I really like my mother in law. She is an incredibly sweet and generous lady. She has four children, four children in law, and by some time in April she will have six grand children. She is a real McGuiver with Korean food. She can make many many things. Her best dish is eel soup.
Koreans believe that different foods can give you power. They infamously believe that roast dog, or dog soup has the power to turn anybody into a Casanova. A lot of old people suck down the pungent ginseng candies, which smell a bit like strong celery, to give them stamina.
Another one of these energy foods is eel.
Last Sunday, my wife and the families of two brothers in law went to Haeinsa temple. My wife stayed back with a sister in law and played with the kids as the rest of us climbed up Mt. Gaya.
Mt. Gaya isn't the most challenging of mountains. There is a bout three kilometers of gradual escalation, then some steep hills, then about four hundred meters of steep rocks. It took about two hours to go up.
One of my wife's brothers used to be a gymnast. He went to a sports high school and to this day is in pretty good shape. As we climbed Mt. Gaya, I tried to keep pace with him, but had an asthma attack half way up the mountain. I was hoping that I would vomit, but I just stood still and coughed like a person with emphysema for about five minutes. When I get like that, the rest of my body gets tired as well, but I sucked it up and made it up the mountain a little bit further, and then my brother in law suggested that we take a rest and wait for the other brother in law and his wife. Anyway, I had a spell where I felt my energy drain on that day, but after I caught my breath we made it to the top.
When we got back home, we found that my mother in law made her specialty for everybody. It was all packed in large Tupperwear containers ready for us to take home. I have to say that mother in law's eel soup tastes great. It doesn't taste fishy at all. It just has a deep soupy flavor and has a body of bean paste blanched cabbage and some spices. I really can't explain the flavor because it has Jaepee in it. Jaepee is a spice that is used in Gyeongsangdo and Jeollado. I really don't know what it is in English, I can just describe it as being kind of minty and peppery at the same time.
On Monday I cooked up a four grain rice medly with white rice, brown rice, barley, and Korean black beans in the rice cooker. And when the wife got home we threw some eel soup on the stove and burned some up, tasted great. Later I went to Kumdo and felt powerful.
Today I did the same thing, except after Kumdo I went to the river side for some push ups, sit ups, and Taekwondo forms. After doing fifty sit ups and twenty push ups I did some white belt forms. I usually do these all wuss style when I'm by the river side because I want to warm up, but today I could have kicked and punched through the Berlin wall. Next, another fifty sit ups and twenty push ups, then the yellow belt forms. Same. Next another fifty sit ups and twenty push ups, the Pinyin forms and Bassai dae.
I'm starting to believe in the power of eel. Eel in many countries has traditionally been recognized as an energy food. British people thinks so, Japanese people think so, and check out what legendary boxer, Jack Johnson had to say about eel (According to wikipedia):
Johnson was pompous about his affection for white women, and imperious about his physical prowess, both in and out of the ring. Asked the secret of his staying power by a reporter who had watched a succession of women parade into, and out of, the champion's hotel room, Johnson supposedly said "Eat jellied eels and think distant thoughts".[9]
So come to Jinju. Try the Namgang grilled eel, then do something like climb a mountain. Feel za power.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Dan Tests
Last Saturday I tested for my 1st dan in Dae Han Kumdo. Dae Han Kumdo is basically the same thing as Japanese Kendo except the motions are said in Korean and Korean Kumdoists learn a Korean sword form.
I now hold a black belt in three martial arts. I am a 4th degree black belt in Taekwondo, a 1st degree black belt in Hapkido, and a 1st degree black belt in Kumdo. In this post I will go over the details of my various black belt tests so as to give some examples of variances between martial arts and how tests are administered in different countries. I'm going to describe first my Kumdo test, since it is the freshest in my memory, and then I will go into my Taekwondo tests.
1. Korea, Kumdo.
This test was held in a high school in a city called Masan. Masan is a coastal industrial armpit that is famous for its steamed monk fish. Hearing that one has to go to Masan for something is like hearing that you are having meatloaf for dinner or finding out that you need dental surgery. I've considered refraining from telling enemies to go to Hell in favor for telling them to go to Masan. Nonetheless the testing gymnasium seemed new. The floor had a white tint to it that brightened up the room. So this trip to Masan wasn't all bad.
My Journey in Kumdo began 5 years ago when I first came to Jinju. It was February or March of 2006 and I had an itching to begin another martial art. At that time I took a small break from Taekwondo. I really just wanted to learn something new, after a long time of doing the same martial art, you realize that there aren't that many new techniques to learn after getting your second or third degree black belts, all you can do is improve the ones you already have, or try to learn how to do some kind of incredible acrobatic kick that will only earn oohs and ahs, but will never really come in handy in a fight, or impress a girl enough to want to go out for coffee.
This was after I worked at an English sweatshop for a month and after a trip to Japan and I thought I was flush with cash. I mentioned to a Canadian guy who had a Korean wife that I was interested in taking Kumdo lessons. He knew a local instructor and they took me to him. I signed up that day without much hesitation. After about a month of lessons the instructor pulled me into his office and showed me a picture of some armor. He then wrote down a price on a piece of paper. It said 550,000 won (At that time it was about $600) . Not knowing what to do, I ended up buying the equipment and having to stay another semester at Gyeongsang university, instead of buying a plane ticket home.
I ended up coming home again in December of 2006 after a few months of Kumdo training. While I was home, I sought out a local Kendo club in Battle Creek, called the Battle Creek Kendo Kai. I did some training there, and was satisfied with the instruction. The fee was only 30 bucks a month. I also attended my first Kendo tournament with those guys at Eastern Michigan University. In the end, I missed the woman who would become my wife too much, and the best work I could get in Michigan was in a box factory, so I found another job in Jinju.
I didn't start training again right away. My new job had some shitty aspects to it.
1. I was bad at it.
2. Some of the students acted like gangsters.
3. I had to do these awful night classes twice a week. I got mega hooked up on kimchi allowances from doing them, but I fled Michigan for having to work 13 hour days in a green house, and I ended up in Korea having to go to school at 8 in the morning and come home at 9 at night two nights a week. The worst part was that on those days that I taught night classes I only had about 3 or four classes during the day. My apartment is also a half hours bus ride from the school. I couldn't go home and there was nothing to do except hang around at the school and wait for the night classes to start. Then half way through the semester, they decided to delay the night classes an extra half hour, so instead of getting home at 8:30, I could get home at 9:00. The only exercise I was getting was through these volley ball games that seemed important on Thursdays. I hate volley ball.
As luck would have it though, one of the guys who worked in the office at my school was on the Korean national Kumdo team. I mentioned to a few people that I liked Kumdo. That guy must have run into my old instructor some where and said something about me being back. Around December of 2006 I got a text message from him and I rejoined the school. Since then I've trained sporadically. Sometimes I miss a few weeks, but I come back. I've competed in a few competitions, where I have scored points and won matches, I've also lost points and lost many matches, but that goes with the territory, and that brought me to last Saturday.
The test was rather simple. There were 4 parts.
Part 1 Bonguk Gum bub.
Gonguk Gum Bub, is supposedly a 1000 year old Korean sword form that has been revitalized by modern Koreans. It is in the old Korean marital arts book called "Muye Dobo Tongji." Unfortunately for me I made some pretty big mistakes in this form. I was the only white guy there and I turned the wrong way at one point, that screwed up the next few motions, but I faked it and ended well. I was pretty embarrassed about that. I know it pretty well, I just made a mistake, perhaps I'll climb a mountain a post a video of me doing it.
