The Taegeuk Cipher: The Patterns of Kukki Taekwondo as a Practical Self-Defence Syllabus

By Simon John O'Neill

An analysis of the Taegeuk patterns of Kukki Taekwondo, discussing the context of their creation, realistic applications for practical self-defence including grappling and close-range striking, and the development of a pattern-based self-defence syllabus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781447535010

Book preview

Dan

Introduction

This book is the result of four years of specific study and many years of more general rumination upon the relationship between Taekwondo, its patterns and self-defence. The process began when I read an interview with a well-known Malaysian Taekwondo master, who mentioned that the patterns contained many soft, circular movements, joint locks and other hidden applications, and demonstrated some such techniques in photos. He also stated that modern Taekwondo’s major problem was its lack of a syllabus for black belts. This coincided with a growing unease on my part regarding the art which I had spent so many years studying. It had been clear to me practically from the beginning that neither the tournament-style sparring nor the kick-block-punch applications generally taught for the patterns bore any real resemblance to actual self-defence. I had also realised that the existing black belt syllabus consisted essentially of more of the same, only a little faster, harder and more refined.

Largely for the benefit of my own training, I set about researching the development of Taekwondo and its patterns, and the subject of form application in general. My initial intention was to draw up a personal training syllabus based on the Taegeuk patterns, given that these were the ones with which I was most familiar. I was surprised and fascinated to find that these forms, far from being a somewhat randomly assembled set of choreographies, consisted of a ready-made, coherent syllabus of realistic self-defence strategies and tactics. As the project took shape, I began to think that my research could in some way be of benefit to the Taekwondo community in general, and shifted my focus to the presentation of my findings in book form.

The purpose of this book is to attempt to break the cipher of the Taegeuk patterns, and to extract and present their contents in a fashion that will be useful for instructors and advanced students of Kukki Taekwondo who are looking for something beyond sport and physical education. The patterns are examined individually, sequence by sequence, and realistic self-defence applications are presented for use against the common attacks often referred to as habitual acts of violence. More importantly, they are also examined as units and in relation to each other, with a view to studying the principles which they illustrate, and establishing a framework which may be adopted in order to gain competence in realistic unarmed self-defence.

The book is in no way a manifesto of a new style or martial art. It simply proposes a different approach to existing elements of an existing martial art, an alternative way of studying Taekwondo, either as a substitute for or an addition to existing practices. It should be considered primarily a pedagogical proposal aimed at providing context, structure and content for a syllabus.

I have no desire to discredit present-day Taekwondo, although I have been accused of attempting to do so. In fact, I consider it an excellent method of physical education and an exciting sport, with a tremendous positive impact upon the individual and society at many levels. But I cannot support the view that, as it is taught today in the majority of schools, it is an effective method of self-defence.

Is the self-defence method presented in this book Taekwondo? Was Taekwondo ever taught as it is shown within these pages? I believe so.

Firstly, the content of this proposal is firmly based upon material – the Taegeuk patterns – which is considered to be an essential part of Taekwondo’s identity, distinguishing it from, say, Japanese Karate. Granted, it bears little resemblance to the art which can be observed in modern Taekwondo schools, but neither does the modern sports-oriented form have much in common with the art taught 20 years ago, and even less with the fighting methods taught in the early kwans and in the ROK army of the 1950’s.

Secondly, although Taekwondo was never taught in the way it is shown in this book outside a very small, closed community (and certainly not to the general public), the distillation of the original self-defence methods are preserved within the patterns and their various components are to be found throughout the post-war Korean military combatives methods and the hoshinsul of civilian Taekwondo. This book simply details the connection between the patterns and these practices, and provides a tool by which they may be understood within their context.

Pontevedra, August 2008

Part 1

1. Background

A Brief History

It is difficult to make an effective study of Taekwondo without taking into account the circumstances under which it was born, and the changes it underwent to become what it is today. Taekwondo’s history has undergone many attempts at nationalistic and political revisionism; an objective overview, however, will contribute to a better understanding of the art. Although this book’s main focus is the study of the Taegeuk patterns of Kukki Taekwondo, the purpose of this brief history is not to demonstrate the validity or superiority of one form of Taekwondo or one pattern set over another, but to give a clearer idea of the development of the art overall.

Precursors

While Taekwondo first appeared under that name in 1955, according to most versions, it did so as an amalgam of many different influences extending decades or even centuries into the past. Official histories focus chiefly on the native Korean predecessors of Taekwondo, but it is also essential to take into account the factors outside of Korea which contributed to its development.

Pre-20th Century Korea produced several empty-handed martial arts. Perhaps the best known of these are Ssireum, Soo Bahk and Taekyon. Ssireum, a form of traditional wrestling similar to Sumo which survives today in a sporting context, cannot be said to have had any significant influence on Taekwondo.

