Purpose of Taekwondo forms

You just tried a new belt … what’s next? A new shape, most likely … also known as patterns, poomse, or hyungs. Now you will go through the process of refining your forms again before the next belt test. You may wonder, what is the purpose of all these ways?

As a Taekwondo practitioner for over 30 years, I have come full circle with the purpose of the elements that we practice in class. I’ve actually done a couple of full circles regarding the shapes. During my youth as a competitive style fighter, I was not very fond of forms. I practiced them and did it well. In fact, I did very well in all the tournaments that I competed in. What really interested me was the combat. That is what I lived for.

I found all the ways to justify that the forms had nothing to do with combat. For example, a boxer does not make shapes. Kickboxers don’t make shapes. Fighters don’t make shapes. Other sports don’t make shapes. Why should you pay close attention to shapes? I am as logical as possible as a thinker. I will justify and calculate almost everything. That’s probably why you graduated with an engineering degree. By the way, I retired after a year.

I’ve heard others argue that boxers, kickboxers, and wrestlers all have shapes. They are simply done in a different way. Oh such a sad attempt to create a similarity. Here is my answer: those other sports have combinations and exercises, just like we do in Taekwondo, but they still don’t do sequences of memorized techniques, which are 15 to 30 steps in length.

Okay, this is where I finally did my first full circle. Taekwondo is not a sport. Therefore, it should not be compared to other sports. I first started in the ITF, and now I’m in the WTF, and still … I think of our practice as an art form about sport, regardless of how many competitions I have done and that our academy still does. Taekwondo has a sports component, in fact most martial arts have a sports component. Tai Chi even has competition.

At this point, I understood that it is not fair to compare what we do as Taekwondo practitioners with boxers. Taekwondo, and most martial arts, focus on building yourself from the inside out. Become a person of great character. A person who lives off certain tenants: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. Martial arts were created thousands of years ago to defend lands and emperors, as well as for personal protection when traveling great distances.

Ancient history shows warriors training with memorized sequences of techniques and forms. It is highly likely that these forms were used to keep warriors mentally sharp and fit when training alone. Making shapes allows you to visualize the attacks of multiple opponents. Imagine, you are a monk, 3000 years ago, traveling for several weeks … alone. You need a means to develop physically and mentally. The forms will allow you to visualize the attackers, while defending yourself with explosive techniques. Every time you perform a technique in your form, you perform it with power, concentration, and precision. The training develops your technique from the sharp repetition, as well as your concentration and mental discipline.

Now it’s easy to fall off the old warrior wagon when you’re racing. I have training partners and equipment to practice with. I don’t need to train with forms alone to develop my fighting skills. Once again, I have justified why my Taekwondo forms can take a back seat to my training.

Ah ha !!! It has finally hit me. He was looking at me during my first full circle with the importance of shapes. First, let me explain that forms have many benefits:

1. The forms of Taekwondo help you develop strength in specific techniques by performing them regularly in a powerful way.

2. The forms of Taekwondo discipline your body to control your breathing by exhaling in the execution of techniques and inhaling in the middle.

3. Taekwondo forms teach your body good balance by executing strong kicks, blocks and punches, but then maintaining proper posture and position of the feet and hands without affecting your posture. Good technique is the most important in the forms because it challenges us the most with coordination and balance.

4. The forms of Taekwondo offer us a means to “empty your cup”. Emptying your cup is a symbol of life. There is a limited amount of stress and so many tasks that you can allow your mind and body to handle them. Forms is an activity that allows you to free yourself from some of those stresses that are consuming you mentally. Practice the shapes for 30 minutes after a long and stressful day, and you will understand the true meaning of “emptying your cup.”

That is not the great benefit of shapes. The great benefit goes back to the ancient warriors. It’s funny how the biggest benefits are the long-proven ones. The benefit is the visualization. 90% of all Olympians are viewers. 90% of successful entrepreneurs in this country imagined their success.

So how do you take advantage of this invaluable quality? You practice! Visualization is an art that can be mastered. If you perform your Taekwondo forms in a worldly way focusing only on technique, balance and breathing, you are missing a huge component. To develop your skills as a powerful visualizer, you must imagine every attack that you are blocking and each target that you are hitting. This mental exercise is so powerful that it should continue for the rest of your life.

There are many books on the law of attraction, so I will not write about that, but the premise of this law is visualization. If entrepreneurs do it, entrepreneurs do it, Olympians do it, ancient warriors did it and that made them successful, I’d say it’s worth doing.

“Wait a minute … I’m in martial arts for self-defense, not for a business success course.” So be it. Each step in your form is a defense or a counterattack to an assailant. The more you visualize those attacks and your defense and counterattacks against them, the more competent and natural you will be, should you encounter a similar attack. This is the reason why you learn various forms in Taekwondo. Each shape offers you a familiar perspective on a particular attack. The more shapes you know, the more tools you have physically and mentally to use.

Second full circle, now full. I’m sure I’ll make another full circle soon. In fact, I am looking for a reason to do these circles, because it allows me to continue growing as a taekwondo player. As many great people have said before me, “When you are not growing, you are rotting.” It is the natural law of nature.

Good luck with your training!

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