Part 2 Pon
These are the Japanese partner forms called, "pome," in Japanese. There are 10 of these forms, but people testing for black belt only do 1-5. My partner in doing these was a woman who also made a few mistakes in Bonguk Gum Bub. She seemed as nervous as I was in this, but we sailed through it without a hitch.
Part 3 Armor on.
After the pon, we put on our gear and did yun gyuk, or Kai Kaishi in Japanes. This is an exercise where one person attacks the others head and does five left and right head attacks stepping forward, and four left and right head attacks while stepping back, the other person blocks the strikes with their Jukdo (Shinai). This is done twice and then concludes with an attack to the head and the attacker moves past the blocker.
After that we just did some free fighting. I was paired with the same woman as before. She was about a foot shorter than me, so I just went easy.
Part 4 Written test.
This was the hardest part. The test was in Korean. I asked the instructor if I could get the questions beforehand so I could study them. He gave them to me with the answers in Korean. I had no choice but to memorize the page of Korean, and then copy verbatim on the test paper. When it came to test time, a few people were looking over my shoulder. One lady came up and told me that I could write the answers in English. Hell no I wasn't going to do that, I spent the whole day memorizing a bunch of Korean. Then there was this guy from my school who was taking the test with me. He was looking over my shoulder too, and trying to give me the answers in Korean. I had to sh him twice because I had to concentrate.
All in all it turned out to be an okay test, and I found out that I passed today. I was pretty disappointed about making those mistakes in the form, but live and learn I guess. The best part was the testing fee: 20,000 won or about sixteen bucks. I was surprised to learn today that I had to pay another 40,000 won because I passed, but still, the price really isn't too bad...as you will see.
America, Taekwondo 1st dan
I was 16. Grand Master Chung requires everyone testing for a black belt to fast for three days before testing. I drank milk and orange juice for three days. I didn't know that that was cheating.
We ended up working it all out, but three days before the test my foot met the shin of a well conditioned former Korean kick boxer. My foot swelled up pretty big, and I had trouble walking for a few months. I limped through my test, managing to do all of the forms and break all of the boards. Back then there was a guy at our school who was a complete asswipe. He was a third degree black belt, who was in his late thirties or early forties. Just a real son of a bitch, wasn't really that good at Taekwondo, and he was mean to the students that he taught, except for the women that he hit on. Just a real scumbag, a perfect guy to teach women's self defense, since women really need to defend themselves against people like him. There was a period of time when I had to take lessons from him. I really don't remember anything he taught me except for the fact that he was an asshole. Anyway, at that test we had to show some jump kicks or something. I was hopping around on my left foot trying to jump and kick with it since my right foot was useless that day, and this dude was trying to say stuff in Korean, and acting all frustrated when I didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
He disappeared soon after that. I heard that he got in trouble for spanking a kid during a kids class, or he had a heart attack or something.
Anyway the Taekwondo tests are pretty intense. We have to do all of the forms we learned, break some boards, fill out a written test, fight with a few different people, show the self defense techniques we learned, and demonstrate something called one step sparring. The tests usually take about 3 hours. The Kumdo test I did was only about 2 hours, but more people tested, and there were a few testing boards. The test was very efficient.
Teakwondo 2nd Dan
This test was much better. I did the full fast, and did everything Grand Master Chung asked me to do. This was a make up testing event so there were only about 5 of us there, more scrutiny. I loved it. I wanted to show off.
Taekwondo 3rd Dan.
I started my fast on a Wednesday and my car broke down outside of a KFC. They were reluctant about letting me use their phone. I had to point at my car that wasn't moving that was blocking their driveway for them to get a clue. The car's axles were about to fall out, so I ended up getting a brand new Corolla. That was pretty sweet. The test went alright too, I can't remember it much though.
Taekwondo 4th Dan.
By this time testing was so run of the mill that I really didn't care that much anymore.
Hapkido 1st Dan.
There was no test. I paid Grand Master Chung for lessons up to my black belt in Hapkido a few years back. He stopped teaching it, after a year of my training. I had a brown belt or 4th gup in Hapkido. Later he just went ahead and filed the papers for me to get a black belt. Again, it kind of pissed me off because I didn't pay him for belts, I wanted the training. But I guess I can use that to take advanced lessons here in Korea. I might join a school for that here, but I probably won't. I don't want to take a martial arts class with bunch of kids.
I now hold a black belt in three martial arts. I am a 4th degree black belt in Taekwondo, a 1st degree black belt in Hapkido, and a 1st degree black belt in Kumdo. In this post I will go over the details of my various black belt tests so as to give some examples of variances between martial arts and how tests are administered in different countries. I'm going to describe first my Kumdo test, since it is the freshest in my memory, and then I will go into my Taekwondo tests.
1. Korea, Kumdo.
This test was held in a high school in a city called Masan. Masan is a coastal industrial armpit that is famous for its steamed monk fish. Hearing that one has to go to Masan for something is like hearing that you are having meatloaf for dinner or finding out that you need dental surgery. I've considered refraining from telling enemies to go to Hell in favor for telling them to go to Masan. Nonetheless the testing gymnasium seemed new. The floor had a white tint to it that brightened up the room. So this trip to Masan wasn't all bad.
My Journey in Kumdo began 5 years ago when I first came to Jinju. It was February or March of 2006 and I had an itching to begin another martial art. At that time I took a small break from Taekwondo. I really just wanted to learn something new, after a long time of doing the same martial art, you realize that there aren't that many new techniques to learn after getting your second or third degree black belts, all you can do is improve the ones you already have, or try to learn how to do some kind of incredible acrobatic kick that will only earn oohs and ahs, but will never really come in handy in a fight, or impress a girl enough to want to go out for coffee.
This was after I worked at an English sweatshop for a month and after a trip to Japan and I thought I was flush with cash. I mentioned to a Canadian guy who had a Korean wife that I was interested in taking Kumdo lessons. He knew a local instructor and they took me to him. I signed up that day without much hesitation. After about a month of lessons the instructor pulled me into his office and showed me a picture of some armor. He then wrote down a price on a piece of paper. It said 550,000 won (At that time it was about $600) . Not knowing what to do, I ended up buying the equipment and having to stay another semester at Gyeongsang university, instead of buying a plane ticket home.
I ended up coming home again in December of 2006 after a few months of Kumdo training. While I was home, I sought out a local Kendo club in Battle Creek, called the Battle Creek Kendo Kai. I did some training there, and was satisfied with the instruction. The fee was only 30 bucks a month. I also attended my first Kendo tournament with those guys at Eastern Michigan University. In the end, I missed the woman who would become my wife too much, and the best work I could get in Michigan was in a box factory, so I found another job in Jinju.
I didn't start training again right away. My new job had some shitty aspects to it.
1. I was bad at it.
2. Some of the students acted like gangsters.
3. I had to do these awful night classes twice a week. I got mega hooked up on kimchi allowances from doing them, but I fled Michigan for having to work 13 hour days in a green house, and I ended up in Korea having to go to school at 8 in the morning and come home at 9 at night two nights a week. The worst part was that on those days that I taught night classes I only had about 3 or four classes during the day. My apartment is also a half hours bus ride from the school. I couldn't go home and there was nothing to do except hang around at the school and wait for the night classes to start. Then half way through the semester, they decided to delay the night classes an extra half hour, so instead of getting home at 8:30, I could get home at 9:00. The only exercise I was getting was through these volley ball games that seemed important on Thursdays. I hate volley ball.
