Part
II. PRINCIPLES
Chapter
11
Doing
Taekwondo
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"How can I succeed in attacking
my opponent?"
"... Do not intend him injury."
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Having your opponent opposed to the world while harmonizing yourself
in it, this is called "the way of Tang (Earth)", which is the
correct principle of every technique in Taekwondo. You can find everything
of TAEKWONDO in this, so it is also the correct way of thinking in Taekwondo.
While the way of Haneul (Heaven) is a principle focused on the fundamentally
non-distinctive essence of Nature, the way of Tang (Earth) is focused
on man's fundamentally distinctive essence, yet they share the same implication,
i.e. one thing.
Following the way of Tang can be considered in three dimensions, called
respectively Sool (¼ú[âú] technique), Yae (¿¹[çÝ]
art) and Do (µµ[Ô³] principle). However, one should
understand that each of these is ultimately the same as the others, being
only different aspects of one thing. They are simply distinctions of what
ultimately is non-distinctive.
Then, what is it to follow Sool, Yae, and Do? Following Sool means subduing
one's opponent with perfect Taekwondo technique. Thus we say one faces
the opponent with Musool. Following Yae means expressing one's perfect
self in the development of technique for the sake of technique itself
detached from one's opponent. Thus we say one faces one's opponent with
Muyae. Following Do means unifying both Musool and Muyae to transcend
the artificial distinction that discerns one's opponent from oneself.
Thus we say one faces the entirety with Mudo.
Although your opponent's will always moves him it is your will that determines
him. Man or woman's motion can possess power only after it has first attained
its own will. While power is a sharp and hard thing, able to shatter a
rock, the will is something soft and subtle that can alter and modify
itself to the shape of the world. The soft can surpass the hard.
That your will controls everything, and that everything is an expression
of your mind so that Yae and Sool are united in one, this is art. That
is, art is the unity of Yae, which is the right expression of your will,
and of Sool, which is the technique of controlling the world.
These various changes and harmonies are possible only because encompassing
them all is that which never changes from beginning to end despite the
changes occurring in everything. This non-change is the root of all and
underlies every change, and its name is Do. Thus, Do is what makes everything
such as it is; it is the one undistinguishable principle that supports
all distinguishable ones. This exists neither in nor out of everything,
yet does everything depend upon it. It reveals itself to anyone, whoever
they may be, whenever one opens one's eyes and eliminates unnecessary
distinctions.
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