Things to Consider when Practicing Poomsae

In an earlier article, I stated my viewpoints on whether Taekwondo poomsae contained deeper applications than what initially meets the eye. Basically, my opinion was that those who created the poomsae currently used in Kukki Taekwondo did not have deeper applications in mind when they designed the poomsae. Because the Taekwondo poomsae were heavily influenced by Okinawan kata however, some of the movements in poomsae are almost identical to those found in the older Okinawan forms. Although I believe the true idea behind what the founder of those kata intended to pass along are unable to be learned through poomsae because of the way in which the movements were strung together are different in the poomsae, some of the movements remain the same, and therefore, we can still learn from them.

One thing that causes Taekwondo practitioners to dislike, or quickly lose interest in poomsae is due to the way they are taught in the majority of dojangs around the world. Poomsae are generally poorly taught, in my opinion, by the majority of Taekwondo instructors, and are typically taught simply for another grading requirement. There is typically little in-depth instruction, and questions that students may have usually produce poor, unrealistic answers that do not satisfy them and cause them to lose interest in doing forms because they do not understand WHY they are doing them or WHAT they are learning from them. The way the student thinks is that poomsae is just some random movements you need to memorize in order to get your next belt, and so poomsae becomes something that you just have to do to so you can move up in rank, and no further thought is put into forms practice.

In order to understand poomsae, it would behoove the Taekwondo practitioner to look at the roots of his forms, and look to Karate. In the early days of Karate, it was meant purely for self defense. Karate had no sport aspect, and there was no squaring off with an opponent in an actual "fight." Karate was meant for use against random acts of violence. Typical, unexpected, street attacks. If you have ever noticed, our 3-step and 1-step sparring drills, as believed to be created by Gigo Funakoshi, and kata/poomsae, never begin in a fighting stance, nor do we see a fighting stance throughout. This supports the idea that kata were created to be used in self defense, and not a typical street fight.

The idea of creating a sporting aspect in Karate came later on in the art, and ultimately followed into the creation of Taekwondo. Because of this, the idea of Karate and Taekwondo being purely for self defense was lost. As a result, people stopped viewing their arts from a purely defensive aspect, and this surely is a big reason why poomsae and kata are so misunderstood today. When the movements in poomsae are explained today, they are usually incorrect, and this is mostly due to the mindset behind the kinds of attacks we think we are defending against. If you are practicing poomsae techniques and coming up with applications to defend yourself against roundhouse kicks, and straight punches, etc. you are showing that you do not understand poomsae.

When kata were created, they were meant to be used against typical street attacks. No common street thug is going to attack with a perfect reverse punch or roundhouse kick. The most common attacks are going to be grabs, pushes, haymaker punches, and typically attacks from very close ranges. These are the attacks that kata, and therefore poomsae, are trying to teach you to defend against. The people who created the traditional Okinawan kata did so with these attacks in mind. In my opinion, I do not believe the same is true for the creators of Taekwondo poomsae. Even so, many techniques and/or sequences found in Taekwondo poomsae come from Karate kata, and therefore, the applications for defense against these street attacks still may exist.

The typical explanations for the techniques in poomsae are sometimes absurd. The ones that usually bother me the most are the explanations usually given for double blocks. When looking at some youtube videos of Grandmaster Lee, Kyu Hyung, who is revered for his knowledge of poomsae, and seeing him explain that a double block is used to block two separate attacks from different directions, I cant help but shake my head. Does nobody else have a problem with this explanation? Does nobody realize how unrealistic and impractical this explanation is? It is because of things such as this that I do not think Taekwondo poomsae were created with applications in mind. These poomsae are too young for us to already have a misunderstanding of the original intentions behind them. Also, the Kukkiwon has always been very specific of their techniques and requirements, and documents them quite well. If there were any deeper applications purposely placed in the poomsae, they surely would have been documented.

But like I said, even though many movements in the poomsae are misunderstood, and were not placed in the form with their true intentions included, they still can be valuable learning tools if we look back to our Karate roots and try to understand the movements within their kata. If we can do that, then we can begin to learn the true purposes of the techniques in our poomsae, and try to make some sense of them.

Purposes of Deep Stances

In the martial art of Taekwondo, the foundation of every single technique begins with our stance. Stances are the foundation upon which everything else is built from. Without proper stances it is impossible to throw a perfect kick or strike. Now, various techniques can be thrown correctly in different stances, but the stance will either slightly alter the way the technique is executed, or be used for a specific reason dictated by the situation at hand.

