PATTERNS

PATTERNS
(Tul)

The Reason for 24 Patterns
The life of a human being, perhaps 100 years, can be considered as a day when compared with eternity.Therefore, we mortals are no more than simple travelers who pass by the eternal years of an eon in a day. It is evident that no one can live more than a limited amount of time. Nevertheless, most people foolishly enslave themselves to materialism as if they could live for thousands of years. And some people strive to bequeath a good spiritual legacy for coming generations, in this way, gaining immortality. Obviously, the spirit is perpetual while material is not; therefore, what we can do to leave behind something for the welfare of mankind is, perhaps, the most important thing in our lives.
"Here I leave Taekwon-Do for mankind as a trace of man of the late 20th century. The 24 patterns represent 24 hours, one day, or all my life. The name of the pattern, the number of movements, and the diagrammatic symbol of each pattern symbolizes either heroic figures in Korean history or instances relating to historical events."
General Choi Hong Hi

Reason for Patterns
Pattern practice enables the student to go through many fundamental movements in series, to develop sparring techniques, improve flexibility of movements, master body shifting, build muscles and breath control, develop fluid and smooth motions, and gain rhythmical movements.
It also enables a student to acquire certain special techniques which cannot be obtained from either fundamental exercises or sparring. In short, a pattern can be compared with a unit tactic or a word, if fundamental movement is an individual soldier's training or alphabet. Accordingly, pattern, the ledger of every movement, is a series of sparring, power, feats and characteristic beauty.
Though sparring may merely indicate that an opponent is more or less advanced, patterns are a more critical barometer in evaluating an individual's technique.
Important Points While Performing Patterns

Pattern should begin and end at exactly the same spot. This will indicate the performer's accuracy.

Correct posture and facing must be maintained at all times.

Muscles of the body should be either tensed or relaxed at the proper critical moments in the exercise.

The exercise should be performed in a rhythmic movement with an absence of stiffness.

Movement should be accelerated or decelerated according to the instructions in this book.

Each pattern should be perfected before moving to the next.

Students should know the purpose of each movement.

Students should perform each movement with realism.

Attack and defense techniques should be equally distributed among right and left hands and feet.

Please remember that these pages are only for reference and should not be used to learn a pattern and that even though these pages have been taken from the Taekwon-Do Encyclopedia there may still be some discrepancies.

Interpretations of Patterns
Saju-Jirugi
Saju-Makgi
Chon-Ji
Dan-Gun
Do-San
Won-Hyo
Yul-Gok
Joong-Gun
Toi-Gye
Hwa-Rang
Choong-Moo

PHILOSOPHY OF SELF-DEFENSE
Talk if you will, walk away if you can, run if you must BUT if all else fail, DEFEND YOURSELF.