Indiana Martial Arts
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Martinsville Martial Arts
Martinsville Karate
Martinsville Indiana
Taekwondo Tae kwon do

Black Belt Paper Excerpts (Cho-Dan) - David Yoshida

A follower of the five rules of the Hwa Rang Do would leave us with one who would be an impeccable soldier obedient and dependable in battle, but because a Kunja is so much more then simply a trustworthy warrior, more is needed in his character. This void can be fulfilled with the ideas from the Boy Scout Oath, and as the humanitarian side of a Kunja becomes complete, the ethics held by him come into focus.

1. Do Your Best in All Things.

Give your utmost in all endeavors. Never do anything half-hearted, but instead put body, mind, and soul into the effort. If failure is the end result, then let failure come as the result of the task, person, or object defeating you, not you defeating yourself. Miyamoto Musashi, arguably the greatest warrior Japan has ever known, wrote:

"Each and every attack you make must be done with full force and authority. You cannot attack half-heartedly. When you finish with one technique, you must immediately continue on with yet another and another until you have attained your goal, (Musashi, Miyamoto translated by Stephen F. Kaufman Hanshi (1994) Book of Five Rings Boston, MA:Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc. p.42.)"

And:

"In fighting it is always best to go straight in. Always go straight in, with utter resolve, regardless of the situation. You must not waver when you are making the attack. Doing so will give the enemy the opportunity to go around your attack and beat you. (Musashi, Book of Five Rings, p.48.)"

This trend is carried through out the book, and while it pertains more toward combat, in times of peace, the concept remains the same: Once an action is started, commit to that action to its completion.

2. Do Your Duty.

This is very straightforward. Do what is expected of you. One of the United States greatest Generals, Douglas MacArthur once said in an address, "The long, gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghost in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, honor, country (MacArthur, Douglas (May 12, 1962) Speech to cadets at the U.S Military Academy at West Point.)." This shows that the military holds duty in the highest esteem: Duty above all else. As individuals, we have choices; it is the coward that runs from his obligation. We hear of this loathsome behavior in the News all the time, the dead-beat father, the high school dropouts, and those guilty of tax-fraud to name a few. When we have an obligation, we must fulfill it, to do any less would not only dishonor ourselves, but also who ever we were obliged to. Duk Song Son expressed this by stating, "every bit of power they [the student] gain carries with it a proportionate amount of social responsibility.(Son, Black Belt Korean Karate, p.18.)"

3. Be Helpful to All People.

With all the talk about duty, honor and justice, it is easy to assume that a Kunja is a superior person. This is absolutely true. However, nothing in life is free. Any gift or elevated social status brings with it a price, an "on" to use a Japanese term. "On" means a debt, an obligation, or a favor. It can also mean a burden. This obligation is to serve society.

4. Stay Healthy.

In order to be of most service to society, and ones self, one must be healthy. Elite Tae Kwon Do practitioners are among the most well conditioned people in the world. In order to defend ones self, country, family or friends, the Kunja must be in good health. This means not only eating right, but also diligent exercise to improve and justify a warrior status. Great Grand Master Duk Sung Son acknowledges this by writing:

"The Tae Kwon Doist must try to bring each effort to the point at which the kick is so fast it cannot be followed by the human eye. After several years of 50 to 100 kicks a day with each foot, the Tae Kwon Doist will be surprised to find that his kicks are indeed becoming very fast. He will get there only by relentless practice. It will be worth it.(Son, Black Belt Korean Karate, p.117.) "

5. Stay Alert.

Vigilance is a key component to a Kunja. He must never be taken by surprise if he is to survive and serve. A Militaristic way of seeing staying alert is noted by Sun Tzu from The Art of War, "It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence in the army for purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results (Sun Tzu translated by Clavell, (1983) The Art of War p. 82.)." Miyamoto Musashi also dedicates four of his nine basic attitudes towards this premise:(Musashi, Book of Five Rings, p.210)

3. Become familiar with every art you come across…
4. Understand the Way of other disciplines…
7. See that which cannot be seen…
8. Overlook nothing, regardless of its insignificance.

To maximize his service to the community, a Kunja must be prepared to act when called upon. To this end, vigilance to the ever-changing environment is essential.

Black Belt Paper Excerpts (E-Dan)

Um and Yang in Martial Science

All martial arts, Hapkido included, involve strikes of various types. Generally, there are two different ways of generating the power of a strike. These categories are based on intent and the manner in which force is generated one being sorim-ryu, and the other being soryong-ryu. These categories are based on intent and the manner in which force is generated. There is a science to why the two general ways to generate power revolve around the speed of the sorim-ryu and mass of soryong-ryu. In the event of a collision, (say, a foot kicking a board), Newtonian physics tell us that there are two basic elements in a collision, kinetic energy and momentum. Kinetic energy is determined by the scientific equation :

Since the two principle parts of a collision are determined by only two factors, mass and velocity, it is no surprise that there are two fundamental ways of increasing the force going into a martial technique, increasing mass, (or perceived mass) or increasing velocity.