Soo Bahk is often quoted as being the true origin of modern Taekwondo, but this is not supported by historical evidence. This martial art is thought to have resembled Northern Chinese styles, as its alternative name Kwon Bop (Fist Method – Quan Fa or, incorrectly, Kung Fu in Chinese) seems to indicate, and may have been introduced into Korea from China as early as the 7th Century AD. An 18th Century Korean military manual called the Muye Dobo Tongji includes a chapter on Kwon Bop, and bears a strong resemblance to the Jixiao Xinshu, a Chinese text which predates it by over 200 years. However, by the late 18th Century, the practice of the martial arts came to be frowned upon in Korea as an uncivilised activity, and Soo Bahk effectively died out. From a strictly historical standpoint, it is difficult to establish any direct connection between Soo Bahk and Taekwondo, although arts of Chinese lineage continued to be practiced at a local level throughout the 19th Century and the Japanese occupation.

Taekyon, which likely has its roots in Soo Bahk, is a sporting activity in which two contestants attempt to knock each other down using kicks, sweeps and throws. Although it includes straight kicks and kicks to the legs, it also emphasises high, circular techniques. First mentioned in historical texts in the early 19th Century, it became popular at youth festivals as a tournament sport. Taekyon, too, suffered from scholarly disapproval of the fighting arts, not least because it came to be associated with criminal gangs, and was eventually banned under the Japanese occupation of 1894 – 1945, although it continued to be practiced. After liberation, few masters of Taekyon remained, although both General Choi Hyong Hi and Hwang Kee claimed to have studied it, and it continued to be relatively common among the more thuggish elements of society. Its influence on Taekwondo is chiefly apparent in the general emphasis on kicking, and in the preference for high circular kicks in the modern form of the art.

By far the most important influence on modern Taekwondo is Japanese Karate, itself based on Okinawan Toudi. The empty hand fighting methods known as Tuite or Toudi (Kenpo in Japanese, later called Karate) which developed on the island of Okinawa between the 12th and 19th Centuries are the result of native, Chinese and Japanese influences. Over the years, Okinawan grappling methods called Tegumi or Mutou were combined with the Bujutsu of the occupying Japanese warriors and the various forms of Quan Fa brought to the island by Chinese colonists and visitors, or by Okinawans returning from China. These syntheses were recorded in forms known as katas. The Chinese influence on Karate is particularly strong. Many of its major katas, like Naihanchi, Kushanku or Chinto, were either imported directly from China or composed by Okinawan masters as summaries of methods learnt from Chinese martial artists. Although it is often difficult to establish a clear lineage, and while it is inevitable that these forms should be altered and influenced by indigenous methods, it seems that much of Okinawan and Japanese Karate has its roots in southern Chinese styles such as White Crane and Monk Fist Quan Fa.

Many of the men who pioneered the styles which would in time become Taekwondo had trained primarily in Karate while living in Japan or Japanese-controlled areas of China. Lee Won Kuk, Chun Sang Sup and Ro Pyong Chik, founders of the Chung Do Kwan, the Yun Moo Kwan and the Song Moo Kwan respectively, earned their black belts in Shotokan Karate under Funakoshi Gichin, who had introduced the art into Japan from Okinawa in 1922. Choi Hong Hi, founder of the Oh Do Kwan was awarded a 2nd Dan in Shotokan while at university in Japan (it is unclear whether or not he too trained under Funakoshi). Yoon Pyung In, founder of the YMCA Kwon Bop Bu, became a 4th Dan (5th according to some sources) in Shudokan Karate under Toyama Kanken. Yoon Kwe Pyung, first headmaster of the Ji Do Kwan, also studied to 4th Dan under Toyama and was awarded a 7th Dan in Shito-Ryu Karate under that style’s founder, Mabuni Kenwa. Hwang Kee, founder of the Moo Duk Kwan quoted a Mr. Idos (presumably the Okinawan master Itosu Yasutsune) as a source for his school’s patterns. Other Koreans remained in Japan and became high-ranking Karate instructors; these include Yung Geka, Kim Ki Whang, Choi Yong I (who later became famous as Mas Oyama, founder of Kyokushinkai Karate) and Cho Hyung Ju (who took the name So Neichu and was Choi Yong I’s instructor of Goju-Ryu Karate).

The establishment of the kwans

When the restrictions on martial arts practice were partially lifted in 1943, and especially after the liberation following Japan’s surrender to the Allies in 1945, the fighting arts became extremely popular in Korea, both among civilians and in the police. Between 1944 and 1946 five major kwans or schools were opened: the Chung Do Kwan, founded by Lee Won Kuk; the Choson Yun Moo Kwan, founded by Chun Sang Sup; the Moo Duk Kwan, founded by Hwang Kee; the Song Moo Kwan, founded by Ro Pyong Chik; and the YMCA Kwon Bop Bu, founded by Yoon Pyung In. During and after the Korean War (1950 – 1953) several other schools emerged: the Chang Moo Kwan (the re-opened Kwon Bop Bu) under Lee Nam Suk; the Ji Do Kwan (the renamed Yun Moo Kwan), presided by Yoon Kwe Pyung; the Han Moo Kwan, which emerged from the Yun Moo Kwan, founded by Lee Kyo Yoon; the Kang Duk Won, an offshoot of the Chang Moo Kwan founded by Hong Jung Pyo and Park Chul Hee; the Oh Do Kwan, founded by General Choi Hong Hi and the Chung Do Kwan graduate Nam Tae Hi; and the Kuk Moo Kwan (Kang Suh Chong), the Jung Do Kwan (Lee Yong Woo) and the Chung Ryong Kwan (Ko Jae Chun), all of which also emerged from the Chung Do Kwan.

