Likewise, both Koryo poomsae, by virtue of their imprimatur, bear the stamp of pride imprinted by Korean history. These distinctive poomsae honor the technical, cultural, and philosophical innovations of the Koryo dynasty while celebrating its accomplishments with each consecutive performance. Why not then pay tribute to this golden past by awakening to the historical dimensions of these formal exercises?
Moreover, we feel Original Koryo should be recognized as an heirloom form containing many tactical strategies not found in subsequent poomsae. Therefore, it is important to note that the reintroduction of Original Koryo is not intended to subvert the practice and proliferation of Koryo as an entity for global competition in any way.
Clearly, the vast majority of us are not soldiers; if we were training in taekwondo merely to inflict injury we would enlist in the military and master the use of firearms. Yet taekwondo, at least in its orthodox form, is also not dance. So why relegate these poomsae simply to the level of physical motion within the spatial plane as is so often done in the modern dojang?
This book then is a scholarly attempt to capture, transmit, and preserve as an inheritance not only the historical treasures and apparent technical elements inherent in Original Koryo and Koryo along with their properly calibrated stances, but also applications less obvious or even secretly encoded for the benefit of those seeking more than triumph in the ring or aerobic fulfillment from their taekwondo training.
Finally, previous books we have collectively authored have been standardized as reference materials within the global taekwondo community. It is our hope that this work will also be utilized as such.
Grandmaster Richard Chun
Master Doug Cook
1 Steven D. Carpener, “Problems in the Identity and Philosophy of T’aegwondo and Their Historical Causes,” in Korea Journal 35 no. 4 (Winter 1995): 80-94.
The Ritual Practice of Formal Exercises
Long before the advent of sport sparring and the invention of modern safety gear, in a time when to fight meant to defend one’s life from almost certain death, an ingenious method of transmitting martial arts skills from venerated master to loyal disciple was developed. Legend has it that experienced warriors returning unscathed from combat, a testimony in and of itself to their martial prowess, mimicked techniques used to vanquish multiple opponents on the field of battle for the benefit of those less qualified in the ways of war.2 This ritual, performed with and without weapons, may have been practiced around a campfire, in secret gardens, or in the incense-filled halls of an ancient Buddhist temple. All of which lends credence to the notion that the dynamic process of cataloging sequential packets of defensive and offensive skills through formal exercises has existed for centuries.3 Several examples demonstrating this concept can be traced back to antiquity with roots found in primitive works of art and ancient yogic postures originally intended to promote health and core strength in sedentary clerics. Today, poomsae, hyung, tul, kata, and taolu, all culturally specific terms for choreographed sequences of self-defense techniques aimed at defeating multiple attackers approaching from various directions, represent the cornerstone of any traditional martial art.
This mural, discovered by archeologists in 1935, appears on the ceiling of Muyong-chong, a royal tomb in southern Manchuria built during the Koguryo dynasty, between AD 3 and AD 427. The painting depicts two men engaged in a type of sparring activity. Courtesy of US Institute of Martial Arts at http://www.emporium.net/taekwondo/history.html. Courtesy of Richard Chun.
Generically defined as forms or formal exercises, the core patterns, which support the technical foundation of Korean taekwondo, Japanese karatedo, and the various styles of Chinese gungfu, are distilled from primitive combat elements that eventually coalesced and evolved into the subsequent predetermined routines unique to these classic martial disciplines. An illustration of this linkage, particularly as it relates to traditional taekwondo, can be found in mural paintings that appear on the ceiling of Muyong-chong, a royal tomb built between AD 3 and AD 427 during the Koguryo period (37 BC–AD 668). Discovered by archeologists in 1935, these ancient images depict two warriors engaged in a type of free sparring. While these tactics in and of themselves do not constitute the prescribed combinations of techniques that comprise forms, they do confirm the existence of an organized combat discipline unique to that time and region.
Image of the Buddha. Courtesy of Doug Cook.
Likewise, if one were to visit Sokkuram Grotto located high in the mountains of Korea surrounding the great Kyongju plain, he would witness the granite image of Sokgamoni, the grandest Buddha in all of Asia, whose presence reflects sublime beauty as he sits gazing out over the East Sea and farther on toward the rising sun and Japan. The illustrious history of this sacred site reaches back to the year AD 751 when King Gyeongdeok commissioned Prime Minister Kim Taesong, a member of the royal family, to supervise the construction of an enduring monument to the Buddhist faith. After painstaking research, he chose a site of spiritual significance high atop Mount Tohamsan situated in the heart of the Sillian capital.4 Here, at the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, not an hour’s walk from Bulguksa Temple, the elaborate shrine to “Buddha Land,” grew Sokkuram Grotto, a symbol regarded as a supernatural defense against external threats to the national consciousness of the kingdom.
Sokkuram is an artificial cave that consists of an anteroom, an entryway, and a temple in the shape of a dome. Hundreds of granite sections of various shapes and sizes were pieced together by an ingenious method using stone rivets rather than mortar to bind them. Natural ventilation controls humidity and temperature inside the grotto. The image of Sokgamoni, positioned slightly off center in the domed temple, is chiseled from a single block of granite and stands over ten feet tall. This unusual position takes advantage of a lighting phenomenon that causes his presence to appear centered when viewed from the anteroom. With eyes partially closed, a faint smile painting his lips, the Buddha is seated in a lotus position with his right foot exposed as it lies across his left knee. The hands are set in a classic mudra, or gesture that supports enlightenment. It is clear that the gifted sculptors did not wish Sokgamoni to feel lonely during his eternal vigil through time. Surrounding him is a pantheon of lesser deities in the form of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion; four heavenly kings, representing the four corners of heaven; and a cadre of deva kings.
Master Doug Cook at Bulguksa Temple, South Korea. Courtesy of Patty Cook.
Keumgang Yuksa. Courtesy of Doug Cook.
But for the taekwondoist, perhaps the most significant of these images is that of Keumgang Yuksa, the stern guardian-warrior stationed at the entrance of the Tong-Il Jeon shrine in Kyongu, South Korea. Cast in bas-relief, he seems to leap out in defense against the demons that threaten the sanctity of this spiritual vortex. Naked to the waist, exposing a muscular torso adorned below in a flowing skirt, he was selected by Kim Taesong to defy the invisible enemies of Buddhism. Translated from Sanskrit as “diamond” or “thunderbolt,” Keumgang embodies the power of compassion yet manifests raw, physical power. It is from this potent example that taekwondo draws elements of its technical heritage. Martial arts historians trace the high block (olgool makki), palm heel strike (batangson chigi), and knife hand (sonnal)