, but that can be subjective. Back stance - This is similar position to the fighting stance, but the front foot is facing forward and the weight is shifted toward the back leg, similar to sitting on a bar stool. Horse-back riding stance - This is more a training stance, though in rare instances can be used outside. To do this you step out from the Choon bee stance with the left foot again to a width wider then the shoulders. Your feet face forward with the knees drawn in slightly. Your body is straight up and down. the last step is to sit as on a bar stool, knees bent slightly. This can build allot of muscle in the leg when held right. Cat stance - this is a more advanced and at first awkward stance. This starts out similar to a back stance with the front leg being drawn close to the back leg arched up on the toes. 98% of all the weight is on the back leg with the front ready to whip out or move. Tiger stance - This is a deep stance (I still cant fully do it) this is where you slide to a back stance then kneel till your weight rests on your back leg and your front leg is bent ready to help you spring forward. Very awkward to do and difficult to explain. There are a few other stances, but rarely used and rarely done so I wont worry about covering them. Now that we have our basics covered I can start talking about the forms them selves! Next week we will cover the first couple forms and I will try to include the video so it can be visually seen as well! Till then, you stay classy Fubar!

Hello fubar! How are we!! Awesome I knew you would be great! Time to finish this basic stuff up so we can move on eh! course we have this and one other to really finish it up! Ok so we have covered strikes and blocks, now for kicks. Kicks are the most important part of TKD. you can punch and block, but without the power of a good kick your going to be beat. There are a few basic kicks that can be moved to create more advanced options. Kicks: Front kick - easily the most basic and natural kick out there. This is done by taking your leg, bringing the knee up, and pushing out with the foot till the ball of your foot makes contact with your target. This is much like the straight punch of kicks. Round house - most common kick even at high levels. This is done by taking the leg and driving the knee and hip forward till the foot snaps out like a whip to make contact. Low, high either are devastating. Step behind side kick - great way to learn how to throw a regular side kick, great way to cover distance quickly. You take your leg and step behind the other then take the front leg, lift the knee to your chest and strike out with the heel/side of the foot. Side kick - this is the advanced version of the step behind. Its much faster and can be adjusted to other kicks as well. In this kick you take your leg swing it around to the front with your knee pulled to your chest, you then strike out the same as the step behind landing with your heel/side of your foot on your target. Axe kick - This is a powerful kick using not only power but speed and gravity. You take your leg kick out as high as you can till the knee locks out then drive it down into the chest or the top of the head of your target. Crescent kick - There are two variations of this kick. One inside out the other outside in. both these are fast and powerful kicks. They start similar to an axe kick, but instead of driving the leg downward you take the kick and circle it around. This is used most often to strike the head or clear the arms for a follow up attack. So the power is in the snap as it spins to the target. Hook kick - one of my favorites. This starts similar to a side kick, but ends with the leg passing by the head (tricky!) and then snapping back to strike the side or back of the head with the heel. Its nice because most people don't expect the kick to come back and figure you just missed the side kick. (I even got my instructor in the head in front of my Grandmaster!) Fast kick - A round house thrown by the front leg. Quick like a jab, usually used to set up other more powerful kicks. (but can be deadly, this is how I broke my nose in Oct at a tournament!) Back kick - My other favorite kick. Great for defending and for attacking! The best way to describe this kick is to picture a mule kicking. Powerful, striking, stopping, hurting. I have knocked people down in tournaments with a well placed back kick. Spin heel - This is a fast, powerful spinning kick. Used effectively can be a knock out or worse. The body spins on the front leg towards the back, the kick is then thrown out similar to a back kick and at the last moment is hooked back in to strike with the heel. This is how the Korean fighter won the Olympic gold medal at the Lats summer Olympics (you tube has a great video) Butterfly (tornado) kick - This is a fun fast and confusing kick! Fun cause of how its done, fast and confusing to your opponent. To do this kick (and ill try to explain it) you would stand with one leg forward and one back so your shoulder shows to the opponent. Then you spin towards your back whipping your head around (which drags your body behind it) you then spin and at this point the kick becomes similar to the round house with an extra whip. This can be reversed with a step forward then the spin added depending on what way you want to strike your opponent. Defensive round house - This is used when moving backwards. Its similar to a round house, but a hop is added to snap the leg forward to strike the person coming at you. (a back kick can be used as well) Most all of these kicks can become more advanced and more devastating with a small jump added. When performed right this adds another dimension to the kick. Jump spin heel Jump back kick Jump round house Jump front kick Jump side (flying side) Jump fast jump axe Jump hook (rarely used) There are other kicks used in other styles and some even in TKD that are so rare that I will not bother covering them here, these can include sweeps, kneeling kicks, knee strikes, knee kicks (targeting the knee) and so on. Any of the above kicks can also be moved high or low depending on the situation. Well Fubar that does it for me today, I'm out! And you stay classy Fubar!

