15: Juche two-direction kick

Juche is a controversial pattern. It is often cited as being too "flashy", full of challenging kicks rather than practical fighting techniques. Juche is the last of the five "new" patterns; the others being Eui-Am, Yong-Gae, So-San, and Moon-Moo. These patterns were added to the original 20 in order to incorporate more physically challenging techniques. Juche shares similarities to these four previous patterns, such as the slow motion turning hook kick from Moon-Moo.

But Juche's challenging design doesn't exclude self-defense applications. Take steps 37-39:

• 37: Flying two-direction kick (twisting kick with left leg, side kick with right leg), also called a "split kick"
• 38: Land in left diagonal stance twin palm rising block
• 39: Step left leg forward and turn clockwise into right cat stance side elbow thrust

From a standing position, it would appear we are kicking two separate opponents at once while defending a downward strike from a third opponent. But remember that in patterns we actually face a single opponent, not multiple opponents from different directions. While the two-direction kick doesn't make much sense from the air, it does make sense from the ground as a knee bar. This technique appears in at least two old karate manuals: The Bubishi and in Kenwa Mabuni's 1938 book Karatedo Nyumon.

Two-direction kick application from The Bubishi (left) and Kenwa Mabuni (right)

Here the top of the foot for the twisting kick is used to hook the opponent's heel, while the side kick pushes the opponent's knee. This straightens their leg and forces them to fall over. You can watch a video of the technique here. Given that Gen. Choi and his commanders read various karate manuals, and that Juche was the last pattern created, I believe there's a good chance they came across this technique and that it is the inspiration for the two-direction kick.

A variation is to switch the feet: use the side kick to hook the angle (pulling with the back of your foot) while you use the twisting kick to push into the opponent's knee. This is shown in the gif below.

Source: Trista Moreno

The Rising Block

The takedown leaves both you and your opponent on the ground. We want to end up in a more advantageous position, so rather than simply standing up, the form instructs you to lift the opponent's leg as you stand up so that you may pin them. The leg lift interpretation explains the use of the twin palm for the rising block, a detail that to my knowledge is unique to Juche.

Ironically, the application from the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do (right) is close to what I envision for the set. But rather than defensively blocking an axe kick, you are actively lifting the opponent's leg as you get up from the ground, and they are ideally still on the ground. Also, the fact that we are in a left diagonal stance suggests to me that we lift the opponent's right leg, rather than their left leg as is shown in the right image.

Finally we use step 39, the clockwise turn into the side elbow thrust, to twist the opponent's ankle, forcing them (if they are on the ground) to spin onto their belly.

Turning 180-degrees while twisting the leg or foot can force the opponent onto their stomach. Image source: Judoinfo.com/leglocks

After we flip the opponent onto their stomach we can disengage. To reiterate: we lift the opponent's right leg and turn clockwise to flip them. One way you might do this is to grip the opponent's toes with your right hand and their heel with your left hand as you twist their foot with the turn into the side elbow thrust.

14. Toi-Gye ending: takedown and straight ankle lock

Source: ITFTuls

Lately I have neglected the color belt patterns. So for this post I'm going to discuss the last eight-to-nine steps of Toi-Gye. The set I'll be analyzing is:

• Front stance high double forearm block
• Three-quarters turn into low knifehand guarding block
• Stance shift into left front stance circular block
• Shift weight into right front stance circular block
• Step with right leg into riding stance middle punch
• Ready to closed ready stance C

We begin with the double forearm block followed by the three-quarters turn into the low guarding block. This set has its roots in the end of the kata Pinan Shodan/Heian Nidan, the difference being that the kata uses a closed-fist low block. The application is shown below.

Source: PracticalKataBunkai

In any situation where you can catch your opponent's arm (such as if they have grabbed you), use the back (left) arm of the double forearm block to smash down onto their inner-elbow. Then use the front (right) arm of the "block" to strike the side of their neck. From here, switch hands such that your right arm is grabbing the opponent's elbow. Reach around your opponent's head and pull them to the ground as you turn 270-degrees.

But in Toi-Gye the low block is open-handed, so we cannot grab and pull. Instead, we push from the front. This means that the takedown in Toi-Gye is more similar to the one shown below.

Source: OneMinuteBunkai

After striking with your right arm, press the opponent's right elbow inwards, causing them to lean over counter-clockwise. Then use your left knifehand to check across their face. Finally, from here use the 270-degree turn into the low knifehand guarding block as a throw, maintaining the arm lock with your right knifehand.

The Throw Fails

What if the above throw doesn't work? You try to use the low block as a throw, but you end up just moving your opponent around. Here Toi-Gye takes another page from Pinan Shodan: we follow up with a strike to the side of the opponent's neck. In Pinan Shodan a rising block is used, but in Toi-Gye we use a circular block, which translates into a backfist strike.

Failed low block throw followed by a strike to the side of the opponent's neck. Source: Chris Denwood

Using the circular block as a strike might seem counter-intuitive, but there is good reason to use it as such. A strike is a logical follow-up to a failed throw. Even if the opponent parries it, it distracts them and gives you time to switch to a new technique. The fact that the backfist ends up 45-degrees from our right means that we are striking through our target, which is what we want as this is more damaging. As always, the pulling hand may be used to control the opponent as you strike the side of their neck.