In our training, we practice some stances that are very deep, or low to the ground. However, when we spar, it seems as though we never use these stances. So what is the purpose of practicing them? We see low stances being used in all of the other aspects of Taekwondo, including basic techniques, breaking, poomsae, and self defense, but the low stances seem to disappear in our sparring.

The answer, I believe, lies in Taekwondo's roots as a martial art. As Taekwondo becomes more and more sportified, less and less people understand the value of deep stances. Shorter stances are much more suitable in sparring as they allow for greater mobility and less telegraphing of techniques. But if you stop looking at Taekwondo as a sport, and instead look at it as a martial art, it becomes much easier to see why lower stances are so important to our art. Here I will go through a list of some of the major purposes of deep stances, namely the horse riding stance, and the front stance.


1. Conditioning-

Usually, the go-to answer as to why deep stances are important is because they condition your legs. Granted this is true, it is absolutely not the main reason why we still continue to practice and utilize deeper stances. There are countless other ways to condition our legs that are much more effective than sitting in a horse riding stance. Even so, it does remain true that we do build strength and endurance in our legs while practicing our techniques in deep stances. Therefore, even though this is not really why we practice deeper stances, it is a good secondary benefit of this training.

2. Explosive Linear Movement-

Deeper stances allow for explosive movements going forward and backward. By bending your knees and lowering yourself, you can compare this to the coiling of a spring. Low stances allow for fast long-range attacks, as well as the ability to quickly move out of range of an opponents attack. Even in sport sparring, you see athletes occasionally dip down into a variation of a low side stance, usually in order to set up an attack, or allowing them to spring back and execute a counter-attack if their opponent strikes first.

3. Generation of Power-

Another one of the most common explanations for the importance of deep stances is that they help to generate power in our strikes. Stances such as the front stance give us a strong base from which to execute strikes because of the balance and low center of gravity the stance requires. One is very well-connected to the ground, which is essential to be able to generate maximum power through the hips and focused through your weapon of choice.

4. Transitional Movements-

When we think about our stances, they look to be very static in nature. However, stances are meant to be dynamic. One is not going to succeed in combat by standing in a static traditional stance. A lot of our low stances are used while transitioning from one stance to another, like the horse riding stance. When moving in combat, the horse riding will be used when moving from one stance to another as it gives the martial artist a well-balanced base to move from and into another stance.

5. Explosive Jumps and/or Kicks-

Just as lower stances provide a Taekwondoin with explosive movement when executing strikes, they also allow for explosive kicks and jumps as well. The concept of the spring is the same, and powerful and fast kicks can be delivered more efficiently from a lower stance. Also, they allow for less telegraphing of jumping kicks, as your body will already be in the position needed to spring up and execute a jumping technique.


6. Avoid Takedowns-

 In arts that are mainly striking-based, like Taekwondo, it is important to make sure you don't end up on the ground. Using deeper stances allows you to defend better against being taken to the ground.


7. Finishing Throws/Joint Locks-

Lower stances are often used at the completion of a throw or joint locking technique. Due to the strong base of gravity, they allow us the maximum effectiveness in throwing/ grappling techniques. Also, being lower to the ground at the completion of a throw or joint lock allows for a quicker follow-on technique if necessary in the particular situation, such as an arresting technique or finishing strike.

As you can see, lower/deeper stances are absolutely necessary in Taekwondo, especially when training in the art for martial purposes. Most Taekwondo athletes may not understand, need, or appreciate these stances, but they remain to be largely practiced because grandmasters continue to see just how important they are to the overall style, and more importantly, martial art, of Taekwondo.

Chambering Blocks

One of the oddest, and most misunderstood aspects of Taekwondo has to be the chambering of blocks. When looking at this practice, it seems absolutely counterproductive to the purpose of the technique, which is to block an assailants attack. Yet, chambers for our blocks remains unquestioned by most martial arts practitioners and most are completely fine with the movement because, "that's just the way it's always done." However, when sparring or practicing reality-based training, none of these practitioners execute blocks with chambers, they simply block the technique. It would be impossible for anybody to react to an attack and have enough time to both chamber their block, and actually block the attack. So if we never actually chamber our blocks before executing them in a real situation, then why train them that way?