Good morning Fubarrrr! How are we all doing today? I just wanted to say hello and hope you have enjoyed my posts to date. Now on to the meat of the matter! Last time we covered strikes that are common not only to TKD but to most all forms of martial arts. Today I would like to cover blocks. These all important piece of any fighters repertoire are invaluable. Whether your looking at a point spare match or a full contact all out brawl. A block can literally save your life or create that opening to shot an attack through. Blocks for the most part are performed by the hand or arms. There are a few that use other body parts and we will cover, but not dwell on these. Blocks: Low block - basic of the basic blocks, Its what the 4 year olds learn their first day, but one that blackbelts can use with devastating results. This block is chambered (started) at the shoulder opposite the side that will be blocked. The arm and hand is then driven down at an angle till it ends approximately at the area close to the knee. Many push past this but this can be dangerous as it provides an opening for a counter strike to be driven through. The hand forms a fist with the palm facing towards the knee. Inside out middle block - this is another basic of basic blocks. This one (for lack of a better visual) is accomplished by taking the blocking hand and placing it across the body at a low angle as if grabbing a sword to be drawn out of a scabbard. The hand then is pulled into a "muscle pose" slightly in front and to the side of the face (about eye level)Muscle pose meaning like you were flexing your bicep. Outside in middle block - Same but to chamber the arm you start above the shoulder on the same side as the arm that is blocking. The arm than comes across the body in a sweeping move to end on the opposite side in a similar position as the inside out block. High (face) block - This block can be a valuable piece of a fighters arsenal as it protects your head and face! (I value mine!) This is chambered in the same manner as the inside out middle block. The block is achieved by rolling the arm up the chest past the face till it rests just above your hair line and out away from the face slightly. The fist is at an angle where the thumb is down and the palm is out. This can be useful in blocking many types of kicks as well as punches. Knife hand block - A more advanced technique. This is chambered with the blocking hand being pulled up to the cheek of the opposite side with the palm open (no fist). The hand is then pushed out away from the body to a soft angle (both hand and arm) meaning not straight and not bent to far. This is a fast block that can create alot of torque to stop an attack. These are the basic blocks. More advanced blocks are introduced at the 5th Kup level. These are as follows: Sparrow block - One of my favorites as it is a beautiful strike/block combo requiring body and mind to perform. This is chambered by placing the striking hand open palm behind the head on the same side as the attacking arm. The second hand then is placed opposite cheek open palm as well. Both hands then move in unison. The striking hand performing a knife hand strike and the blocking hand rolling up to an open palm (palm out) face block. Tricky to learn but fun to watch! Double knife hand block - this is also a fun block, used allot in higher level poomse. To perform this block one takes both hands and stretches behind (opposite the attack). The back hand goes straight back about neck level palm down (open fist) the other hand follows the first back, pulled across the chest and chambered similar to the knife hand block. Both hands are then pushed forward with the front hand ending in a regular knife hand block and the back hand ending in a palm up position protecting the sternum (just under the center piece of the ribs). This block can be moved mid to low (front arm extending to a low block) Push block - This is similar to the knife hand block, but the hand forms a fist with the palm side out. Double fist block - same as the double knife hand with the hands forming fists rather then open palm. Palm block - this is a sweeping block. The hand starts in one of two positions. Either on the side resting on the hip with with palm open (cupped like drinking water from it) or high near the ear on the same side as the arm with the palm facing out towards the attacker. The block is then brought across the body sweeping the attack out of the path of the body. either in a downward or a cross body pattern based on the desired angle. X block - This block is typically used to block knees or kicks such as the axe (well discuss that further). This is chambered in one of two ways. either on the side of the chest about nipple high (for lack of a better location!). With one hand in the traditional resting position (fist closed, palm up) and the other hand fist closed palm back so the fleshy part of the hand rests on the wrist of the opposite hand. The second method is with the hands both pulled to each side of the chest in resting position. Then in either case the hands are fling forward either low or high forming an X with the arms, typically locked across the wrist forming a strong straight arms stop to the attack. That is pretty much it for hand/arm blocks. There are a few leg blocks that are used, rarely taught, but can come in handy. Most of these names I have placed here myself as the technique is not been taught, but only learned through sparring. Shin block - seen allot in Mui Tai fighting this is simply bringing the leg up to an almost side/back kick chamber stopping the attackers kick with the shin or knee area. Cross leg block - this is where one brings the leg up in a position similar to a roundhouse kick and instead of flinging the foot out one simply pushes it out. Useful for stopping an opponents attack and allowing you to get angle for your own attack. Push kick - A kick, but can be considered a blocking method as well. This is done similar to a front kick, but instead of snapping in and out the body moves forward with the kick and as soon as it makes contact the body pushes out to either push the opponent off balance or to stop their forward momentum. Check block - similar to the push kick, but done with either a side kick or a step behind side kick. very useful for stopping an opponents forward momentum and throwing them off their planned attack. Foot block - This is a difficult technique. Used more in other styles then TKD. The foot goes forward and turns out to reveal the arch to the opponent. Useful in stopping front kicks, axe kicks, etc. Or even just to slow down movement. Reverse foot block - Similar to the Foot block. but the foot is brought up to the shin. This can be either in front or behind the leg. The kick then is cupped and stopped with the bottom of the foot again. There may be other blocks that I have missed. I will try racking my brain today and make sure its covered as thoroughly as possible. If I do find others I will update this post! Thanks for reading, and you stay classy Fubar!