Now for the takedown: we use the second circular block as a leg pick, a more common "deeper" application for the movement. Scoop low, grab and lift the opponent's near (right) leg with our left circular block. Still lifting their leg, we step behind their standing leg into riding stance, and use the riding stance "punch" to push them over our right leg, taking them to the floor.

Circular block to riding stance punch as a takedown. Source: curranskarate

We're not done yet! The last motion in the pattern is the return to ready stance C. We use this to put the opponent into a straight ankle lock -- useful if they try to pull you to the ground with them.

Closed Ready Stance C as a straight ankle lock. Sources: Nick Drossos, Expert Village

Summary

The full set goes as so:

1. Use the double forearm block to smash on the opponent's inner-elbow while striking their neck
2. Use the three-quarters turn into low guarding block as a throw
3. If the throw fails strike the side of the neck with your backfist (first circular block)
4. If the opponent blocks pick and lift their leg (second circular block)
5. Step behind their standing leg and push them to the floor (riding stance punch)
6. Perform a straight ankle lock (closed ready stance C) to put your opponent in pain, allowing you to disengage and run away

Now, Toi-Gye is a symmetric pattern and we practice this set in pieces. This is why you do three circular blocks in a row near the end rather than two. The way I would visualize the movements while practicing Toi-Gye is like so:

• 30: Double forearm block
• 31: Turn into a low guarding block as a throw
• 32: Throw fails, follow with strike to neck
• 33: Practice low guarding block throw on other side (symmetry)
• 34: Practice circular block as a strike on other side (symmetry)
• 35: Practice circular block as a leg pick with right arm
• 36: Practice circular block as a leg pick with left arm (symmetry)
• 37: Step into riding stance punch as a throw
• End: Straight ankle lock

E-book update: The Study of Sam-Il

Yes, it's happening.

Here's what will be included:

• 60+ application drawings
• Analysis of both the 1965 and 1983 versions of the pattern
• Explanation of Sam-Il's logical structure; i.e. how all the sets tie together
• Some thoughts on the design of the Ch'ang Hon patterns

The drawings are mostly done, but editing everything together will take some time. 

What's with the title?

It's a reference to The Study of Seipai by Kenwa Mabuni

What will it cost?

Not free, but not expensive either. I'm thinking the $3-6 range.

Where will it be sold?

Not Amazon, because you have to convert the e-book to Kindle format, which is a pain for a picture book. I'm thinking Google Play Books if possible, and if not that then some aggregator service.

Will there be a print version?

No.

When will it be done?

I'm aiming for some time in May.

Will the applications be material that's already on the blog?

With the exception of the above picture and the set with the two U-shaped blocks, no. That's because my opinion on some of the sets have changed, such as the set with the palm upward block. The applications covered in this blog will go into an "Alternate Applications" section.

13: Yoo-Sin/Chul-Gi waving kicks

Source: Shotokankataman

Recently I came across the kata interpretations of a Mr. Nathan J. Johnson. Johnson holds that most karate kata were originally for weapons, not unarmed fighting. While I don't agree with this perspective, Johnson makes an exception for Naihanchi, also called Tekki Shodan or (in Korean) Chul-Gi. He claims this pattern is a series of police control/arrest drills, originally meant for Ming dynasty Chinese police. In his view, the point of Naihanchi is to wrestle a suspect to the ground, meaning that you are behind your opponent for most of the kata. I've analyzed Naihanchi using this theory and it works surprisingly well.

One of the sets from Naihanchi appears in the ITF pattern Yoo-Sin. In this post I will provide a police arrest interpretation of the set.

We start with the front backfist strike, which represents a control tactic demonstrated by George Vranos in the gif below.

Source: George Vranos

The "primary" vertical arm underhooks one of the opponent's arms (getting a half nelson), whereas the "secondary" horizontal arm overhooks their other arm. This provides control over the opponent. Notice how Mr. Vranos then grabs the back of the opponent's neck after the underhook. This turns the front backfist strike into the outer-forearm block performed next in the pattern.

Source: George Vranos

What's missing in the gif is the waving kicks. These are used to kick in the back of the opponent's legs. Combined with the head push in the opposite direction, the intent is to knock the suspect to the ground. We first kick in their right leg and push their head right (outer-forearm block). If this doesn't work for whatever reason, we kick in their left leg and push them left.

Caveat

Just because this may be the intended application of the set in Naihanchi/Chul-Gi, doesn't mean it's what the creators of Yoo-Sin had in mind. As Mr. Johnson points out, the Okinawans who imported the pattern from China did not know its original meaning, and so came up with their own interpretations. They thought that Naihanchi was either a fighting pattern or reactive self-defense pattern, not a proactive police arrest pattern. If you search for "Naihanchi applications" online, you will find all sorts of other interpretations. Taekwondoin likely came up with their own interpretations as well.

