In the prior post we raised a question most students of Taewondo have asked
Why do patterns?
Let’s debunk the first suggestion, “It’s traditional.”
This explanation doesn’t fit with TKD’s history or philosophy.
While General Choi was well aware of existing tradition he was also an innovator. He applied modern physics to existing martial arts to create a modern martial art to help liberate his country. His primary goal was effectiveness. He built on Korean and regional martial arts knowledge.
- For example: The double block exists in both TKD and Karate. It looks the same on paper but is executed very differently. In Karate one simply extends the arms into position. In TKD the arms chamber and move forcefully into the block, using speed to produce power.
So did General Choi simply reteach traditional patterns? Earlier in his teaching, yes. In his early encyclopedia he simply reuses existing Shotokan Karate forms. Very quickly he replaced them with patterns which are in one instance merely an upgrade of an earlier form, but the other patterns are new, though one can identify some elements or combinations from earlier forms.
How can “tradition” be the answer when TKD was created in the 1930s and progressively improved and documented in the decades thereafter? Why would “tradition” be the answer when effectiveness was the focus? Why would “tradition” be the answer for the patterns when the patterns are new?