21. Toi-Gye "pushing block" mystery

Step 19 of Toi-Gye is not a guarding block. It is officially a "low double forearm pushing block". This motion is weird for a few reasons:

• The only other kind of "pushing block" is the palm pushing block, which like its name suggests to meant to push the opponent with the palm.
• This movement appears in no other ITF patterns. It is unique to Toi-Gye.
• Despite the stated purpose of a "pushing block" being to push the opponent off balance, the only application we ever see for this motion is blocking a kick.
• Similar motions used to push down an opponent -- such as the low knifehand guarding block -- are usually open-handed. Why the closed fists? And why is the inner-forearm used to block?

I wanted to see where this movement came from. In General Choi's 1965 book Taekwon-Do: The Art of Self-Defense, he lists instructions for several karate kata in addition to the original 20 ITF patterns. The low forearm pushing block appears in two kata: step 10 of Gankaku (which Gen. Choi calls "Ro-Hai" for some reason) and steps 10 and 27 of Tekki Sandan. I looked up youtube performances of the patterns and compared the "pushing blocks".

(Left) Low forearm "pushing blocks" from Toi Gye (left), Genkaku (Middle), and Tekki Sandan (Right). Source: Shotokan Sensei

Neither of these motions look like Toi-Gye. In Genkaku the outer-forearm is used. In Tekki-Sandan the inner-forearm is used, but it's in riding stance and the position of the back arm differs. So as far as I can tell, the motion is unique to Toi-Gye.

Application?

Here I suggest that the use of the name "pushing block" is literal. I know it's common for bunkai researchers to say that the name of the block means nothing, but when a unique motion is used with a unique name, I think we can make an exception

Specifically, we use the pushing block to create a rear wrist lock, a police hold that appears in the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do (Volume 5, page 313). We follow with a knee strike to the opponent's lowered head, and then a throw via a head crank.

We begin with the counter-clockwise turning W-block (mountain block), using it to create an armbar.

Source: CentralMichiganTKD

Notice how the tori lands his front leg in front of his opponent's right leg. This is important: we are setting up a trip. The armbar should be a forceful one, utilizing the 180-degree swing we perform in the pattern. This will knock the opponent's shoulder forwards.

As you step in with your left leg, bend your opponent's arm such that their elbow is up, as in a hammerlock. Now you will switch hand positions: grab their left knifehand with your right hand. As you maneuver your arm into the low inner-forearm block, you will naturally curl your opponent's hand and bend their fingers in towards their inner elbow. Make sure to bend their arm behind their back, and grab their elbow with your right hand for control. This creates the rear wrist lock.

(Left) How the low inner-forearm block turns the opponent's wrist. You may bend their fingers towards their elbow. (Right) The rear wrist lock, although the grip in this case is different. Source: Bertoni Defense Systems

Bending the opponent's wrist in causes them to reflexively bend forwards, so you can use both fists to literally push them forwards and to the ground. The direction of the wrist actually pushes them down to the right (towards their elbow), and so when combined with the trip they may fall onto one knee.

If they don't fall, follow the pattern: grab the back of their head with both hands and knee strike their face. Then grab the head with both palms (left hand underneath, right hand on top) and crank it as you turn around into the knifehand guarding block [1], attempting to flip and throw the opponent by their head.

A wrist lock application might seem too esoteric for some, but this is application that both (1) follows the pattern and (2) explains why it is called a "pushing block". This lock also appears in the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do, so I'm not pulling it out of nowhere.

[1] A head crank is a common application for the knifehand guarding block. If you move your two palms closer together, then moving from the setup to the block-proper mimicks grabbing and cranking the head.

20. Choi-Yong double kick

Steps 13-14/18-19 of Choi-Yong comprise of a "reverse hooking kick" (more commonly known as a spinning hook kick [1]) followed by a side kick without putting the foot down. It's challenging to perform due to the balance it requires. But it is all flash or does it have an application?

In my last post I described how the previous set comprises a single leg pick and leg twist. We use this set if the leg twist fails. Why a double kick? Let's change the turning hook kick to a back leg hook kick and you might see what the technique represents.

Source: ProJudo

The hook kick is just hooking around the opponent's standing leg, and the side kick is reaping it backwards, allowing us to push the opponent to the floor. I believe this is the basic idea behind the hook kick, side kick combo.

But why a spinning hook kick?

In my opinion, the spin is used to (1) pull the opponent off-balance, which makes the reap easier, and (2) switch to an inside leg position if we are not in one already. Spinning while pulling the leg will drag your opponent around 180-degrees. You may also use the pull as an opportunity to move the opponent's ankle outside your body. Hook around their standing leg and reap back.


[1] There are actually two similar kicks in ITF taekwondo that a layman would call a spinning hook: the reverse turning kick and the reverse hooking kick. The difference is that the former is intended purely as a strike with the heel, and the leg remains more-or-less straight. The reverse hooking kick, however, folds at the knee while you kick as if you are hooking around something.

19: Choi-Yong leg twist

A while back on a Taekwondo facebook group, someone mentioned the double kick in Choi-Yong as a technique they had difficulty finding an application for. I have an application in mind, but before I can explain it I must explain the application for the previous set. The set is:

• Front stance knifehand rising block
• In place, circular block
• In place, front hand punch
• Turn 180-degrees into back stance low knifehand guarding block
• Back leg roundhouse kick, aimed off at 45-degrees

We use this set as a single leg pick, followed by a leg twist as we get behind our opponent. The rising block we use to knock our opponent backwards, perhaps striking up under the jaw, after which we grab and lift their leg with the circular block. A modern version of this technique used in wrestling is to use one palm as a "post" to keep the opponent back while we scoop up their leg.

Post and leg pick. Source: Effective Martial Arts

After scooping up their leg with the circular block, grab their knee with your back hand and their ankle with your front hand. Use the "punch" to pull back their knee while you push out their ankle, pronating their leg.

To complete the leg twist, turn 180-degrees and use the low knifehand guarding block to dig down into the opponent's knee. Your back arm hugs their ankle to your chest.This application is displayed in the gif from One Minute Bunkai below.

Source: One Minute Bunkai

Note that in Choi-Yong we do a 180-degree turn as we twist their leg, making it easier to get behind them. We end with a roundhouse kick to the back of the opponent's standing leg. (45-degree roundhouse kicks usually indicate kicking in the back of the legs).

This leg twist seems rather common in both taekwondo patterns and karate kata. The trouble is that it often doesn't work against a stronger, heavier opponent. In the next post, I'll cover an alternate single leg takedown from Choi-Yong.