This means that in order to understand the set's purpose in Yoo-Sin, we must analyze the rest of Yoo-Sin, which I haven't done. But I thought the above interpretation was neat and I haven't seen the "police arrest" interpretations of Naihanchi online.

I am still working on the Sam-Il E-book, by the way. I'll post an update within the next two weeks.

Thinking about an ebook

This blog began as a hobby project to introduce myself to blogging and to share the pattern applications I've been researching. In the past 14 months I've written 40 or so posts, including full analyses of at least three forms. The overarching goal of my posts was to show that applications to the ITF patterns exist and that they are not particularly esoteric. You can find them in other martial art systems.

I don't want to keep up this blog indefinitely though. Lately I've thought about writing an ebook. It seems like the next logical step and I enjoy systematic analyses of entire forms, something a book is better suited for.

There are some obstacles, however. I never found a consistent partner to take pictures with, so making something in the style of The Taegeuk Cipher or Ch'ang Hon Taekwon-Do Hae Sul is not possible. Nor can I use online images (like I do in this blog) for copyright reasons. Therefore, my only real choice is to use drawings. This sounds lame, but there are some advantages to drawings. One criticism of The Taegeuk Cipher (and to a lesser extent Hae Sul) is that the grainy black-and-white images are too hard to make out. Drawings are easier to see and can be used to highlight the necessary parts of a technique. Judo instructions often contain drawings for this very reason.

Instructional depiction of Judo's O soto gari throw

This would also be an opportunity to practice drawing, so I'm killing two birds with one stone. I did some test sketches, shown below. While my drawing ability is not where I'd like it to be, I am able to depict a technique, so with more practice sketching out an entire form is feasible.

Some test sketches for a set in Sam-Il. Final images would use digital coloring for contrast, shown on the lower right.

As you can tell from above, I would be analyzing Sam-Il. I am choosing this form because currently no book has been published on it. It's also one of the early ITF forms, the 4th or 5th made overall, and it contains some interesting techniques.

This means I'll be working on the ebook rather than the blog. I do have some unfinished posts lined up about sets in Gae-Baek and Eui-Am, but I'll keep them on the back burner for now.

12: Moon-Moo one-legged stance

Moon-Moo is a 4th Dan form known mainly for its emphasis on kicks, but there are some odd hand techniques in there as well. In this post I will discuss the strange one-legged stance where you perform a low block with the standing side and a knifehand block with the other hand. One application is shown below:

Sources: Kinetic Dragon Tutorials, Returning Wave Systems

The outward knifehand block is used to check under the opponent's jaw, pulling their head back, while the low block controls their arm. You then press your knee into the back of the opponent's knee, causing them to lose balance. From here you can throw them with a quick pull backwards.

Now the question is: how do you get into this position? The hint the form gives you is the two palm pressing blocks, a set which appears in several other forms.

Option 1: Arm Drag

For the first possibility, I'm going to steal another idea from Karate Culture: using the dual palm blocks to get an arm drag.

Source: Karate Culture

Use the first palm pressing block to push down the opponent's arm (lower palm) while reaching under their tricep (rising palm). Then pull out their arm out and down as you step forward (second lower palm). This places you behind your opponent, and you may perform the one-legged stance.

This is a simple application to learn, and arm drags are useful to set up all sorts of other techniques. But if you are a forms purist, you may dislike how this technique requires you to close one of your hands. Keeping this in mind, I will provide a second interpretation.

Option 2: From a failed arm lock

An instructor once showed me a locking application for two palm pressing blocks. I can't find an exact replica online, but the description of it is this:

• Imagine an opponent grabs your right lapel. Circle your right hand over and down (1st palm pressing block) and then up again (upper hand for 2nd palm pressing block). This rotates the opponent's arm so that the back of their elbow points upwards
• Your left hand at first comes up to block an attack with the back of the wrist (upper hand for 1st palm pressing block) or as a spearhand to the opponent's throat. It then comes down to press into the back of the opponent's elbow (2nd palm pressing block)
• From here you can try to drag them to the ground, or knee strike them (one-legged stance)

Left: Application for the 2nd palm pressing block, upper hand raising the opponent's (twisted) arm, lower hand pushing their elbow down. Right: Following up with a knee and elbow strike, another use for the one-legged stance.
Sources: Martial Arts 101, Phil Schroeder 

What if your opponent pulls away their arm as you attempt the lock? From here, reach over their right shoulder and quickly transition in the control position shown at the top of this post.

11: Po-Eun headlock defense

Just a short one today since I mentioned it in my last post.

What is the purpose of the U-shaped grasp? Wrestling away a stick? If so, why is the next movement performed in slow motion? A more plausible interpretation of the set is a throw via lifting and dumping the opponent on their head. It is particularly useful against a side headlock.

Source: Waza Wednesdays

Use the inverted upper hand of the U-shaped grasp to push the opponent's face away from you. Then place the lower hand behind their leg. Lift them into closed stance twin elbow thrust, and dump them onto their head with the low block, backfist combination.

In looking up side headlock defenses, I've noticed that few include both the face push and leg scoop (that's why the Waza Wednesday video was a fortunate find) but several include one or the other. This defense uses the face push. This defense uses the scoop and lift.