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Taekwondo Bible Vol.1
Preface to the English ver.
Introduction

Part. I

1. Oneness and ...
2. There is Do ...
3. The World, ...
4. Picturing ...

5. There is ...
6. The Principles ...

Part. II

7. In Taekwondo ...
8. Facing the ...
9. Erasing ...
10. Thinking ...
11. Doing TKD
12. Not Losing ...
13. Three ...

Part. III

14. Taekwondo's ...
15. Distinction ...
16. Doing Both ...
17. Questioning ...
18. Looking Out ...
19. Endless ...
20. Finding ...
21. Begining ...
22. Keeping ...

Part. IV

23. Moving ...
24. Controling ...
25. Attacking ...
26. Leading ...
27. Surpassing ...
28. Attacking ...
29. Capturing ...

Part. V

30. Having ...
31. Knowing ...
32. Filling Mind ...
33. Taekwondo ...
34. Hitting ...
35. Attacking ...
36. Making ...
37. Avoiding ...
38. Offense and ...
39. Winning with ...

Part. VI

40. Offense and ...
41. Having Softness ...
42. There Be ...
43. Controling ...
44. Being Able ...
45. Harmony of ...
46. Beautifulness ...
47. Able to Stab ...

Part. VII

48. Seeing Motion ...
49. Sparring with ...
50. Free in Strict ...
51. Having Poomsae ...
52. Perfection ...
53. Having Yourself ...
54. There being ...
55. Getting Everything ...

Part. VIII

56. Completing ...
57. Taekwondo Be ...
58. A Piece of String ...
59. Seeing New ...
60. Everything in ...
61. Begining Training ...
62. Seeing the World ...
63. Truth of TKD ...
64. Oneness and ...

Taekwondo Bible Vol.2

Taekwondo Bible Vol.3

Taekwondo Poem


 

History & Discuddion


 

TKD Culture Network

 



Part IV. ON TECHNIQUE

Chapter 24

Controlling Every Motion with Rhythm  

   

“How can I be faster without rushing?”

“Do not hurry your mind but gain speed by training. Achieve timeliness with rhythm.”

 

 

 

 

In order to move as one with your opponent finding the true way of Taekwondo you must control yourself according to the rhythm of motion and ride all change. The origin of everything is the same driving force behind all change. This has been termed both “Do” (?[]) and Yeok (?[])1). Do is the term applied from the perspective of “non-being” to refer to the non-distinctive nature of the absolute.2) Yeok, on the other hand, is the term applied from the perspective of “being”.3)

What is or is not? Truly this is the distinction. From the perspective that there is no distinction there is the Do that never changes, penetrating all things. From the perspective of distinction each can be different from the other, which produces changes with Yeok that presents us with all varieties of change in the world. With full understanding of this you will come to know that Do and Yeok are open to one another, and not at all different.

The rhythm immanent in change generates Yin and Yang through Yeok and Kang and Yu through Do. Since Yin, Yang, Kang and Yu compose Saram (Man), and the composition proceeds as breath, there can be distinction between Yin and Yang and between Kang and Yu in terms of Saram. Therefore, the Samjae of Haneul (Heaven), Tang (Earth) and Saram can be no exception, nor can anything in Taekwondo.

To discern this sort of change in Taekwondo the best example to look at would be that of distance. Distance is one of the most fundamental factors in Taekwondo. It is also the most objective one as the unity of Haneul and Tang does not include the subjectivity of Saram. Distance in Taekwondo is very much alive and in continuous flux. Everything that changes, and thus everything that lives, has its own rhythm. Therefore, when you confront your opponent, and the two of you take up a particular distance, two rhythms are meeting each other making one controlled at that distance. This control is the true rhythm of TAEKWONDO. It can be within or outside of you.

The relationship between distance and rhythm is a simple one, and each is included in the other. Placing oneself at a proper distance means being able to move with a proper rhythm. Everything ideal is essentially simple. An ideal is where difficulty and ease meet. Distance differs subtlety from rhythm. This sort of rhythm can never be seen but rather can be found only when you raise your vitality and harmonize its rhythm with the world. You cannot perceive distance in Taekwondo with your eyes; you should find it with your mind. And you should practice Taekwondo not merely with your mind but with your whole being.

What is the role of distance? Distance in Taekwondo concerns attack and defense. It is a vital element in subduing one’s opponent and protecting oneself. This attack and defense constitutes the whole meaning behind Taekwondo’s motions, which realize themselves in distance on the one hand while revealing themselves in poses on the other. Here, tide and balance when united make pose.

Why do we discuss pose? It is because pose is visible and so simple to correct in the course of training. Flowing rhythm becomes equipped rhythm in pose. That is, when you make your pose its figure determines the range of rhythm possible to you. Owing to this, your opponent’s pose reveals the nature of his motion. To express it differently, you can discern all his possible motions in his pose. A good pose should not be just a stable one. Rather, a good pose should be one that suppresses the opponent. It must not be ‘for the sake of' subduing him, but submission itself’.

In this respect, motion and standstill are no different in Taekwondo, which embraces what Buddhism speaks of as “Saek Jeuk Si Gong, Gong Jeuk Si Saek” (, )4). You know that everything visible is empty, which is because you discern it not with your eyes but with your mind. In the same manner, you can see the motion hidden in your opponent’s pose when you look into his mind over the temptations of his visible form. Rhythm flows along through changes and motions. In this way, the rhythm that regulates all motions is extended even to the calm pose of Taekwondo.


<footnotes>

1) In this article,
2) "What is Do(Ô³)? It is the name of nothingness(Ùé). As there is nothing that doesn't penetrate there is nothing that doesn't cause. This is called "Do" in an anology.

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Ô³íº, ù¼? Ùéñýöàå¥. ÙéÝÕ÷×å¥, ÙéÝÕë¦å¥, üÏñýèØÔ³. ¡ºÁÖ¿ª ¿ÕÇÊÁÖ¡»(µµ¼­ÃâÆÇ ±æ:1999), °è»çÀü »ó, 501ÂÊ
3) ÀÌ·± ±î´ß¿¡ ¿ªÀº »óÀÌ´Ï »óÀ̶ó´Â °ÍÀº (ºñ½ÁÇÏ°Ô) º»¶äÀÌ¿ä, ´ÜÀº Àç´ö(À» ¸»ÇÔ)ÀÌ´Ù. ZYͨÞöù»03: ãÀͺæ¶íº, ßÚå¥, ßÚå¥íº, ßÀå¥. Ó§íº, î§å¥.
4) This
text is usually interpreted as "Form is Void and Void is Form". Its meaning is that everything is empty and every empty thing is also full. Since this text use the directly contradictory expression, it can be difficult to understand. An easy way to understand it is; to think that everything we pursue(food, life, money etc) is in vein after our own death, so they are in vein ultimately of itself. This is the verily "Saek Jeuk Si Gong"(Form is Void). Again, however, if we say they are empty, there is nothing that is not empty. So the emptiness is not true emptiness. This can be understood as "Gong Jeuk Si Saek"(Void is Form). This is my own explanation, which, however, cannot be entirely false. This text has plurality of implication, just like every Buddhist sutra.
And this questioned text was cited from the "Heart Sutra". The whole text is like following.