The reason why we all line up in class and execute our blocks with big chambers is simply because that is what our teacher tells us to do. And the reason he tells us to do it is because that is what he was told to do when he was in our spot. And nobody ever seems to have an explanation for chambers other than, "it makes your blocks more powerful." However, this reason is simply wrong.

Chambers for our blocks are done for several reasons. The first reason, which is why we practice chambering blocks in the first place, is due to Okinawan kata. Because the movements in kata were replaced by labeled techniques, each movement was removed from a specific sequence in the kata, and practiced on its own, as a single technique. Although we are only intending to practice what we perceive to be a blocking technique, we are actually practicing multiple techniques that were taken from kata, and are now being practiced completely out of context.

In kata, it is true that many of the techniques generally taught as "blocks" are actually not really blocks. Although there may be a blocking technique of some sort somewhere within the chamber of the block, the movement we believe to be the actual block is most likely not so. When looking specifically at "blocks" in kata, it is important to note turning sequences. At any point within a kata, a turn may be executed for two reasons. One, the turn is used to keep the kata within a small area, or two, the turn is used to show a grappling technique. Using the motions of the "block" along with a turn, one will often begin to discover grappling technique against numerous assaults.

Another thing to note about blocks occurring in forms is the sequences that end in blocks. In the old Taekwondo poomsae palgwe il jang, the first sequence of the form is to turn left executing a low block, then step forward and execute an inward middle block. And then the sequence is repeated to the other side. Now why in the hell would someone block two techniques and then simply turn away? This is because blocks can also be strikes as well. If a sequence in a form ends with a block, try and visualize this technique as an offensive move, because it was most likely intended to be a strike.

Let's now look at blocks not in the context of forms. There are three basic movements when executing a "block." The first movement is the initial chamber, when you are supposedly preparing to execute the block. The second and third movements happen simultaneously, those being the actual blocking technique coming from the chamber, and your other hand pulling to the side of your body at belt level.

Now instead of looking at the technique from this perspective, let's try another. For this example, try and visualize a traditionally executed low block, stepping into front stance, as we have all practiced a gazillion times. However, visualize the hand that chambers high towards your ear as being open and blocking an incoming punch using the chambering movement. The other hand simultaneously comes across your body, preparing to grab your opponents arm right after you executed the block. Now, visualize the actual "blocking" motion from the chamber: The hand that is pulled into your side has now seized your opponents arm and is pulling it in towards your side in order to off balance him. At the same time, you are stepping into your deep front stance in order to have a strong, offensive movement with strong stability and balance. At this time, you are executing the "low block" straight to your opponents groin.

Within this one simple movement which we have been practicing since white belt, contains an entire self defense sequence. This thought process can be utilized for all of your traditional blocks and one would be able to discover a multitude of brutal self defense techniques contained in their "blocks." And as I said earlier, try and study the movements of the blocking techniques as they are performed with turns, such as with our kata/poomsae. If you already have some grappling experience it should be easier to notice similarities in the movements of some blocks to various joint locking and throwing techniques when done with a turn.

These are some basic concepts one should consider in order to discover a deeper meaning of both why blocks are executed with chambers, and what the true applications behind the motions are.

Bunkai in Taekwondo? Part 2

Now lets shift our focus onto the Taekwondo side of things. Although there is a lot of evidence pointing towards Funakoshi not teaching applications from his kata, this is not something that can be stated as fact. The biggest argument one would have to make to support the idea that Funakoshi did actually teach applications from kata would have to be his early writings. There are clear applications given for movements in the kata, as well as several throwing techniques being displayed, with references about where these techniques could be found in the kata. However, just because Funakoshi was writing about applications in kata, does not mean he was actively teaching them in the dojo. In addition, it is evident that as Funakoshi's writing progressed through the years, he included fewer and fewer applications in his texts in regards to kata, meaning any emphasis he may have placed on them in his early days of teaching most likely would have diminished as the years went on.

If one is determined enough to look into Taekwondo history beyond the commonly taught history that states Taekwondo is a 2,000 year old native Korean martial art, it does not take long to find out that the style is mostly of Japanese origin. However, just as many people are satisfied with believing Taekwondo is an ancient art native to Korea, many who look past this become satisfied with believing that it is simply a Korean version of Shotokan Karate as well. But this is also not true. In fact, Taekwondo's roots are much broader.

