Pneumatised!

MM,

I have been experiencing the wealth of entertainment and information available through www.youtube.com. I was primarily looking at taekwondo olympic sparring videos, but I found some other interesting taekwondo videos.

I thought for those readers on here who have little or no clue as to what the training is about in taekwondo that the videos might provide some insight. As well, I found these videos to be especially inspiring (even though I already have a black belt – there is always room for improvement). These videos show what can be possible with taekwondo (though admittedly, not every black belt in taekwondo can do this stuff). What is shown here is the “cream of the crop” in taekwondo.

The first two videos are of the Korean Tigers, a taekwondo demonstration team, not to be confused with the Korean National Taekwondo Demonstration Team. You will note the amount of acrobatics/gymnastics mixed in with the martial arts in the demo. Gymnastics is one thing I wish I learned when I was younger. It’s one of those things that is hard to pick up as an adult. I would like to make a comment about mixing acrobatics and martial arts. Some people think that acrobatics is unnecessary to martial arts. While it may be true that acrobatics is not needed to adequately defend yourself, that does not mean that some acrobatics can’t complement and enhance martial arts techniques. Acrobatics combined with martial arts can make one more elusive and harder to catch (think ninja here).

Korean Tigers at Paris in 2003. (Warning: Korean dance music plays 😉 )

Korean Tigers again!

Below is another demo video. Having seen someone kick an apple off a sword blindfolded before, I have to say it’s amazing to watch. It’s both thrilling and a little scary – as I don’t want the person to slice their foot. One of my former instructors, Master J.J. Park, used to do this for a demo. His was, I think, a 540 spinning hook kick blindfolded. Funny enough, when I think about it, it may have been that particular stunt that landed Master Park a job working on Jackie Chan’s stunt team. (Master Park now has his own do jang in Milton, Ontario called JSC Taekwondo. You can read a short bio of him at Urban Warriors, another do jang run by a former taekwondo instructor of mine.

Next, I have a load of sparring videos, mostly from the last summer olympics in Athens (2004). First up, we have the men’s heavyweight division gold medal match. In this video, Korea defeats Greece with a lucky spinning hook kick (I say lucky because the Korean competitor didn’t mean to execute the kick. In an interview, he said that the Greek competitor stepped on his right foot by accident and as he tried to move he slipped and his foot came up to land a TKO/technical knock out. Although, it doesn’t look that way on video. I think the guy is being modest. Oh, and a nice story behind this match. After winning, the Korean went and gave his Greek competitor a hug, and then they ran around the ring together hand in hand to the fans appreciation – this was in Athens after all. Apparently, the two guys were friends who have trained together before.) Anyway, enjoy the video. And yes, these guys are moving that fast.

Next up is women’s gold medal match for the fly weight division (this is actually what my division would be if I competed). Here we watch Taiwan defeat Cuba. According to Wikipedia, Chen Shih Hsin is the first Taiwanese athlete to win a gold medal at the olympics.

The next three videos are highlights of taekwondo at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. These videos are great to watch. Taekwondo sparring at its best.

The Showdown! This was apparently a competition held in Sarnia, Ontario at a nightclub complete with live DJ. The Showdown featured major taekwondo competitors.

Now, for a change of pace. In case you thought taekwondo was all flash and competition. Below are two videos showing all eight colour belt patterns (taeguk il jang through to pal jang) and eight of the nine black belt patterns. If anyone is studying or is interested in studying taekwondo, here’s what you need to know. Please note that the below videos are meant for instructional purposes and consequently, the patterns are done a little slower than normal. You can also find videos of the patterns at the Kukkiwon website

I personally find doing martial arts patterns to be quite meditative. I find a sense of peace with myself when I’m doing them because I have to focus only on myself and not worry about anything else (or anyone else). In addition, proper breathing technique while doing patterns helps activate chi (or ki), which is very good for the body and the spirit.