As luck would have it though, one of the guys who worked in the office at my school was on the Korean national Kumdo team. I mentioned to a few people that I liked Kumdo. That guy must have run into my old instructor some where and said something about me being back. Around December of 2006 I got a text message from him and I rejoined the school. Since then I've trained sporadically. Sometimes I miss a few weeks, but I come back. I've competed in a few competitions, where I have scored points and won matches, I've also lost points and lost many matches, but that goes with the territory, and that brought me to last Saturday.
The test was rather simple. There were 4 parts.
Part 1 Bonguk Gum bub.
Gonguk Gum Bub, is supposedly a 1000 year old Korean sword form that has been revitalized by modern Koreans. It is in the old Korean marital arts book called "Muye Dobo Tongji." Unfortunately for me I made some pretty big mistakes in this form. I was the only white guy there and I turned the wrong way at one point, that screwed up the next few motions, but I faked it and ended well. I was pretty embarrassed about that. I know it pretty well, I just made a mistake, perhaps I'll climb a mountain a post a video of me doing it.
Part 2 Pon
These are the Japanese partner forms called, "pome," in Japanese. There are 10 of these forms, but people testing for black belt only do 1-5. My partner in doing these was a woman who also made a few mistakes in Bonguk Gum Bub. She seemed as nervous as I was in this, but we sailed through it without a hitch.
Part 3 Armor on.
After the pon, we put on our gear and did yun gyuk, or Kai Kaishi in Japanes. This is an exercise where one person attacks the others head and does five left and right head attacks stepping forward, and four left and right head attacks while stepping back, the other person blocks the strikes with their Jukdo (Shinai). This is done twice and then concludes with an attack to the head and the attacker moves past the blocker.
After that we just did some free fighting. I was paired with the same woman as before. She was about a foot shorter than me, so I just went easy.
Part 4 Written test.
This was the hardest part. The test was in Korean. I asked the instructor if I could get the questions beforehand so I could study them. He gave them to me with the answers in Korean. I had no choice but to memorize the page of Korean, and then copy verbatim on the test paper. When it came to test time, a few people were looking over my shoulder. One lady came up and told me that I could write the answers in English. Hell no I wasn't going to do that, I spent the whole day memorizing a bunch of Korean. Then there was this guy from my school who was taking the test with me. He was looking over my shoulder too, and trying to give me the answers in Korean. I had to sh him twice because I had to concentrate.
All in all it turned out to be an okay test, and I found out that I passed today. I was pretty disappointed about making those mistakes in the form, but live and learn I guess. The best part was the testing fee: 20,000 won or about sixteen bucks. I was surprised to learn today that I had to pay another 40,000 won because I passed, but still, the price really isn't too bad...as you will see.
America, Taekwondo 1st dan
I was 16. Grand Master Chung requires everyone testing for a black belt to fast for three days before testing. I drank milk and orange juice for three days. I didn't know that that was cheating.
We ended up working it all out, but three days before the test my foot met the shin of a well conditioned former Korean kick boxer. My foot swelled up pretty big, and I had trouble walking for a few months. I limped through my test, managing to do all of the forms and break all of the boards. Back then there was a guy at our school who was a complete asswipe. He was a third degree black belt, who was in his late thirties or early forties. Just a real son of a bitch, wasn't really that good at Taekwondo, and he was mean to the students that he taught, except for the women that he hit on. Just a real scumbag, a perfect guy to teach women's self defense, since women really need to defend themselves against people like him. There was a period of time when I had to take lessons from him. I really don't remember anything he taught me except for the fact that he was an asshole. Anyway, at that test we had to show some jump kicks or something. I was hopping around on my left foot trying to jump and kick with it since my right foot was useless that day, and this dude was trying to say stuff in Korean, and acting all frustrated when I didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
He disappeared soon after that. I heard that he got in trouble for spanking a kid during a kids class, or he had a heart attack or something.
Anyway the Taekwondo tests are pretty intense. We have to do all of the forms we learned, break some boards, fill out a written test, fight with a few different people, show the self defense techniques we learned, and demonstrate something called one step sparring. The tests usually take about 3 hours. The Kumdo test I did was only about 2 hours, but more people tested, and there were a few testing boards. The test was very efficient.
Teakwondo 2nd Dan
This test was much better. I did the full fast, and did everything Grand Master Chung asked me to do. This was a make up testing event so there were only about 5 of us there, more scrutiny. I loved it. I wanted to show off.
Taekwondo 3rd Dan.
I started my fast on a Wednesday and my car broke down outside of a KFC. They were reluctant about letting me use their phone. I had to point at my car that wasn't moving that was blocking their driveway for them to get a clue. The car's axles were about to fall out, so I ended up getting a brand new Corolla. That was pretty sweet. The test went alright too, I can't remember it much though.
Taekwondo 4th Dan.
By this time testing was so run of the mill that I really didn't care that much anymore.
Hapkido 1st Dan.
There was no test. I paid Grand Master Chung for lessons up to my black belt in Hapkido a few years back. He stopped teaching it, after a year of my training. I had a brown belt or 4th gup in Hapkido. Later he just went ahead and filed the papers for me to get a black belt. Again, it kind of pissed me off because I didn't pay him for belts, I wanted the training. But I guess I can use that to take advanced lessons here in Korea. I might join a school for that here, but I probably won't. I don't want to take a martial arts class with bunch of kids.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Kumdo Test
Well I filled out my application to text for my 1 dan in Kumdo. I don't know when the test is, but it'll be interesting to see how it goes.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Chuseok Shim Shin Forms
Wol Ah San is not a famous mountain in Korea, but it is one of Jinju's most distinctive land marks. The two peaks can be seen from many different locations in the city. The two peaks form a kind of U shape. When you stand across the river from the mountains, the peak on the left is called Gook Sa Bong. It is the taller of the two mountains, and the more difficult to climb. The course to the top takes the hiker over two smaller hills in order to reach the main escarpment. The trail then goes on for about 500 hundred meters to a clearing where a final hill has to be climbed in order to reach the top with the best view. Views to be seen on this mountain include stunning vistas of greenhouses, rice fields, and the Nam river. There is also a rock quarry. Along the way you can stop for a drink at a natural spring that is near the top of the mountain.
The right peak is called Jang Goon Dae bong, or "General's Peak." This mountain has two temples on it. There is the thousand year old "Cheong Gok Sa," and there is also "Doo Bang Sa." Cheong Gok Sa, has an enormous Buddah painting, which is a national treasure. The national treasure at Doo Bang Sa, is a very old black stone pagoda. On this venture I didn't travel to Doo Bang Sa, but rather, I took a different path and went to "Sung Eun Ahm." An "ahm," isn't quite a temple, but more of a cloister. It is a place to go and pray by one's self. The trail to Sung Eun Ahm was very narrow, but it had a lot of cool things, like these places were people had built stone towers for making wishes. These things are called, 돌무덕 (Dol Moo Duck) or stone graves. A long time ago people without much money built these stone graves for deceased relatives, instead of giving proper burials. These days people just tend to pile up rocks on the sides of mountains. You make a wish as you put a rock on the top of the pile. If you can put the rock on top of the pile without it falling off, your wish comes true. There are many of these rock piles on Jang Goon Dae bong.
