Taekwondo 태권도Taekwondo Preschool
Promotion from one geup to the next can proceed rapidly in some schools, since schools often allow geup promotions every two, three, or four months. Students of geup rank learn the most basic techniques first, and then move on to more advanced techniques as they approach first dan. Many of the older and more traditional schools often take longer to allow students to test for higher ranks than newer, more contemporary schools, as they may not have the required testing intervals. View Taekwondo belt levels »
Taegeuk 1 태극 1장
(Taegeuk Il-jahng)
Poomse is the foundation for the teaching of Taekwondo. A poomse, or form, is a detailed pattern of defense-and-attack motions and techniques used in traditional martial arts. Poomse is useful in developing proper kinetics, mental and physical fortitude.
Taegeuk 태극 (in World Taekwondo (WT)) refers to a set of poomse used to create a foundation for the teaching of taekwondo. A poomse or form is a detailed pattern of defense-and-attack motions and techniques used in traditional martial arts. Poomse is often romanized as poomsae or pumsae. The word taeguek (the Korean pronunciation of Taiji/T'ai Chi) refers to the important principle in east Asian Taoist thought of the union of yin and yang.
Each taegeuk form symbolizes a specific state thought to be indicative of the belt the student currently holds, and is represented in World Taekwondo (WT) by trigrams similar to those found in the four corners of the South Korean flag. Various schools sometimes insert one of a variety of other forms before the first taegeuk (taegeuk il-jang) such as "Basic #1 Pattern". In order to receive a black belt the student must perform all taegeuk forms consecutively.
Taegeuk 1 태극 1장 (Taegeuk Il-jahng)
The general meaning of this form and associated trigram is Yang, which represents Heaven and Light. Also, this trigram has a relationship to South and Father. The first taegeuk form is the beginning of all poomses, the "birth" of the martial artist into taekwondo. This poomse should be performed with the greatness of Heaven.
This is the pattern one will learn when at 'Yellow Stripe Belt' level. All students studying in World Taekwondo (WT) Kukkiwon style must learn these forms, or taegeuk 태극, to advance to a higher belt level. There are eight taegeuk forms, each one similar to the previous one, but each time with more complicated techniques to display the students' mastery of the techniques learned during lessons, as well as the ability to interconnect these techniques. Note: Some schools use other belt colors. Belt levels vary from school to school.
Training Methods
How well one improves with training depends on several factors, such as the frequency it is engaged in, and the type of feedback that is available for improvement. If a student does not train often enough, reinforcement fades, and he or she is likely to forget what was learned for the poomse.
When learning the poomse, it is helpful to use mirrors to observe your techniques and fix your mistakes immediately. Initially, a student may need focused feedback from a certified Master Instructor ( 사범님 sabeomnim ); however, as they progress, they must develop the ability to self-assess the poomse.
Difficulty of Poomse
Taekwondo students of geup ranking learn the most basic techniques first, and then move on to more advanced and difficult techniques as they approach 1st Dan Black Belt. The more difficult the techniques, the more practice may be needed for the purpose of improving or mastering it, as in the phrase 'practice makes perfect'. Every poomse must display the requisite speed, balance, power and firmness to be realistically used as an attack or defense move.
* Please see a certified Master Instructor ( 사범님 sabeomnim ) for training. Proper guidance and instructions are needed to ensure safe training.
General qualities that judges look for in any taekwondo practitioner include proper breathing technique and body control. The diaphragm must be engaged in deep breathing, shallow breathing concentrated in the upper abdomen results in raised shoulders and stressed muscles. The muscles of the body should be lightly relaxed in order to perform the pattern with fluidity, speed and grace. Muscles should only be tensed at the moment of imaginary impact in order to commute maximum power to any individual taekwondo technique. For more information View Key Points »
There are five tenets defined in the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) and several more in World Taekwondo (WT).
Integrity ( 염치 yeom-chi ): "Although it may be similar, this form of integrity takes on a more wider role then defined in the common dictionary. In taekwondo, integrity means not only to determine what is right or wrong but also having the conscience to feel guilt if one has done wrong and to have the integrity stand up for what is right." View Taekwondo Tenets »
RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Taegeuk" and "Hyeong", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