It is known that some of the original Taekwondo masters were students of Funakoshi. In fact, they were some of his first students, and practiced the art before it became known as, or, even resembled modern Shotokan, and were some of his highest ranking students. In regards to bunkai, if Funakoshi was teaching it, it would have been during his early days teaching, as evidenced by his writing. If he did not, early Taekwondo masters would have been taught the basic, block, kick, punch method of kata. Although this was probably the way it was mostly trained, I believe the concept of bunkai would have been at least mentioned, even if no actual applications were even taught.

Nevertheless, the experience of early Taekwondo masters did not stop at Funakoshi. In fact, the Korean artists who eventually came together to create Taekwondo also had extensive training in both Shudokan Karate under its founder, Toyama Kanken, and Shito-ryu Karate under its founder, Kenwa Mabuni. In addition, several also had extensive training in Chinese martial arts, and a couple claim to have trained in the native Korean art of Taekkyon. So as you can see, Taekwondo is not at all just Korean Shotokan Karate. The founders of Taekwondo had much broader training and knowledge than most give them credit. With their experience in Karate, added with years of training in Chinese martial arts and possibly even Taekkyon, one cannot say the men who founded Taekwondo were under-qualified.

Looking at the qualifications of the Taekwondo pioneers, it is highly unlikely that none of them were introduced to the concept of bunkai, or taught some applications from their kata. Even if Funakoshi did not introduce this concept to them, it is much more probable that Mabuni or Kanken would have. Although it is probably safe to assume that some of the pioneers did know something about bunkai, it is much more difficult to know if they in fact taught this concept in their own dojangs back in Korea.

From reading my own grandmasters book, Taekwondo Spirit and Practice, by Richard Chun, he describes training at the Moo Duk Kwan to be very strict. He trained at the Moo Duk Kwan Institute in Seoul under Master Chong Soo Hong. He describes training to be very formal, and with out much instruction at all. Master Hong did not explain things to them in depth. Instead, he would tell them what they were to practice, and the students pretty much had to figure things out themselves. Also, no questions were ever asked of the master, as this was seen as highly disrespectful. While he does mention drilling poomsae a lot, it is probably safe to assume that there were no explanations of the techniques given.

Assuming that other kwans trained in similar fashion, we should turn our focus towards the unification movement, and the creation of the palgwe, taegeuk, and yudanja poomsae. Even though the concept of bunkai, or even specific applications themselves, may have been known by the Korean masters, the purpose of forms training probably would have closely resembled that of Shotokan Karate. Dojangs were very formal and personal relationships between master and students were unlikely. It is much more likely that poomsae were trained for perfecting basic techniques, and physical conditioning.

If this idea is correct, then upon the unification of the kwans, the new poomsae they were to create would most likely be intended for the same purposes; perfecting basic techniques, and physical conditioning. This idea is also supported by most Taekwondo books in regards to defining poomsae practice. The Koreans also added in concepts of traditional Asian philosophy to their poomsae. As we all know, the palgwe poomsae did not last long, for a few supposed reasons. One being that they still looked too Japanese, and another reason being that there were no Ji Do Kwan or Moo Duk Kwan representatives present during the creation of those forms. With the new taegeuk and new Koryo poomsae, we get forms that look very different from Karate kata, and traditional Korean philosophy wound into the practice of forms.

So with the creation of these new poomsae, it is obvious that forms designed by the Koreans were made to teach basic techniques as well as to condition the practitioner. However, many people have stated that because there are hidden application in kata, they must be in poomsae as well. First of all, we must understand the techniques were not 'hidden' in kata, but rather lost, or just failed to be transmitted. But just because the meanings may have been lost, the movements are there, and many people work diligently to reverse engineer kata and try to rediscover what the kata was originally meant to teach. Because kata have these 'lost' techniques, and many of the same techniques that are in Karate kata are also in Korean poomsae, wouldn't that mean that the applications exist in poomsae as well?

In kata, as was originally taught, individual movements were quite useless, while sequences of movements transmitted the true applications. The way I look at kata is like a sentence: In a sentence, words are specifically placed where they are in order for the statement to make sense and transmit a meaning. Without the words being in their specific order, the sentence simply becomes jibberish. In poomsae, even though the same words (techniques) are used, they are not in the same order, and therefore, the meaning behind the sentence is lost. However, just because the original message trying to be passed along through the sequences in the kata is lost, does not mean there isn't anything else that can be learned.

