My advice is to make sure you Kiap at the right spot. I almost failed because I missed out a Kiap, make you Kiap as loud as you can.
In ITF forms practice.. you exhale sharply on each movement... the only kihap comes at the end of the form...and then you say the name of the form. Everyone does it a little differently...I would certainly not fail anyone on a test for not doing a kihap..LOL
Well that will have to wait about 12-15 more years... that will be about the time I will be a 7th Dan "Master Instructor".....
I agree with Stormrider 100%. Just break it down into simple moves. Do them slow if need be to make sure you get the correct movement going. Once you get the hang of that work on the transition from one to another. Thats what helped me when I had problems with forms in TKD. Also the exhaling at every movement really helped ALOT. Helped with the "crispness" of the moves, my timing, and it also made sure I didn't forget to breathe. The breathing part may sound dumb but you'd be amazed how many people do forms and such while holding their breath. Good luck and I hope this helps. Jester.
Only at the end? There are specific movements where you are to kihap in Choi's forms.... usually the first movement in most forms.... in the middle and at the end.
As an ITF practitioner for most of my years in the art and having attended many serminars and traning camps and well as instructor courses we were all taught the same way.... sharp exhalations for each technique.. and ONE kihap at the end of the pattern along with the name of the pattern. Anything else has been added in by "Non-ITF" people who happen to practice Choi's patterns.
Sorry to but in, are you sure?...I'm positive I saw something a while back containing the version of the form which included Kiai during the forms on certain strikes. And as I understand it ( although I could be wrong, thats why I'm here to exchange ideas and knowledge ) these forms come from Shotokan Kata, which definately use Kiai during the form.
Actually the ITF forms are not Shotokan forms. It is true that the Chang Hon forms (ITF) were heavily influenced by Shotokan karate since that was the style that Gen. Choi and many early TKD pioneers learned during the Japanese occupation of Korea. And I am sure about the Ki-Hap's. I could go a step further and say there are no kihaps at all.. even at the end of the pattern. If you read Gen. Choi's books he only mentions that each movement should be done with proper breathing.. which includes the sharp exhalation with each movement.
Lots of good advice. Try these three things as well. They helped me. 1. Make some friends at your dojang and practice outside class in front of each other, even if it's only for 15 minutes before class starts. Students have a bit more time than instructors. 2. Get hold of a camcorder and watch yourself - it wont be perfect but this does NOT matter in itself. If TKD was easy, then we'd all be 9th degree. It really helps to see yourself 3. Practice. It takes 1000s of repetitions to really really ingrain a motor skill. My basic patterns continue to improve after 3 years of training most days of the week. My sabum says the same thing after 25 years of training. Think about your goals and commit yourself to them. Most people find the study of anything in depth whether its a martial art or birdwatching rewarding in itself. You'll get out what you put in - honest. If you quit - you'll get nothing. There are other martial arts which let you spar early, but all martial arts have some element of learning combinations of moves and all of them need practice to refine.
Fair enough, I was only going by what I had read and seen. My knowledge has been expanded by you. Or at least Im going to look into it a little further and find some cold hard fact for myself, but then isnt that what learning is all about. Cheers matey
Just something I noticed.. You say you start doing your forms and then after two or three times stop to work on other stuff. If the instructor tells you to practice your form, practice it! People may dissagree with me here, but even if you're not doing it perfect, the repetition will make your moves better. Even if you get bored, slow it down, still make your moves strong, and stop to check your stances every once in a while. If you get too bored, try facing a different direction (our school encourages this, so that you don't get used to always doing the same move in the same place [imagine going to another dojang to do a form, and getting lost because that big wall isn't where it should be {I love parentheses}]).
Just my luck. First day back, and since it was a small class everyone practiced forms all hour. We did nothing else besides forms. I never changed direction because there are a bunch of other people doing their forms, but I closed my eyes and that was a little harder placing my feet correctly. A 2nd degree black belt said that if I train hard enough, next month I will test for a yellow belt. I just read a thread a few minutes ago that said it took him 3 years to get his green belt....I will probably be a green belt by the time summer rolls around. Not because I want to, but because thats how fast people progress in the dojang. Forms are really boring for me. Usually I am the only white belt there. On friday, the 2nd lowest rank was a purple belt, and they joined in august. I am usually by myself doing my same 2 forms over and over and over again untill they finally to decide to do something else. Is it usually like that for white belts in other schools?
Yeah. I got bored doing basic forms too. I still AM bored doing basic forms. At least there's the excitement of learning spinning kicks that aren't level-dependant. I learned a turning kick + spinning hook kick when I was a yellow belt, and didn't actually need it until last November when I tested for purple
Well...that can be a good or a bad thing. I mean its good that you are doing your forms over and over. You should at least do a form 300 times to get the movements down. Then practice it thousands of more times over the years. But are you being instructed on what each move of the form is used for? or why its done a certain way?, etc...?
I left that out in case it's crowded (that hasn't ever caused problems for me personally, but I can see how it would).