On Saturday September, 19th 2010. I climbed Gook-sa peak and did Shim Shin 1-2. I originally planned to climb both peaks in the same day, but the path to the other peak wasn't clear. Then on Thursday September, 24th 2010. I climbed Jang Goon Dae peak, and did Shim Shin 3-5. This project gave me some good exercise for the week. On Wednesday of this week, Koreans celebrated "Chuseok." Chuseok, is Korea's second largest holiday after, "Seollal" Korean/Chinese new year. Chuseok is often compared to America's Thanksgiving, in that the day involves gorging one's self with food. Chuseok also involves a ceremony where a family's ancestors are remembered. Anyway, I thought that the bike ride to the mountain, the mountain climb, and the performance of the Shim Shin forms, would be a good way to burn the holiday calories, and also a good way to further pay tribute to Grand Master Chung, who celebrated his 40th anniversary in America this year.
At our Tae Kwon Do school in Kalamazoo, we have a rank called "Deputy Black Belt." Deputy black belt is kind of a bizarre rank. It is a six month waiting and training period between 1st gup and 1st degree black belt. Black belts at our school are expected to know the Tae Kwon Do, Teaguk 1-8 poomse series, also the Tang Soo Do/Okinawan Karate Pyung-Ahn 1-5 series, and a form called "Bassai dae." Legend has it that Bassai is a few hundred year old form that came out of the Shaolin temple. Deputy black belts are expected to keep current with all of those forms, as well as their form called 42 basic motions. Also they have to learn the five Shim Shin forms.
Both 42 basic motions, and Shim Shin 1-5 are considered to be "Moo Sool Do," forms. Moo Sool Do, means martial arts united. Moo Sool Do is the combination of Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, and Hapkido, the three martial arts taught at our school in Kalamazoo. So in order to further develop the philosophies of "Moo Sool Do," Grand Master Chung made his own "Moo Sool Do," forms. These include the Shim Shin forms.
One time during a black belt test, one of Grand Master Chung's highest ranking students saw how everyone was tired after going through the Taeguk, and Pyung Ahn forms. He made the announcement that it was time to start the Shim Shin forms. He then told us that Shim Shin means - "heart and mind," and that due to the massive amounts of kicks thrown in the forms, that they were the most strenuous. He was correct.
I haven't done much in the way of Tae Kwon Do training since I left Kalamazoo to come to Korea and work as an English teacher. Back in the days when I was in good shape, I thought these forms were fun. One thing I realized while doing them on the mountains is that they are incredibly difficult. It is difficult to maintain good balance while kicking. It is really difficult to maintain balance, while kicking with a bunch or rocks under your feet that trip you up. A lot of the forms had to be performed 3-4 times in order to get film without many mistakes. I have to admit to forgetting some motions in some of them. I'm not sure what the kick patterns in Shim Shin 1 and 2 are, and there are plenty of instances where good balance wasn't maintained throughout the forms. So if I did a front kick, where I was supposed to do a roundhouse kick, I'm sorry for that. Also Shim Shin 2 was done on the top of Gook Sa Bong. There were a lot of rocks underneath. On the first Jump front kick, I actually jumped off of a small rock on the ground that you can't see, I also stepped on another rock while making a back stance. Once again you can't see the rock, so the form looks really silly. Well, with the music, and the fact that I climbed two mountains by myself to film myself doing forms, the whole thing is pretty silly. In fact, my wife calls it the "wancta video." "Wancta,' in Korean is a word to describe a person with no friends. So yes I will admit to their being a pretty strong "Napolean Dynamite," influence on this movie.
There is also a scene in the video that might not make much sense. At the beginning I ride my bike past Jinju stadium. The stadium was built to host the Korean national sporting festival, which is being held in Jinju next month. It is a new stadium, so I just thought I'd put some pictures of that in the video. The film was taken from my bicycle, along the way to the mountain. Anyway, you can have a good look at Jinju stadium.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Chuseok Mountain Form Festival Update
On Saturday, I climbed to the top of Mt. Wol-ah's Gook Sa peak. I was going to climb to the top of Mt. Wol-ah's Jang Goon Dae peak as well, but the trail was over grown and it was getting dark. Anyway, I did two of five Shim Shin forms. I didn't to a great job of it because the rocky ground made for bad balance... and I forgot a few of the motions. So I'll post the video after I climb the other peak.
Monday, September 13, 2010
추석 무술도 심신, 42두소공방 품새 영화 식!!!!!! 정선환 관장님 만세!!!!!!
Next week is Chuseok. Chuseok is the Korean harvest festival, therefore, I will have a lot of time off.
As a further tribute Grand Master Chung, I will make videos of myself doing the forms that he invented in different picturesque places around Jinju.
As a further tribute Grand Master Chung, I will make videos of myself doing the forms that he invented in different picturesque places around Jinju.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The Rational and Impulsive Minds in Sparring
This post is inspired by a guest I saw on "The Colbert Report," about a year or two ago. I forgot the guest's name, and the name of his book, but his topic was interesting. It was about how there are two minds, the rational and the impulsive. The rational mind is deliberative and cautious. It weighs the pros and cons of a situation before making a decision. The impulsive mind goes with "the gut feeling," and decides without much deliberation.
The interview was only a few minutes long, but it got me thinking about how this applies to sparring, and how sparring opponents of all different skill levels can affect learning.
In the Beginning
When a student begins training, they don't know anything. The don't know what to expect. They may know few kicks and punches that had been taught to them, but they don't necissarily know how to apply them. So at this point, when a student attempts to spar, they used their rational minds to figure out just what the heck is going on. More advanced students can react more quickly and naturally because they have been practicing longer and have built the neural pathways in their brain that allow them to act instinctively.
Mid level training
By mid level, I'm talking about people who may be first or second degree black belts. At this point the student has learned the basic techniques and can probably deliver them quickly. They know the rules of the game, and may be eager to fight with people of higher skill so that they can improve their game more. When I was a first and second degree black belt. I was focused on this. I was focused on improving my reflexes, becoming more flexible, and just trying to get faster over all. There was a problem though. I couldn't read situations well and react accordingly. I had fast and accurate defense kicks, and I was beginning to learn how to use fakes in order to attack more effectively, but there was always something missing. I didn't have any "sense," as to when to attack, and I wasn't sensitive to when the other person was off balance.
High Level Sparring
At this point the competitor can use "mind games," against the other person. They can sense the distances for the other person's reach and they can move into the other person's distance and attack the other person in a decisive manor. The attacker at this point doesn't even need to be excessively fast, they just need to be able to accurately figure out what the other is capable of and use distance and timing to position themselves in a way that can maximize their own success.
Geniuses
A genius is a person who has a natural talent and a natural sense for how to attack and defend. These people may have physical or mental attributes that make them able to learn without being taught, or to learn quickly. Unfortunately these people exist everywhere. It is said that the legendary Boston Red Sock Ted Williams could see the strings on the ball when he was taking pitches. These people tend to make poor coaches because they can't really explain how they know these things. Advice from these people may be a bit vague. However, it is possible to try to break down these people's games as they are in action. You can look for their natural tendencies and try to turn their strengths into weaknesses.
The Hard Worker
This type of person earned their skills through hard work. This post is focused on helping this person avoid tunnel vision when they are training.
Sometimes when you train every day, the improvement is gradual. You can't see any improvement from day to day so motivation can sag. You may be an instructor at a school and you may lament the fact that everybody learns from you so you can't improve your skills at all. This type of thinking is wrong. In a martial arts school, everybody has something to teach other people.