Although I do not believe the founders of the poomsae purposely designed poomsae with deeper applications in mind, the techniques and applications used in Karate kata are still applicable if used in Taekwondo forms. Teaching forms with applications and transmitting bunkai was something done in Okinawan Karate. But for the Japanese and Koreans, using forms as a way to drill basic techniques and physically condition your students, was the new, popular method of training them at the time. Taekwondo masters had no interest in teaching TKD as the Okinawans had, with only very small groups of well-trusted and mature students. They were interested in teaching Taekwondo under the Japanese, and new Okinawan models of teaching, which was to teach to the masses. Therefore, applications behind the Kukki poomsae were not really even taken into consideration when the forms were being produced. Instead, I believe the masters were looking for logical ways to show technical progression through the forms by adding increasingly complex techniques as the student progressed in their Taekwondo training. In addition, they took into account traditional Asian philosophy and connected these concepts to the forms, giving the student a philosophical element or feeling to focus on when performing poomsae.

 The Kukkiwon textbook does make mention of finding out the practicability of the poomsae. Also, Grandmaster Kyu Hyung Lee, one of the foremost experts on poomsae, once stated that poomsae is meant purely for combat. So once again, some people argue that there then must be practical self defense techniques in the forms. And the answer is yes, there are. But, they are not hidden or lost at all. Rather, many movements in poomsae are simply misunderstood.

Can you use the concept of bunkai in your Taekwondo poomsae and come up with alternate applications to the techniques? Yes of course. They are your poomsae and are there to help you become a better Taekwondo practitioner. Though not originally designed this way, you still may learn a great deal from your forms, that they were not even intended to teach you. The Kukkiwon textbook states in regards to poomsae practice, "One must adapt what he has learned to his practical use, finding out the practicability." Also,  "One must evaluate his findings about the effectiveness of what he has learned, comparing with his or her bodily structure, speed, strength, impulsive power, point of emphasis in training etc., and moderate the techniques into his own style." If your "point of emphasis in training" is "adapt[ing] what [you have] learned into practical use," then you are free to play with the poomsae and use it in any way you choose.

To see some of this "playing with poomsae," check out the Taegeuk Cipher, by Simon John O'Neill.

Bunkai in Taekwondo?

Bunkai, or the practice of finding practical applications in kata, is something practiced by many serious Karateka. Interest in bunkai is something that has been re-emerging in recent times in the Karate world, and in effect, this interest is creeping over to the Taekwondo world as well. And although it is almost certain that Karate kata contains 'hidden', or 'lost' meanings, does the same apply to Taekwondo poomsae?

Seeing how poomsae, and Taekwondo itself, was born almost exclusively from Karate, it is sometimes argued that the idea of bunkai is therefore applicable to Taekwondo poomsae. However, this requires much further study.

To begin, we must look at the kata that were used as the basis for modern Taekwondo poomsae, the pinan kata. These forms were created in the early 1900's by Anko Itosu, believed to be based on two Chinese forms called Channan and Kusanku. The term 'Karate' was not used at this time, and Itosu taught what was called 'To-de'. During this period, the practice of To-de was done in a much more personal manner, with a master teaching only a handful of students. In addition, a master would usually only know between two and four kata, but he would have a great depth of knowledge of them. This knowledge would only be passed along to his most trusted students.

Kata were studied for the purpose of practical application. There was no other reason. That a master would know only a small number of kata is supportive of the idea that there was a great deal of knowledge to be learned from each kata. In fact, Choki Motobu wrote, "The Naihanchi, Passai, Chinto and Rohai styles are not left in China today and only remain in Okinawa as active martial arts." Using Motobu's description of these kata as "martial arts," it is arguable that each kata was actually an entire fighting system in itself! Although a kata obviously did not contain every single technique of a fighting style, it would have taught the major concepts of the style; the ones the creator of the kata would have found to be most important to the understanding of the overall martial art.

In 1901, Itosu successfully introduced Karate to the Okinawan school system as a part of physical fitness education. He continued to teach kata, but because his students were of young age, he left out the applications of the forms, instead using them only as physical fitness tools. In order to teach large classes, he also began to label the techniques in the kata. It is much easier to yell, "Turn, low block. Step forward and punch!" to teach the kata to a large class rather than to try and teach the motion of the techniques.