Good morning my blogaphiles. Sorry its taken so long to post my second entry here. I have been busy with helping a friend deal with court and all kinds of fun stuff! Enough about the boring details of my nonchalant life, on with the Poomse! Before we discuss any forms lets talk about what makes a form. It will help in understanding what I am saying about the forms themselves and what they represent physically and for a lack of a better word, spiritually. There are many movements within a form, everything from a simple punch all the way to a double hand block with a strike. These are paired with some sort of stance be it front, back, side, etc. Each of these moves are coordinated to work into the next in a chain until the form is complete. The first thing well discuss are the strikes Strikes: Straight punch - a punch that starts at the waist and rolls out to the midsection of the target. The puch can be altered to high (face) or low (bladder) strike as well. Knife hand - This powerful strike can be altered to a block or a strike. It is most often delivered by holding the arm and hand approx. neck level and flinging the hand out in an arch with the palm facing up at a slight angle. This strike normally targets the neck (adams apple area) but can also be used on other areas of the body. Back fist -This strike is used in attacking the face/head of an opponent, though it can be used on other parts of the body as well, it is most effective there. This is performed by rolling the fist from your waist up and out so the back of the hand/knuckles make contact first Spinning back fist - This is a fast, effective attack. Delivered with the back of the hand spinning around so the arm whips the hand to the opponents head. Hammer fist - This is a pure power strike. It can start in a few different positions depending on the speed, power, and aim. Most often this strike is also to the top of the head or the face. It is similar in movement to the back fist, but ends with the hand in a fist with the thumb facing up and the fleshy part of the hand crashing down on the target similar to a hammer hitting the head of a nail. Elbow strike - this is one of the most powerful yet difficult strikes to land. This is one strike that is disallowed in most sparring matches (most strikes are not used but allowed) This is just as its name would suggest. There are many angles this can come in at and a few variations, but all them end with the elbow snapping out and the tip slamming into whatever is targeted causing massive damage. For my green belt I was required by my instructor to break two boards approx. 1.5 - 2 inches total thick. Palm strike - This is one that is rarely used in TKD, but can be affective in a fight. This is similar to the straight punch with the difference being the striking surface changing from the fist to the open palm of the hand. This can cause more of a broad amount of damage and can be targeted differently as well. Uppercut - similar to the uppercut seen in many forms of boxing and brawling this is a more refined strike. Usually performed with two hands and instead of merely striking the chin it often targets the chest as well as the chin. Coming in at a low angle then as the strike hits the chest it continues up and away from the attacker till it contacts the chin or neck. Also not used in point sparring, but very useful in a street fight. It seems as I am out of time today and have run out of strikes. Tomorrow we will cover blocks (and If I remember any other strikes I forgot I will edit here!) Till then, you stay classy Fubar!

Ok so after much debate (not really) I received my answer on my MuMM. By a vote of 26 to 20 I was asked to talk about Poomse or forms. Poomse is the set movements used in martial arts, in this case Tae Kwon Do. In other styles they refer to these as Kata. In Korean they are called Hyung. In all cases these are ways for one to learn how to move while striking, kicking, and blocking. These forms can be simple 2 or three step forms to massively complicated 70 + movements. My most recent form has 31 movements, not including stances (foot placement). many of these originated from one practitioner that would specialize in these types of movements, others were developed by groups of instructors and approved by the governing Kwan's (heads of Organization/style). In the organization I am a part of we use the Tae Guek forms along with Ki Bon basic forms. There are 3 Ki Bon forms and 8 Tae Guek forms. Ki Bon 1 Ki Bon 2 Ki Bon 3 Tae Guek Il Jang Tae Guek Ee Jang Tae Guek Sa Jang Tae Guek Sam Jang Tae Guek Oh Jang Tae Guek Yok Jang Tae Guek Chil Chang Tae Guek Pal Chang I have mentioned these in one of my previous posts as well. Each of the Tae Guek forms are represented by different elements. For more on that read my previous blog entry done on 27th of July. But to refresh those that did, or don't want to read more. Il - Heaven Ee - Joy Sa - Fire Sam - Thunder Oh - Wind Yok - Water Chil - Mountain Pal - Earth These symbolize both the internal changes and the types of movements within each form. There are also 10-12 Dan Hyung (Black belt forms) these I will not cover as I am not yet a high enough rank to speak on them with authority. I will cover more on the actual forms in my next several posts. If there is anything more you feel I missed, or that you would like to know just comment and Ill do what I can! Till next time, you stay classy Fubar!