Colour belt patterns – the Taeguks

Black belt patterns

Well, I hope you enjoy the videos and found them somewhat informative as to what my training involves. I have to say I have the utmost respect for those olympic taekwondo medalists. They probably train hours on end every day. In the end, having the gold medal placed around their neck must feel like it was all worth it.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local black belt
Brigid’s Flame

Another busy week…

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

I went to the do jang for gumdo and taekwondo class. I’m starting to realize how much the horse stance in gumdo hurts my knee. Since I have torn cartilage on the medial side of my knee, the gumdo horse stance aggravates it a bit as it puts too much pressure on that one side (instead of balancing it evenly on the knee joint). I took gumdo class anyway. I’m actually kind of torn between whether I want to continue pursuing it or just stop it for the sake of my knee. Plus, I’ve been wanting to learn tai chi sword and am considering trying some classes sometime (assuming I can find a good tai chi school downtown that teaches swords). Funny enough, taekwondo doesn’t hurt my knee as much because the stances are different (the pressure on the knee joint is more even). As well, I have to admit that taekwondo is my first love when it comes to martial arts. So, gumdo or taekwondo? Taekwondo wins.

Of course, I took taekwondo class as well. It was, of course, another cardio kicking class.

After the do jang, I went to meet Nathan at the gym. When I got there, he was still on the elliptical machine, so I decided to do 10 minutes on the elliptical while Nathan finished up. Then, I did the following exercises.

Leg lifts
Pull-ups (aka chin-ups, military and parallel)
Dips
Leg press
Hamstring flexor (called seated leg curls)
Hip adductors
Hip abductors
Seated row
Bar pulls (I think this is called the lateral pull-downs; it works the muscles next to the scapulae on the back)
Shoulder fly
Shoulder lift (this is called the shoulder press)

Free weights:
Situps (on a incline bench; worked out the obliques as well by doing double punches during the situp)
Bicep curls
Squats with weights
Chest press (with bar)
Shoulder strengthening exercises

After the gym, we headed home for food and rest.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

I went to the do jang again. This time I took three classes. The first one was patterns class. I actually got to practice patterns instead of teaching it. I practiced all my patterns including the black belt one. Then we practiced the one-step sparring techniques. The second class was a regular taekwondo class. We did some warm-up kicking and then practiced some combination kicking techniques (e.g., hop-step roundhouse, roundhouse, double roundhouse, tornado roundhouse, spinning hook kick). After that class was a half hour extra training class. We ended up doing techniques we felt we needed work on. I decided to practice some counters (i.e., counter-attack techniques), side kicks, and back kicks. Still lots to work on, but after more than two hours of training, my knee was starting to get tired. (I ended up putting some ice on it afterwards when I got home.)

Thursday, May 18, 2006

I went to the do jang for the third time this week. 😀 I took gumdo and taekwondo class again. Gumdo class is pretty much the same each time, we do the same drills, then practice kyogum and ssang-soo.

Taekwondo class was tough. I figure it’s because it’s closed Friday to Monday due to the fact that the Master is going to be away (he’s the coach for the Ontario women’s team) at the National Championships in Nova Scotia. He’s probably assuming us students aren’t going to be training much when he’s gone and decided to work us hard in Thursday’s class. Ouch! The younger colour belts were collapsing onto the floor thirty minutes into the class. Ah well… it’s good for us to be pushed every so often. There was loads of double kicking and lots of speed kicking.

After class, I took some time to mull over what I need to do for the black belt test. We have to make up our own one-step sparring techniques – I have to make up five since I’m testing for second dan. Those testing for second dan and up have to make up our own pattern. So, I was mulling over that. I don’t mind actually because I was thinking of making up my own pattern sometime (just to see if I could). But anyway, Master Kim said he was going to talk about that at the next test training class (next weekend). I guess I don’t have to worry too much about that yet.

As I mentioned, this weekend my do jang is closed so no crazy training. I should get some gym time in and hopefully some running in. Ah… I miss the running sometimes (and I used to hate running when I was younger), and it’s actually pretty good for my knee.

Official countdown: seven weeks one day left.

BB,
Cassandrah
Your local black belt
Brigid’s Flame