This practice of giving techniques specific names shrouded the original applications of the kata even further. Forms were originally taught without labeled techniques, and instead, the master taught his students the motions of the techniques, and not labeled techniques, which made it much easier to understand the idea that there were applications behind them. By giving each motion a specific name, students had no need to study the forms in any sort of depth, because they were simply handed applications, although these were not the true applications that the creators of the forms were trying to pass along. The applications now being taught were simply blocks, kicks, and punches. Although not the original intention of the founders, they were applications nonetheless, and were accepted at face value by the young karateka, requiring no further study. Although this became the mainstream way of teaching kata, the old way of passing on kata, and bunkai, from master to trusted and mature students, did survive in Okinawa as well.

One of Itosu's students, Gichin Funakoshi, would eventually bring Karate to mainland Japan. He, for many reasons, continued with the method of teaching kata and Karate, as developed by Itosu. This meant that applications for kata were more or less left behind. Many people argue that Funakoshi did not even know applications to the kata, and any knowledge that he did have, was minimal at best. This, in my opinion, is not true. I believe Funakoshi knew and understood kata better than most give him credit for. One of the reasons I believe this is due to Funakoshi's training with both Itosu and Anko Asato, another well-respected Okinawan Karate master. Funakoshi stated that he spent ten years studying just the naihanchi/tekki kata. After a decade of studying just this kata, I find it hard to believe that he did not have a deep understanding of this form, including its practical applications. Other examples of Funakoshi's deep knowledge of kata can be found in his writings, especially his earlier books.

So with this in mind, the question becomes, "Did Funakoshi actually teach the applications that he knew?" This question is very difficult to answer, and looking at modern Shotokan Karate schools would lead you to believe that, no, applications were not really touched upon by Funakoshi. Shotokan kata tend to look quite different than the Okinawan performances of the same form and it seems as though kata are practiced for reasons that do not include learning practical self defense applications. However, Shotokan Karate as it is taught today is vastly different than what Funakoshi was teaching when he first came to mainland Japan, and this can also be seen in the progression of his books throughout the years.

So first we must question, why would Funakoshi not teach applications of the kata if he did indeed know some, and had an obvious understanding of bunkai? A reason that may or may not hold merit is the idea that being an Okinawan, Funakoshi might have had an ill perception of the Japanese, due to their invasion of his homeland and subsequent poor treatment of the Okinawan people. If this was true, he most likely would have withheld Karate's secrets from the Japanese. This being said, and knowing that a few Taekwondo originators were first generation students under Gichin Funakoshi and his son Gigo, it should be mentioned that Okinawans would not have had any negative thoughts towards the Koreans. So it may be possible that even if Funakoshi did withhold some important teachings from the Japanese, he may have not done so with his Korean students.

Nevertheless, another possible reason Funakoshi might not have taught bunkai was due to other martial arts styles already being practiced in Japan. Many Karate practitioners that study bunkai often translate the movements in their kata to actually contain throws and joint locks. Being that Jujutsu and Judo were already well-rooted in Japanese society, throwing and joint locking techniques were well covered. Therefore, the Japanese people would have been much more interested in the striking techniques of Karate, leaving the true applications of kata to be unnecessary.

A further reason why Funakoshi may have left applications out of kata was due to his purpose for teaching Karate. Gichin did not go to Japan simply by chance, but rather, was asked by the Japanese Ministry of Education to teach Karate as a part of the physical education system. Like Itosu, his Karate was to be taught as a form of exercise, and did not require, nor would it have been recommended, that potentially lethal applications from the forms be taught. Even if he did wish to teach these applications, he would most likely have done so only to his most senior, or trusted students. However, seeing as Funakoshi taught Karate at Japanese universities, he would only have had his students for a short time, until they graduated from the university. As we all know, a degree takes an average of four to five years to obtain, barely enough time for Funakoshi to train them to even a basic level of proficiency. It is likely that by the time students had the basics down pat, they were graduating from the university. This did not give Funakoshi the time to teach the applications of kata to a student. Remember, Funakoshi spent ten years learning a single kata. In Japan, he would have been teaching his students numerous forms in only the short time they were studying at the university. There was not nearly enough time to teach them the intricacies of kata, nor did he have enough time to form a relationship of deep trust to which he would have felt comfortable transmitting these lethal techniques to any of his students. Therefore, it would seem much more likely that Funakoshi would have taught Karate as Japan wanted him to; as a form of exercise and character-building. Not soon after Karate became rooted in Japan, did the focus shift to promoting Karate as a sport, like had happened with Judo, even further decreasing the need to teach bunkai.

To be continued...

