It had been billed as the "Battle of Iowa" by its promoters, so a lot of us were intrigued by the tournament being held at the community college near us. Master Hughes didn't recommend it for our school--the school that was holding the tournament was known for Olympic sparring, and we do point sparring.
So a bunch of us went as observers.
Swords
I got there early this morning--I wanted to see the black belt Kum Do forms. There was a whole flock of Kum Do students with short-sleeved jackets and flowing hakama pants. Most of them were teen-aged boys.
Though Robbie and his friend Jacob had taken some Kum Do classes at our dojang, I had never seen Kum Do forms before. They're really nice--dance-like, with the martial artist spinning and jumping all while holding the sword. There are strikes, thrusts, and blocks with the sword. Beautiful, really.
Despite its billing, this tournament wasn't that large. It was no bigger than the one I attended last week, and I saw hardly any women; certainly very few "senior colored belts."
"That's the way it usually is," Master Hughes has said to me.
Mystery Form
Another thing I really enjoyed was watching some new forms that I've never seen before. A few martial artists with red belts (apparently, that's the equivalent of a brown belt) did a form that I now want to learn. I don't know the name of the form--maybe one of you readers can help me out. It involved at least 2 cat stances.
And there were some great kicks in it, including one that was either a jump front snap kick, or a front tornado.
Anyone know what it might be? And where I could find the directions? It's certainly not a Palwe or a Chun-Ji form, or I would have recognized it.
TKD Friends
It was good to hang out (briefly, as I had to go back for my college's homecoming celebration) with my friends from the dojang while watching. A bunch of us got together later for a cookout at Master Hughes's house--he is a wonderful host--generous and fun. My favorite thing was laughing at all the funny stories people had to tell and jumping on Master Hughes's trampoline with the children!
Don't you wish I'd taken pictures?
1 comment:
The form you saw was probably Taegeuk Pal Jang (we learn the Taegeuk forms at my dojang, so I recognized your description). It is a very beautiful form. There are (I think) 5 cat stances, and there's one jump front kick at the beginning, and a hesitation double front kick near the end. It's also the form that our red belts learn, so I believe it fits the description!
Did you get to see any sparring while you were there? What was your impression of it?
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