When I was the leader of a Do Jang, I learned something pretty cool about the Tae Kwon Do forms from a six year old kid. I might post about that later since this post is about fighting. Anyway this is where the thinking about the impulsive and rational minds come into play.
When you spar with a person of greater speed and skill, you might use a combination of the rational mind and the impulsive mind. Your mind may race to try to figure out ways to beat the person of greater skill, and you may react impulsively to try to block or dodge the barrage of attacks that are being thrown at you. Sooner or later, the other person might figure out what you do impulsively and then exploit those weaknesses. For example, when the other person fakes, they might notice that you instinctively block your head. After your hand goes up to your head they might attack your body. The other person is in a relaxed rational state. They aren't worried about what you are going to do to them because you are in a state of panic.
Now you can train two ways to combat this in the future. 1. You can try to fight people of even greater skill, or 2. you can try to fight people of lesser skill.
Both have their advantages. People of greater skill will give you courage in the future. When you spar against someone who you fear, you get a little bit braver every time you manage to "sneak one in on them."
But people of lesser skill have a lot to teach as well. Suppose the instructor taught a fake out technique that you haven't quite mastered yet. Using this technique on the lesser student can help to encode the rational act of trying to fake out another person into an intuitive action that is less obvious to detect by the other person. Sometimes fake outs are so obviously fake outs that the other person doesn't fall for them. However, if you practice on a person of lesser skill, who is more susceptible to that kind of trick, you can adjust and modify until you can use it on a person of greater skill. So in this sense, you can use lower ranking students as learning tools.
Often times people who are natural geniuses get bored fighting with the same lower ranking students who can't put up much of a fight. This might be because the person of greater skill uses the same skill sets that already work for them. In this situation, I would recommend redefining the goal of the fight. For example, rather than trying to score more points than the other person, it might be interesting to try to used footwork to disturb the other person's balance. Or rather then using a roundhouse kick as the same defense kick, try to use a push kick or heel down kick, so that you can build other skills.
So in sum, here is a break down of the intuitive and the rational minds. The rational mind is the mind that thinks and tries to learn. After something has been learned then it becomes encoded into the intuitive mind. In Tae Kwon Do, we wish to put as much as possible into the intuitive mind. Put everything into the learned behaviors. Put as much as possible into the mind that makes you forget that you drove home. But also be sure to exercise the mind that learns things. This will help you to learn things more quickly in the future.
The interview was only a few minutes long, but it got me thinking about how this applies to sparring, and how sparring opponents of all different skill levels can affect learning.
In the Beginning
When a student begins training, they don't know anything. The don't know what to expect. They may know few kicks and punches that had been taught to them, but they don't necissarily know how to apply them. So at this point, when a student attempts to spar, they used their rational minds to figure out just what the heck is going on. More advanced students can react more quickly and naturally because they have been practicing longer and have built the neural pathways in their brain that allow them to act instinctively.
Mid level training
By mid level, I'm talking about people who may be first or second degree black belts. At this point the student has learned the basic techniques and can probably deliver them quickly. They know the rules of the game, and may be eager to fight with people of higher skill so that they can improve their game more. When I was a first and second degree black belt. I was focused on this. I was focused on improving my reflexes, becoming more flexible, and just trying to get faster over all. There was a problem though. I couldn't read situations well and react accordingly. I had fast and accurate defense kicks, and I was beginning to learn how to use fakes in order to attack more effectively, but there was always something missing. I didn't have any "sense," as to when to attack, and I wasn't sensitive to when the other person was off balance.
High Level Sparring
At this point the competitor can use "mind games," against the other person. They can sense the distances for the other person's reach and they can move into the other person's distance and attack the other person in a decisive manor. The attacker at this point doesn't even need to be excessively fast, they just need to be able to accurately figure out what the other is capable of and use distance and timing to position themselves in a way that can maximize their own success.
Geniuses
A genius is a person who has a natural talent and a natural sense for how to attack and defend. These people may have physical or mental attributes that make them able to learn without being taught, or to learn quickly. Unfortunately these people exist everywhere. It is said that the legendary Boston Red Sock Ted Williams could see the strings on the ball when he was taking pitches. These people tend to make poor coaches because they can't really explain how they know these things. Advice from these people may be a bit vague. However, it is possible to try to break down these people's games as they are in action. You can look for their natural tendencies and try to turn their strengths into weaknesses.
The Hard Worker
This type of person earned their skills through hard work. This post is focused on helping this person avoid tunnel vision when they are training.
Sometimes when you train every day, the improvement is gradual. You can't see any improvement from day to day so motivation can sag. You may be an instructor at a school and you may lament the fact that everybody learns from you so you can't improve your skills at all. This type of thinking is wrong. In a martial arts school, everybody has something to teach other people.
When I was the leader of a Do Jang, I learned something pretty cool about the Tae Kwon Do forms from a six year old kid. I might post about that later since this post is about fighting. Anyway this is where the thinking about the impulsive and rational minds come into play.
When you spar with a person of greater speed and skill, you might use a combination of the rational mind and the impulsive mind. Your mind may race to try to figure out ways to beat the person of greater skill, and you may react impulsively to try to block or dodge the barrage of attacks that are being thrown at you. Sooner or later, the other person might figure out what you do impulsively and then exploit those weaknesses. For example, when the other person fakes, they might notice that you instinctively block your head. After your hand goes up to your head they might attack your body. The other person is in a relaxed rational state. They aren't worried about what you are going to do to them because you are in a state of panic.
Now you can train two ways to combat this in the future. 1. You can try to fight people of even greater skill, or 2. you can try to fight people of lesser skill.
Both have their advantages. People of greater skill will give you courage in the future. When you spar against someone who you fear, you get a little bit braver every time you manage to "sneak one in on them."
But people of lesser skill have a lot to teach as well. Suppose the instructor taught a fake out technique that you haven't quite mastered yet. Using this technique on the lesser student can help to encode the rational act of trying to fake out another person into an intuitive action that is less obvious to detect by the other person. Sometimes fake outs are so obviously fake outs that the other person doesn't fall for them. However, if you practice on a person of lesser skill, who is more susceptible to that kind of trick, you can adjust and modify until you can use it on a person of greater skill. So in this sense, you can use lower ranking students as learning tools.
Often times people who are natural geniuses get bored fighting with the same lower ranking students who can't put up much of a fight. This might be because the person of greater skill uses the same skill sets that already work for them. In this situation, I would recommend redefining the goal of the fight. For example, rather than trying to score more points than the other person, it might be interesting to try to used footwork to disturb the other person's balance. Or rather then using a roundhouse kick as the same defense kick, try to use a push kick or heel down kick, so that you can build other skills.
So in sum, here is a break down of the intuitive and the rational minds. The rational mind is the mind that thinks and tries to learn. After something has been learned then it becomes encoded into the intuitive mind. In Tae Kwon Do, we wish to put as much as possible into the intuitive mind. Put everything into the learned behaviors. Put as much as possible into the mind that makes you forget that you drove home. But also be sure to exercise the mind that learns things. This will help you to learn things more quickly in the future.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Tribute to Grand Master Sun Hwan Chung
Today is September, 11th. In Three Rivers, Michigan, a banquet is being held in honor of my instructor Grand Master James Sun Hwan Chung. Earlier this year in May he celebrated his 40th year of teaching Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do in the United States.