The first of these categories is a soryong-ryu. In this style, power is generated by muscle mass and rooting. This favors people who are stockier in nature. It is not necessary for that person to be quick, or fast because movements are slower and more deliberate.

By rooting as a technique is executed, we are in essence increasing the Mass part of the equation. Not literally, we can’t gain 3 KG in a split second, but by anchoring the technique and thus tying it to the ground, we can lower our center of gravity, use the ground, and give the illusion of increased mass. For example, stand upright straight and tall, have someone try to push you over. They should be able to do so without too much trouble. Now, if we do the same thing, but this time anchoring ourselves to the ground by assuming a lower stance, it is now more difficult to get pushed over. The force exerted by you, resisting the person who was pushing you over, increased.

The other category is sorim-ryu. Here, being fast and quick generates power. This favors people of a lighter build, slimmer, and generally quicker. By their very body type, these people do not have the body mass to put into a soryong-ryu style so need to generate force in a different manner. Here the quicker, and faster a technique is executed, the more power it will have.

Again, by looking at the scientific equation for Kinetic energy carried by an object, we can see by increasing velocity, we will increase the Kinetic energy much more than by simply increasing the mass of an object. An example of this would be to take a tennis ball and roll it gently at an empty aluminum can standing up. What happens? The can may get knocked over, but is otherwise undamaged. The ball did not possess much Kinetic energy. Now take that same tennis ball and, assuming you have good aim, throw it as hard as you able to at the same can used before. Again assuming you hit the can, what happened? Chances are the can went flying away and ended up with a giant dent in the side if it. What was the difference? The ball didn’t gain any mass between the two trials, only the velocity that the ball was traveling at differed. This in turn greatly increased the amount of kinetic energy the ball had, thus increasing the power of the blow.

Black Belt Paper Excerpts (Sam-Dan)

Um and Yang in Water

Like most things in nature, water is part of the um and yang relationship. Korea acknowledges this dichotomy by including the water trigram opposite that of fire in her national flag. Also like most things in nature, the um/yang relationship not only exists between itself and things outside of it, but also strictly within its own sphere. Water is both um and yang in relation to itself. This is similar to how we are um and yang to each other (female/male, short/tall) and also within ourselves (right/left, happy/sad).

Tsunami Power

When talking about water and raw unforgiving power, there is little that can compare to a tsunami. Water can flow, and in this case, water can crash. Nobody in Southeast Asia needs to be told about the devastation that a fast moving wave, the height of buildings, can do to a populated area. The power involved in a tsunami is only really understood after it is too late to do anything about it. To have the power of a tsunami in a kick is to be able to bring ruin to the receiving end of it. A tsunami wave does not just strike and recoil. It penetrates deep inland, bringing a sustained amount of force behind the initial strike, much like a side kick compared to a round house. A round house is fast, with snap, penetrating a little, but without the mass of the body, relying mostly on speed to generate power. The side kick has the weight of the body behind it, much like a tsunami wave has the weight of the ocean. The side kicks impact generates more force over a longer period of time then the round house does and it also penetrates deep behind the initial impact, much like a tsunami wave. Woe to the person who stands in front of it.

Water in Taekwondo

Because taekwondo is considered a hard, linear art, it is easiest to see the Yang, not so much the Um. Taekwondo does, however, incorporate all aspects of the water.

Looking at taekwondo from the Um part of water perspective, we can state with conviction that taekwondo has a grace and beauty to it. Some of our hyungs are indeed, very fluid. Pal-ssaek, has 40 movements that should be performed in 25 seconds. If the form movements are performed in a broken up manner and are disjointed, there is no possible way for this standard to be achieved. It is only when the form flows: block to strike, strike to kick, kick to block, that the speed, gracefulness and sorim-ryu power can be realized.

Fluidity in movement is especially important to those of us who rely on speed and economy of motion to generate power. In order to have power in each technique that we throw, we must learn how to use momentum, flowing each technique into the next one, maintaining that momentum, controlling that momentum. When we spar, we harp on students to throw techniques in combinations. We try to limit the times they execute a, “one and done” allowing their opponent time to recover and adjust. By delivering techniques in succession, we increase the probability that one of the techniques will prove effective. This can only be accomplished if they are delivered in a fluid manner. If there is a break or pause in the delivery, the n the opposing person may be able to respond in an offensive manner and counter attack or simply have a much easier time evading and defending themselves. Throughout the delivery of the techniques, we must keep the opponent on the defensive.

It can not be pointed out enough, especially to color belt students, if the fluid um nature of a technique is lost, the yang summation of forces and synergy is also lost. It is through um fluidity of motion that the yang synergistic summation of forces becomes effective. If at any point in the technique the flow is interrupted, all summation gains prior to the interruption are lost and the technique is markedly weaker.

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Last modified: February 12, 2007