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 6 태극 6장
(Taegeuk Yuk-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.
Highlight World Taekwondo (WT) Tournament Point System
Under World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic rules, sparring ( 겨루기 gyeorugi ) is a full-contact event and takes place between two competitors in an area measuring 8 meters square. Points are awarded for permitted, accurate, and powerful techniques to the legal scoring areas; light contact does not score any points. The only techniques allowed are kicks ( 차기 chagi ) (delivering a strike using an area of the foot below the ankle) and punches ( 지르기 jireugi ) (delivering a strike using the closed fist). The referee can give penalties at any time for rule-breaking, such as hitting an area not recognized as a target, usually the legs or groin ( 샅 sat ). View Tournament Point System »
* Please see a certified Master Instructor ( 사범님 sabeomnim ) for training. Proper guidance and instructions are needed to ensure safe training.
Taegeuk 6 태극 6장 (Taegeuk Yuk-jahng)
The trigram associated with this poomse represents Water. Also, there is a relation to West and the relationship with a Second son. The movements of this poomse are intended to be performed like water; flowing, powerful and cleansing. Sometimes standing still like water in a lake, sometimes thriving as a river, sometimes powerful like a waterfall. The water is to symbolize calm and cleansing, while also possessing the attribute of being violent and destructive.
This is the pattern one will learn when at 'Blue 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 »
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.