His story is an inspiration for many reasons. He was born in Hiroshima. During World War two, hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forced to either join the Japanese Army or work in Japanese factories in Japan. Also many women were forced into becoming comfort women for Japanese soldiers.
Part of the reasoning behind the choice of Hiroshima as a city for the atomic bomb was the fact that it was an industrial center with many foreign workers. Kyoto, the imperial capital was also on the list for bombing, but was decided against because a high ranking American general thought to place too beautiful to destroy. It's estimated that of the 80,000 people who evaporated in the initial blast of the atomic bomb, 30,000 of them were Korean, Taiwanese, or Chinese.
The Hiroshima memorial caries a placard that says, "We're sorry, it will never happen again" This apology is to the foreign nationals who were forced against their will to work for the Japanese during the war.
Like millions of other Koreans who emigrated back to Korea after World War 2. Grand Master Chung's family faced the hardships of poverty.
He told me a story one time about how when he was ten, during the Korean war, his family's house was in the middle of a battle between North Korean and American forces. His brother, a baby at the time, was still in the house, and Grand Master Chung fled the house with his brother on his back and bullets flying all around. Afterward the house was destroyed by mortar fire.
He also told me about how he attended one of the roughest high schools in Seoul. His family didn't have the money to send him to a good school so he went to a place where twenty to thirty year old war veterans went to school along side high school aged kids. The school was filled with gang members who would attack teachers, and beat up weak kids in the bathroom.
One story he told me about his time in high school was when a teacher was angry with the class. In Korea it is quite common -even to this day- for Korean teachers to beat students for reasons, ranging from smoking in the bathroom to having the wrong haircut. On this particular day his English teacher decided to line the students up and just slap them in the face and kick the kids in the legs because the students were being unruly. When it was Grand Master Chung's turn, the teacher found that he couldn't hit him because Grand Master Chung dodged every attack. The teacher told him to stand still and take his beating, but Grand Master Chung said, "Why are you trying to hit me, I didn't do anything to you."
Later in the day the other students in class plotted to jump the teacher as he was coming out of the school. Grand Master Chung found out about this plot. When the teacher came out of the school the other students laid in wait. Before they could attack the teacher Grand Master Chung came between the teacher and the other students and protected the teacher.
As you can see, life in Korea wasn't easy, but Grand Master Chung took the only thing he knew how to do and made it work for him.
In 1970 he came to Detroit, Michigan. He participated in demonstration fights. His sponsor told him that if he lost a match he would send him back to Korea. After staying a while in Detroit, he moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where he has made his home and established his martial arts academy called the I.A.M.A. (International academy of martial arts A.K.A. Chung's Black Belt Academy.)
In 1985 he published "Oriental Martial Arts II," the text book that is used by I.A.M.A. students. Now think about this. He came to the United States in 1970, didn't speak any English, but with in 15 years he opened his own business and published a book in English. People like this are what make America great. America truly takes the best people from other countries and allows them to flourish.
Sometime in the 1990s (1991 I think) he returned to Korea and tested for his 9th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. At that time there were only 31 9th degree black belts in the world. In 2003 he tested for his 9th degree black belt in Hap Ki Do. He has achieved the highest rank in two major world Martial Arts.
From 2007 to 2009, he published Oriental Martial Arts III, which is a four part series of text books that include the I.A.M.A.'s testing requirements for color belts and black belts for both children and adults. The books also provides illustrations of forms, one step sparring, and self defense techniques.
I've been lucky to know him and learn things from him. I earned my 4th degree black belt from him, but besides Tae Kwon Do, I think the most important lessons from that people can learn come from his life's example. For demonstrations he used to do things like squat on broken glass with a 200 pound dumb bell in his mouth. He also used to run needles through parts of his skin and hang buckets of water from the needles. One time, he had a car drive over his chest. All of those things pale in comparison to the fact that he was able to come out of poverty from war torn Korea to America, and establish himself as a businessman.
So today on the day of Grand Master Chung's 40th anniversary party, I salute him. I salute him for being the type of man who you don't bet against. I salute him for viciously living life and being a part of the history of Martial Arts in America.
Other facts about Grand Master Chung:
-He has the "Keys to the city Miami"
- He met Elvis and had a slow dance with Priscilla Presley. He revealed this one time during a class. He used to have a picture of himself with the king, but a student who really liked Elvis, broke into his office and stole it.
- He is a first class international referee.
- He was recognized for his life time achievement by the American Grandmaster's Society. There is a Korean language newspaper article about the event.
- He was on a testing panel once to promote Chuck Norris.
-He has branches of his school that reach from Kalamazoo, to Detroit, to Bermuda. (I'm writing this post from Korea - though I don't have a school, nor do I teach anyone taekwondo anymore)
This is an open invitation to his other students to leave more of his achievements in the comments section of this post.
His story is an inspiration for many reasons. He was born in Hiroshima. During World War two, hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forced to either join the Japanese Army or work in Japanese factories in Japan. Also many women were forced into becoming comfort women for Japanese soldiers.
Part of the reasoning behind the choice of Hiroshima as a city for the atomic bomb was the fact that it was an industrial center with many foreign workers. Kyoto, the imperial capital was also on the list for bombing, but was decided against because a high ranking American general thought to place too beautiful to destroy. It's estimated that of the 80,000 people who evaporated in the initial blast of the atomic bomb, 30,000 of them were Korean, Taiwanese, or Chinese.
The Hiroshima memorial caries a placard that says, "We're sorry, it will never happen again" This apology is to the foreign nationals who were forced against their will to work for the Japanese during the war.
Like millions of other Koreans who emigrated back to Korea after World War 2. Grand Master Chung's family faced the hardships of poverty.
He told me a story one time about how when he was ten, during the Korean war, his family's house was in the middle of a battle between North Korean and American forces. His brother, a baby at the time, was still in the house, and Grand Master Chung fled the house with his brother on his back and bullets flying all around. Afterward the house was destroyed by mortar fire.
He also told me about how he attended one of the roughest high schools in Seoul. His family didn't have the money to send him to a good school so he went to a place where twenty to thirty year old war veterans went to school along side high school aged kids. The school was filled with gang members who would attack teachers, and beat up weak kids in the bathroom.
One story he told me about his time in high school was when a teacher was angry with the class. In Korea it is quite common -even to this day- for Korean teachers to beat students for reasons, ranging from smoking in the bathroom to having the wrong haircut. On this particular day his English teacher decided to line the students up and just slap them in the face and kick the kids in the legs because the students were being unruly. When it was Grand Master Chung's turn, the teacher found that he couldn't hit him because Grand Master Chung dodged every attack. The teacher told him to stand still and take his beating, but Grand Master Chung said, "Why are you trying to hit me, I didn't do anything to you."
Later in the day the other students in class plotted to jump the teacher as he was coming out of the school. Grand Master Chung found out about this plot. When the teacher came out of the school the other students laid in wait. Before they could attack the teacher Grand Master Chung came between the teacher and the other students and protected the teacher.
As you can see, life in Korea wasn't easy, but Grand Master Chung took the only thing he knew how to do and made it work for him.
In 1970 he came to Detroit, Michigan. He participated in demonstration fights. His sponsor told him that if he lost a match he would send him back to Korea. After staying a while in Detroit, he moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where he has made his home and established his martial arts academy called the I.A.M.A. (International academy of martial arts A.K.A. Chung's Black Belt Academy.)