While each kwan had its own characteristics, all essentially taught variations on the hard styles of Karate prevalent in Japan in the 1940’s, calling it Kong Soo Do. In fact, the Okinawan and Japanese influence is the basis of the patterns adopted by post-liberation Korean martial arts schools. These forms were by and large nothing more than Karate katas with Korean names, such as the Pyong-Ahn series (Pinan/Heian), Chulgi (Naihanchi/Tekki) or Kong San Koon (Kushanku/Kanku), and were taught until the mid-1960’s. Only the Kwon Bop Bu, the Chang Moo Kwan, the Kang Duk Won and possibly the Moo Duk Kwan incorporated some Chinese forms.

Associations and federations

Taekwondo’s history has long been dominated by attempts to unite the various styles and schools within the art and establish a single leadership. As with any political process, this gave rise to power struggles which culminated in the division between Kukki/WTF Taekwondo and ITF Tae Kwon Do which exists today.

Early organisations which attempted to unify the kwans were the Korea Kong Soo Do Association, established in 1951, and the Korea Tang Soo Do Association (1953). These merged in 1959 to form the Korea Soo Bahk Do Association, but all were unsuccessful in uniting all the kwans, largely due to lack of official approval. Later in 1959, the KSA became part of the new Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which secured official support with General Choi’s help, though some schools (notably the Moo Duk Kwan) resisted unification. All eventually united by 1965 in the renamed Korea Tae Kwon Do Association under Choi’s presidency, which enjoyed the considerable advantage of being supported by the military regime headed by General Park Chung Hee.

In 1966, with General Choi as president, the International Tae Kwon Do Federation was founded as part of a push for the internationalisation of Taekwondo. The Kukkiwon was built in 1972 as the Seoul headquarters of a unified Taekwondo, but in 1973 Choi announced his intention of setting up the ITF headquarters in Toronto. This caused a break between Choi’s ITF and the KTA, who formed the World Taekwondo Federation as the new official international Taekwondo organisation. Choi left Korea, establishing an open rift between the KTA/WTF (Kukki Taekwondo) and the ITF, and was even considered a traitor in the following years because of his criticisms of the South Korean regime and his visits to communist North Korea.

Other masters, notably Hwang Kee of the Moo Duk Kwan and Kim Pyung Soo of the Kang Duk Won, left Korea rather than succumb to the forced unification, and continued to teach their arts under various names including Tang Soo Do, Soo Bahk Do and Korean Karate (although some are nevertheless affiliated with the WTF or the ITF in the present day). They, along with Henry Cho of the Ji Do Kwan and Jhoon Rhee of the Chung Do Kwan, who had both emigrated earlier, laid the foundation of what was generically known as Karate in the USA, perhaps more so than contemporary Japanese masters.

Several different names were used to denominate the arts represented by these associations over the years. Although there is much debate about the subject (particularly among Korean masters of the 1950’s and ’60’s), it seems that the original name used was Kong Soo Do, a direct translation of the Japanese Karate-Do, meaning Empty Hand Way. In the early 1950’s Tang Soo Do – China Hand Way – became popular, although Kong Soo Do remained in common usage until the early 1960’s. In the late 1950’s Soo Bahk Do was briefly introduced in an attempt to link with Korea’s ancient martial traditions, since Tang Soo Do was considered to have an unsuitably foreign ring. However, Soo Bahk Do was superseded by Tae Soo Do (Kick Hand Way), principally as a result of the political triumph of the KTA. Both Tang Soo Do and Soo Bahk Do resurfaced in recent years as the names of organisations outside Korea (chiefly in the USA) which claim to teach the traditional Korean arts.

The name Taekwondo (or Tae Kwon Do – Kick Fist Way) is the object of the fiercest debate. Both General Choi Hong Hi of the Oh Do Kwan and Son Duk Sung of the Chung Do Kwan claimed authorship of the name, though they allege that this occurred on different dates and at different meetings. Either way, it seems that Taekwondo was first used in 1955, but did not become widely employed until well into the 1960’s, gaining official recognition with the KTA’s name change in 1965. It might be noted that General Choi affirms that the name Tae Kwon Do was widely used from 1955, and remained the standard denomination until the surprise adoption of the name Tae Soo Do by the newly formed KTA in 1959, on the eve of Choi’s departure to Malaysia as Korean ambassador, not to be rectified until 1965.

The name Kukki Taekwondo –