Gyeong-Nae
Ok, I don't have long; and this post is aimed mainly at those amongst my friends list who practice ITF Tae Kwon-do (although any of you that practice another striking martial art may be of some use.)
For my next grading (1st Kup), in my association; I have to develop and perform my own pattern. There aren't many rules. I must have at least 15 techniques, which can be either GUARDING blocks (not striking blocks) or kicks (including knees and defensive kicks). Variety counts, as does thematic completeness; and the entire procedure should be roughly as demanding as Hwa-rang tul.
Unfortunately, I'm suffering a terrible bout of writer's block.
So far, I have some parts that I quite like. The opening sequence (left side, then mirrored right side; my own personal homage to Shotokan) is good, and leads me into a strong thematic influence of high, pushing (rather than snapping) kicks. To this end, I chose the name Gyeong-Nae (named for the Korean rebel leeder Hong Gyeong-Nae (1771-1812); who led a peasant army against an occupying and apparently corrupt government), and the thematic principle of dismounting a cavalryman.
However, there's more challenges than I anticipated here. On the plus side, I'll be grading aside three attention-deficit ten year olds; so at least I'll look good in comparison. I don't have long, right now; so I'm not going to post what I have so far, though I might next time. Any thoughts or suggestions or encouragements are incredibly welcome.
For my next grading (1st Kup), in my association; I have to develop and perform my own pattern. There aren't many rules. I must have at least 15 techniques, which can be either GUARDING blocks (not striking blocks) or kicks (including knees and defensive kicks). Variety counts, as does thematic completeness; and the entire procedure should be roughly as demanding as Hwa-rang tul.
Unfortunately, I'm suffering a terrible bout of writer's block.
So far, I have some parts that I quite like. The opening sequence (left side, then mirrored right side; my own personal homage to Shotokan) is good, and leads me into a strong thematic influence of high, pushing (rather than snapping) kicks. To this end, I chose the name Gyeong-Nae (named for the Korean rebel leeder Hong Gyeong-Nae (1771-1812); who led a peasant army against an occupying and apparently corrupt government), and the thematic principle of dismounting a cavalryman.
However, there's more challenges than I anticipated here. On the plus side, I'll be grading aside three attention-deficit ten year olds; so at least I'll look good in comparison. I don't have long, right now; so I'm not going to post what I have so far, though I might next time. Any thoughts or suggestions or encouragements are incredibly welcome.
