US Poomsae Champions Seminar Series

[terryl965]

What's wrong with sport poomsae? I think that it is rejuvenating poomsae in the minds and hearts of many and also going a long way to standardizing it worldwide.

Nothing wrong with it, maybe one day I will become a big fan of it. I know it takes alot to be that good at it. Like anything some people takes more time to be convince of things.

 

[terryl965]

Master Stoker is old school BUT we'll change him yet because his students wanted SPORT POOMSAE!

If a person seriously want to be competitive in performing poomsae correctly, then the training is riguous. Sport Poomsae is not about doing just the movements, but to perform it with grace, beauty, power, flexibiltiy, agility, balance, speed, rhythm, good tempo, and endurance. Next but not least, to do all that with the meaning behind each motion.

That means training with weight, do yoga, lots of drills, and then stretching..lots of stretching. So who say Sport Poomsae is for the wimp?

I know one of them is Joe son Benny and two of my own Zachary and Caleb, who knows maybe one day I will be saying how great it is. I do relize the commitment to be at that level. I will end with this even old dags need to be able to learn and apply new thing thoughout there life.:asian:

 

[StudentCarl]

I went to the first day of this seminar yesterday. Wow! Master Cooley and Master Southwick demonstrated and coached about 60 (my guess) participants through the 8 Taegeuks in accordance with the competition standards. I learned a lot.

It was a bonus to get home and find my copy of "The Explanation of Official Taekwondo Poomsae" in the mailbox. Good timing after overfilling my brain with tips today.

It was also interesting because it showed me some of the challenges of unification first hand. In front of me in formation was a participant from the United Taekwondo Federation. It was clear that she had not done the forms before so, being in the back row, I kept pace with her and prompted her on steps when we did the forms at our own pace. She said that she and others with her are learning the Taegeuks so they can participate in WTF style tournaments. I'd like to see more mixing and hope to visit and train with other organizations in the future.

Carl

 

[puunui]

It was also interesting because it showed me some of the challenges of unification first hand. In front of me in formation was a participant from the United Taekwondo Federation. It was clear that she had not done the forms before so, being in the back row, I kept pace with her and prompted her on steps when we did the forms at our own pace. She said that she and others with her are learning the Taegeuks so they can participate in WTF style tournaments. I'd like to see more mixing and hope to visit and train with other organizations in the future.

Which form set does her organization do now?

PS: Sounds like you are on your way.

 

[StudentCarl]

She said they had their own form set. I didn't get a name, though she said no when I asked about Palgwes. She said her people were from schools in Indiana. UTF stands for United Taekwondo Federation, and there were stars and stripes in the logo, so I'd guess US. Is there anyone out there who can supply more info?

 

[terryl965]

Here is a LINK if this is the right one, they do the Chon Hon patterns

 

[dancingalone]

What's wrong with sport poomsae? I think that it is rejuvenating poomsae in the minds and hearts of many and also going a long way to standardizing it worldwide.

Just noticed this. I don't know anything about sport poomsae, but I can tell you why I don't like kata tournaments such as WKF.

While the athletes who participate are talented and skilled, they invariably alter the forms to meet certain aesthetic qualities that are thought to be what wins. Things like unrealistically low stances and odd pauses in movement for dramatic licenses and flair. If you believe in kata as a vehicle to train practical fighting skills, the kata on display in tournaments is the antithesis of what you strive for in personal practice.

Not sure how much of that relates to TKD sport poomsae...

 

[StudentCarl]

It would be great if MSUTKD would jump in here, but the described purpose of the seminar was to help us learn the performance standards for national and international level competition. There is a standard reference that is clear and a solid effort to minimize variation. We were told that the US is working to become more competitive in poomsae at the world level. I see a real benefit to consistent standards that are widely shared. I know that the standard is different from what I first learned with some techniques--it was an eye opener. The book is "The Explanation of Official Taekwondo Poomsae". I got it from http://www.sangmoosa.com/shop/shop_goodsview.asp?Top=9&Steps=000090010800109&g_code=2008826145582

There are two more days of the seminar later this spring, to cover the black belt forms.

 

[puunui]

While the athletes who participate are talented and skilled, they invariably alter the forms to meet certain aesthetic qualities that are thought to be what wins. Things like unrealistically low stances and odd pauses in movement for dramatic licenses and flair. If you believe in kata as a vehicle to train practical fighting skills, the kata on display in tournaments is the antithesis of what you strive for in personal practice.

Those kinds of things (unrealistically low stances, etc.) get you deductions at WTF Poomsae events.