Thoughts on Poomsae and Kata

Forms practice has always been an important aspect in Korean and Japanese/Okinawan martial arts. Looking at both Korean poomsae and Japanese kata, one might argue that they are the same thing, only with different arrangements and sequences of techniques being used. While this may be true, it could also be argued that poomsae and kata are actually very different from each other.

In order to begin this discussion, we must first look at how both kata and poomsae are defined by those who practice them. Shoshin Nagamine defines kata as, "a systematically organized series of defensive and offensive techniques performed in a sequence against one or more imaginary opponents, and given a symmetrical, linear pattern."

Masatoshi Nakayama further explains that there are two types of kata. There are simple kata, which a karateka can use to, "build up his physique, tempering his bones, and forging strong muscles." The other group of kata are, "appropriate for the acquisition of fast reflexes and quick movements." He goes on to explain that kata are used for exercise, and contain everything needed to exercise the whole body. Also, a karateka can learn self defense techniques through the practice of kata.

Shifting our focus to Korean poomsae, the Kukkiwon and World Taekwondo Federation websites state, "poomsae is the style of conduct which expresses directly or indirectly mental and physical refinements as well as the principles of offense and defense resulting from cultivation of Taekwondo spirit and techniques."

Grandmaster Rhin Moon Richard Chun writes, "The forms were designed to provide a means of practicing defensive and offensive techniques in a series of continuous movements. They were intended to train students to defend themselves against more than one opponent and to fight in any direction for as long as necessary without tiring." He goes on to say that they are important for increasing accuracy, coordination, speed, power, endurance, and balance.

Although the basic definitions of kata and poomsae have been given, the importance of these practices to the Karateka or Taekwondoin has not yet been addressed. Just how essential are kata and poomsae to their overall martial arts styles?

It is often written that kata is indeed the essence of Karate. Without the practice of kata, there is no Karate. In Taekwondo, the same can be said about the importance of poomsae. Grandmaster Chun once wrote, "without forms there is no Taekwondo."

So it is obvious that both kata and poomsae are absolutely essential to the overall practice of their respective arts. If we look at the explanations of kata and poomsae already stated above, we can see that in their most basic definitions, they seem to serve very similar purposes. Practicing sequences of offensive and defensive techniques, self defense, developing speed, strength, endurance, coordination, etc. are addressed by both Karate and Taekwondo masters as some of the benefits of practicing forms.

But are forms really practiced just for learning offensive and defensive sequences? Can't you teach self defense without forms? I'm sure coordination and endurance can be trained just fine without the practice of poomsae/kata. So although a student may certainly receive all of these benefits through the practice of poomsae/kata, there are much better ways in which to develop these attributes. So then what is the real reason for practicing forms?

Answering this question is where we start to see some real differences in how forms are practiced in Karate and in Taekwondo. However, we can not simply say that Taekwondo practices forms one way, and Karate another. There will absolutely be some overlap of how forms are trained in different styles of martial arts due to the freedom an instructor has to teach how he/she pleases. An instructor can choose the level of emphasis he wants to place on forms practice as well as their purpose in the overall training regimen. Also, limited knowledge on the part of an instructor could also determine the way he views, and therefore teaches, forms.

When looking at the Taegeuk and yudanja poomsae, as required by the Kukkiwon for promotion, the symbolism and philosophy behind the forms are at the forefront of the practitioners true understanding of poomsae. Although the physical techniques themselves are important, the forms need to be studied and understood at a deeper level than what is merely seen on the surface. The philosophy behind the forms cannot be discovered simply though practice, but must be taught by a qualified instructor. The student must learn the underlying philosophy behind the poomsae he is practicing, and try and capture that philosophical essence through the performance of their poomsae.

When looking at the practice of kata, it seems as though serious practitioners of Karate also look below the surface, past the basic benefits that can be gained through practicing forms. However, there is no underlying philosophy steeped in traditional Asian culture like in Taekwondo poomsae. Instead, Karateka look for the realistic applications of the techniques being taught in the kata. Hironori Otsuka once wrote, "It is obvious that these kata must be trained and practiced sufficiently, but one must not be 'stuck' in them. One must withdraw from the kata to produce forms with no limits or else it becomes useless. It is important to alter the form of the trained kata without hesitation to produce countless other forms of training. Essentially, it is a habit - created over long periods of training. Because it is a habit, it comes to life with no hesitation - by the subconscious mind."