The Composition of Taekwon-Do

DWx · Black Belt

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community.

In International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) style Taekwon-Do, General Choi outlined five elements which made up the art. Those are fundamental movements, dallyon, patterns, sparring and self defense.

These five elements overlap and are linked such that they form a cycle which has no end or beginning (i.e. the circle of Taekwon-Do) which the student is constantly travelling around. By improving one area of the cycle, another area is directly affected and is also improved. I myself however like to think of this circle as actually more of a spiral where the student is still covering the same areas but is getting more advanced all the time and the scope of knowledge that they have attained is constantly being enlarged as they continue to travel around the cycle.

1. Fundamental Movements

In describing each of these elements, General Choi, being a military man himself, likened each to an aspect of military training. Fundamental movements were therefore an "individual soldier's basic training[/i]"

This basic training, similar in many ways to kihon in Karate, consists of giving the student the basic techniques and physical concepts in order to practice Taekwon-Do. Traditionally this involves line work where techniques are practiced over and over again in order to achieve an understanding of how they work and to try to accomplish perfect form for use later. These movements usually consist of a definite response to a pre-ordained attack or defense and it isn't until we move along to another area of the cycle that we see the movements actually applied in a more realistic sense.

It could be argued that fundamental work could also be things such as pad/bag work where perfect form is considered, however, I think it is more appropriate to include this type of training later on in the cycle.

2. Dallyon

According to Choi, dallyon, or conditioning, was a parallel to the "maintenance of a soldier's equipment." The best soldier in the world can be let down if he has substandard and ill-kept equipment; you wouldn't want to be in combat using anything that was broken or rusty. In the same way, a martial artist must look after his equipment (his body) in order ensure that it is in the best condition possible to be effective and to prevent injury.

Dallyon can be thought of in three ways. The most obvious form of conditioning is the toughening and hardening of attacking and blocking tools; makiwara training, knuckle push-ups, etc. In order to successively deliver that knockout punch or to stop an incoming attack, you have to be strong enough so that you're body can withstand the impact.

The next form of conditioning considered is physical conditioning. Flexibility, strength training and cardio all fall under this label. As we all know, a lack of flexibility and strength can limit the types and range of techniques available to you. Strong supple muscles will also help to prevent injury as you will be less likely to pull something. Cardio work is also vital because no matter how many techniques you know or how often you've practiced them, you need the fitness levels to use them and to keep using them especially in an actual conflict situation.

The final type of conditioning considered under dallyon is conditioning of the mind. I'm not going to go into great detail here, but essentially mind conditioning involves being able to achieve a state of no mind where you don't have to think about what you're doing and to be able to focus when necessary.

3. Patterns

Patterns, or forms as they are more commonly known outside of Taekwon-do, were likened to the "platoon tactics" a soldier would be taught. The pattern places the student in a hypothetical situation where they would be attacked by one or more assailants and it illustrates possible ways to defend/attack in response.

It should be noted that the patterns aren't the end all and be all of possible responses. However, they act as a suitable media for transferring some of the ideas that a student could use if they were placed in a similar situation. They are also extremely useful for developing some of the physical aspects of dallyon such as those needed for speed and power and for improving upon fundamental movements if the pattern is to be performed correctly.

4. Sparring

Sparring training is the "field exercises" a soldier would do in simulated combat conditions. This is where the basic training, equipment and tactics are put to the test in a controlled and more realistic manner. All of the lessons learnt already are applied to moving targets and will be developed upon so that they can be used against real people who may not necessarily be of the same build and may not move in the "perfect way" which you assume in patterns and fundamentals.

By sparring more, a student will gain a better understanding of what is happening in the fundamental movements and patterns while actively conditioning themselves both in body and mind for real combat. They will also be able to further develop the fundamental movements and begin to work on combinations and transitions of their own whilst, more importantly, being able to develop timing, distancing and coordination as this is not really possible in the previous areas of training.

5. Self Defense

It could be argued that although the elements form a cycle with no beginning or end, self defense is the culmination of a student's efforts as it equate to "actual combat." All of the hard work put into the other areas results in the ability to defend oneself if need be against a spontaneous, unpredictable attacker.

It should be noted that although it's nice to be able to split training up this way in order to get a better understanding of what the student is really learning, these categories should not be fixed and should not mean a rigid training structure where each of the areas are looked at individually.

Many training practices will cover several overlapping areas of the cycle or maybe not cover any area at all. Defining the different elements in this way helps to structure training if need be but it shouldn't dictate what you are doing in class. Neither should the elements be followed in order. Sometimes it may be more useful to skip dallyon and move straight on to patterns or the teacher may want to go back to fundamentals after visiting sparring.

For more information, please see page 725 of General Choi's condensed "Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do."
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Patrick · KF Administrator

Thank you for the submission, Danielle.

Patrick
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sensei8 · KF Sensei

Danielle,

Very SOLID, and I mean SOLID article, and I truly thank you for it....AWESOME!!

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bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

Very nice, very well written. I like the concept of the spiral as opposed to a circle, denoting increase in skill and knowledge.

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DWx · Black Belt

Cheers guys. I think the composition kinda parallels the three K's of Karate.
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barrypardue · Orange Belt

Great article!!! THANKS!!!! Refreshing
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