In 1985 he published "Oriental Martial Arts II," the text book that is used by I.A.M.A. students. Now think about this. He came to the United States in 1970, didn't speak any English, but with in 15 years he opened his own business and published a book in English. People like this are what make America great. America truly takes the best people from other countries and allows them to flourish.
Sometime in the 1990s (1991 I think) he returned to Korea and tested for his 9th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. At that time there were only 31 9th degree black belts in the world. In 2003 he tested for his 9th degree black belt in Hap Ki Do. He has achieved the highest rank in two major world Martial Arts.
From 2007 to 2009, he published Oriental Martial Arts III, which is a four part series of text books that include the I.A.M.A.'s testing requirements for color belts and black belts for both children and adults. The books also provides illustrations of forms, one step sparring, and self defense techniques.
I've been lucky to know him and learn things from him. I earned my 4th degree black belt from him, but besides Tae Kwon Do, I think the most important lessons from that people can learn come from his life's example. For demonstrations he used to do things like squat on broken glass with a 200 pound dumb bell in his mouth. He also used to run needles through parts of his skin and hang buckets of water from the needles. One time, he had a car drive over his chest. All of those things pale in comparison to the fact that he was able to come out of poverty from war torn Korea to America, and establish himself as a businessman.
So today on the day of Grand Master Chung's 40th anniversary party, I salute him. I salute him for being the type of man who you don't bet against. I salute him for viciously living life and being a part of the history of Martial Arts in America.
Other facts about Grand Master Chung:
-He has the "Keys to the city Miami"
- He met Elvis and had a slow dance with Priscilla Presley. He revealed this one time during a class. He used to have a picture of himself with the king, but a student who really liked Elvis, broke into his office and stole it.
- He is a first class international referee.
- He was recognized for his life time achievement by the American Grandmaster's Society. There is a Korean language newspaper article about the event.
- He was on a testing panel once to promote Chuck Norris.
-He has branches of his school that reach from Kalamazoo, to Detroit, to Bermuda. (I'm writing this post from Korea - though I don't have a school, nor do I teach anyone taekwondo anymore)
This is an open invitation to his other students to leave more of his achievements in the comments section of this post.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Interesting Article about Taekwondo in the Korea Times
It seems that the World Taekwondo Federation is trying to make Taekwondo fairer and more interesting to watch. I guess that can be a good idea. A lot of times Taekwondo matches at the Olympics can be quite dreadful to watch.
One thing that the article mentions that I fully support is the use of video playback. Taekwondo is notorious for bad judges decisions, or judges getting bribed, or people just straight up cheating. Hopefully an instant replay could help remedy these things.
The article also went on to talk about how other Martial Arts are trying to jockey positions in order to become Olympic sports, while Taekwondo leaders are trying to cock block them.
The W.T.F. should be more proactive in trying to find solutions to include other martial arts. Taekwondo and Karate are nearly the same. Taekwondo and Karate leaders should try to develop a rules system that is fair to competitors from both arts. Also they should lobby so that a forms competition be added to the Olympics. Like gymnastics there could be creative and traditional forms.
Kung Fu practitioners would definitely have an advantage over Taekwondo and Karate athletes in the "Traditional Forms," category since Kung Fu forms are pretty awesome, but an international commission could be set up to determine which forms are usable. For example, the form Bassai dae, is an international form since the form originated in the Shaolin temple, migrated to Okinawa, and has also been practiced by early Taekwondo people. A form could just be an international form that may not be that traditional, but one that many people already know, like Taekwondo's Koryo.
A creative forms competition could be set up where individuals or teams put together martial routines that showcase their skills. Athletes could also perform traditional forms from their own martial arts, that aren't any of the "select international forms," but would be judged according to a similar criteria that is used for gymnastics or figure skating.
Forms competitions at the Olympics for all martial arts would definitely boost viewership. This would be a change to Olympic martial arts like Taekwondo, Grecko Roman Wrestling, and Judo, where people just kind of stand there for a long time without doing anything.
Anyway, we live in a modern age where with youtube people can learn other martial arts forms. It's also possible to both preserve the traditional while pushing the boundaries. Just because something was made up a thousand years ago doesn't mean that it is any better than something from today. But a system that can accommodate for both traditional and modern is probably possible if people would just put away their own selfish interests in promoting their "own martial art," out of national pride.
One thing that the article mentions that I fully support is the use of video playback. Taekwondo is notorious for bad judges decisions, or judges getting bribed, or people just straight up cheating. Hopefully an instant replay could help remedy these things.
The article also went on to talk about how other Martial Arts are trying to jockey positions in order to become Olympic sports, while Taekwondo leaders are trying to cock block them.
The W.T.F. should be more proactive in trying to find solutions to include other martial arts. Taekwondo and Karate are nearly the same. Taekwondo and Karate leaders should try to develop a rules system that is fair to competitors from both arts. Also they should lobby so that a forms competition be added to the Olympics. Like gymnastics there could be creative and traditional forms.
Kung Fu practitioners would definitely have an advantage over Taekwondo and Karate athletes in the "Traditional Forms," category since Kung Fu forms are pretty awesome, but an international commission could be set up to determine which forms are usable. For example, the form Bassai dae, is an international form since the form originated in the Shaolin temple, migrated to Okinawa, and has also been practiced by early Taekwondo people. A form could just be an international form that may not be that traditional, but one that many people already know, like Taekwondo's Koryo.
A creative forms competition could be set up where individuals or teams put together martial routines that showcase their skills. Athletes could also perform traditional forms from their own martial arts, that aren't any of the "select international forms," but would be judged according to a similar criteria that is used for gymnastics or figure skating.
Forms competitions at the Olympics for all martial arts would definitely boost viewership. This would be a change to Olympic martial arts like Taekwondo, Grecko Roman Wrestling, and Judo, where people just kind of stand there for a long time without doing anything.
Anyway, we live in a modern age where with youtube people can learn other martial arts forms. It's also possible to both preserve the traditional while pushing the boundaries. Just because something was made up a thousand years ago doesn't mean that it is any better than something from today. But a system that can accommodate for both traditional and modern is probably possible if people would just put away their own selfish interests in promoting their "own martial art," out of national pride.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
A Few Classes at Home
I went home for a couple weeks in August. Five years ago I came to Korea to practice Taekwondo. Boy did I ever practice Taekwondo back in those days. I stayed for about a month at a High school in Sungnam that had a Taekwondo team. They kicked our asses with the training. These days I have little endurance in my right knee. I kick stuff with that leg a few times and then the knee starts to hurt. I think that month of training might have something to do with that.
After all that training I went back home, only to return to Korea again to become an English teacher. After I became an English teacher I stopped training Taekwondo. I've tried to pick it up again on and off, but I rarely can keep at it for more than a few months here because it is kind of boring to do here.
Then I went home and trained at my old school for a few classes. I had a good time. It's kind of funny how I end up going home to America to do a Korean martial art.
After all that training I went back home, only to return to Korea again to become an English teacher. After I became an English teacher I stopped training Taekwondo. I've tried to pick it up again on and off, but I rarely can keep at it for more than a few months here because it is kind of boring to do here.
Then I went home and trained at my old school for a few classes. I had a good time. It's kind of funny how I end up going home to America to do a Korean martial art.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Dieting
I've been dieting for the past few weeks. I guess that the month of June makes me want to diet more. I've found a few simple ways to loose weight.
1. Don't drink alcohol for a while. I think this time around my weight was as high as 87 K.G.'s . Giving up alcohol for a while is a good way to go. Since I got married, I've been trying to drink only on the weekends. Three weeks ago I decided to do something like phase one of "The Instinct Diet," that curbs drinking for two weeks. Beer has a lot of calories so cutting it off is good. When I'm not dieting I like to have beer and snacks, or wine and snacks. Pairing alcohol with some kind of snack isn't a very good idea. If you really like beer and wine, cutting back can be difficult, but if you aren't spending money on drinks, you aren't spending money, and that can be good.
2. For lunch, eat a salad. Salads are really great to eat in the summertime. When it is super hot out, all you have to do is pack a salad and throw it in a fridge, then later you have a nice cold salad to eat. If salads don't fill you up, also pack stuff like yogurt, a few almonds, some walnuts, a piece of bread, or even a baked sweet potato. Baked sweet potatoes go really nice with coffee.
3. Eat whole grains like barley, and oatmeal. They are high in fiber. If you live in Korea like me, you have the problem of having white rice everywhere. If you like rice, you can get around this by blending rice with barley. Or you can blend brown rice with barley and beans. In the past I have made curry fried rice where the fried rice was a mixture of barley and brown rice. I've also made Thai style fried rice with brown rice and barely. In America you can get a lot of different whole grains.
4. Exercise. I exercise through practicing martial arts, riding my bike, and playing soccer matches on the weekend. If you are a person who is disciplined enough to do something wretched like going running, then do that. Personally, I enjoy combining exercise with an objective. If I practice martial arts, then I'm exercising while keeping my mind occupied. When I'm riding my bike, it is because I don't have a car, and I have to get somewhere. A few years ago when I was living in America and working at a Tae Kwon Do school and trying to graduate from college, I really enjoyed days when I could ride my bike to and from work, because on those days I didn't have to buy any gas money. Lastly, a few of us in Jinju enjoy a good football match on Sundays. I really suck at playing football (Soccer) but it gives me a chance to run around. As I mentioned before, running is hard to do everyday because it can be so boring and painful, but if you are chasing a ball it is a little better.
Soccer is good conditioning for martial arts like Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is mostly anaerobic requiring short bursts of energy and speed. Soccer is very much the same way. Also in soccer games you have to try to read situations and try to position yourself as to where the ball is going to be. When you are sparring in Tae Kwon Do you need to try to develop strategies to overcome an opponents defenses, or develop strategies to cope with an opponents attacks. So the two compliment each other well.
Exercise also makes you feel good too. That is a pretty important aspect that should be mentioned as well.
5. If you eat snacks, eat a piece of fruit or something. Also drink something like water, tea, or coffee. It will help you feel fuller.
6. Cook for yourself: If you have to loose weight, try to find good tasting healthy foods, and then cook them. You know what you like so if you can make something healthy and delicious it might be likely that you don't view dieting as a chore.
7. Have fun. If you see progress, it makes you feel better.
1. Don't drink alcohol for a while. I think this time around my weight was as high as 87 K.G.'s . Giving up alcohol for a while is a good way to go. Since I got married, I've been trying to drink only on the weekends. Three weeks ago I decided to do something like phase one of "The Instinct Diet," that curbs drinking for two weeks. Beer has a lot of calories so cutting it off is good. When I'm not dieting I like to have beer and snacks, or wine and snacks. Pairing alcohol with some kind of snack isn't a very good idea. If you really like beer and wine, cutting back can be difficult, but if you aren't spending money on drinks, you aren't spending money, and that can be good.
2. For lunch, eat a salad. Salads are really great to eat in the summertime. When it is super hot out, all you have to do is pack a salad and throw it in a fridge, then later you have a nice cold salad to eat. If salads don't fill you up, also pack stuff like yogurt, a few almonds, some walnuts, a piece of bread, or even a baked sweet potato. Baked sweet potatoes go really nice with coffee.
3. Eat whole grains like barley, and oatmeal. They are high in fiber. If you live in Korea like me, you have the problem of having white rice everywhere. If you like rice, you can get around this by blending rice with barley. Or you can blend brown rice with barley and beans. In the past I have made curry fried rice where the fried rice was a mixture of barley and brown rice. I've also made Thai style fried rice with brown rice and barely. In America you can get a lot of different whole grains.
4. Exercise. I exercise through practicing martial arts, riding my bike, and playing soccer matches on the weekend. If you are a person who is disciplined enough to do something wretched like going running, then do that. Personally, I enjoy combining exercise with an objective. If I practice martial arts, then I'm exercising while keeping my mind occupied. When I'm riding my bike, it is because I don't have a car, and I have to get somewhere. A few years ago when I was living in America and working at a Tae Kwon Do school and trying to graduate from college, I really enjoyed days when I could ride my bike to and from work, because on those days I didn't have to buy any gas money. Lastly, a few of us in Jinju enjoy a good football match on Sundays. I really suck at playing football (Soccer) but it gives me a chance to run around. As I mentioned before, running is hard to do everyday because it can be so boring and painful, but if you are chasing a ball it is a little better.
Soccer is good conditioning for martial arts like Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is mostly anaerobic requiring short bursts of energy and speed. Soccer is very much the same way. Also in soccer games you have to try to read situations and try to position yourself as to where the ball is going to be. When you are sparring in Tae Kwon Do you need to try to develop strategies to overcome an opponents defenses, or develop strategies to cope with an opponents attacks. So the two compliment each other well.
Exercise also makes you feel good too. That is a pretty important aspect that should be mentioned as well.
5. If you eat snacks, eat a piece of fruit or something. Also drink something like water, tea, or coffee. It will help you feel fuller.
6. Cook for yourself: If you have to loose weight, try to find good tasting healthy foods, and then cook them. You know what you like so if you can make something healthy and delicious it might be likely that you don't view dieting as a chore.
7. Have fun. If you see progress, it makes you feel better.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
My One Degree of Fame
The owner of this site is proud to further the cause of Taekwondo as taught by Grandmaster Chung Sun-Hwan's Moo Sool Do system with the endorsement of Master Kevin Nilson's poomsae (Forms, Kata) D.V.D.s entitled "Tae Kwon Do-a visual guide to forms." and "Tang Soo Do - a visual guide to forms."
Nilson, an incredible technical expert demonstrates his exquisite flexibility in breaking down step by step the poomsaes of Taekwondo and Tangsoodo. Practitioners of Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do will find these guides to be invaluable in their pursuit of black belt or advanced degrees of blacks belt Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do.
3gyupsal
aka
James Kruska 4th degree black belt
Nilson, an incredible technical expert demonstrates his exquisite flexibility in breaking down step by step the poomsaes of Taekwondo and Tangsoodo. Practitioners of Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do will find these guides to be invaluable in their pursuit of black belt or advanced degrees of blacks belt Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do.
3gyupsal
aka
James Kruska 4th degree black belt
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
How to Win Friends and Influence People
I recomend this read to martial arts instructors or teachers of any type. It is a good starter book for developing ideas to get the best out of other people. I read the book last week and found myself nodding in agreement many times. I don't have much practice in employing the techniques described in the book, but I noticed that people who employ those methods are good at leading other people.
If an instructor is naturaly confident and charismatic, the book doesn't have much to offer. But it does give tips on how to get other people to want to listen to what the instructor might have to say.
If an instructor is naturaly confident and charismatic, the book doesn't have much to offer. But it does give tips on how to get other people to want to listen to what the instructor might have to say.
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