It is very challenging to assimilate the current trend in the development of Taekwon-Do, especially if one has been involved in the art from its very beginnings in the West. The problem is that this discipline was conceived as a martial art with a sports aspect, but now we are moving in the opposite direction.

It has become so important to win a medal or a trophy that hardly anyone pays attention to the fact that the martial feature of the art is diminishing. Beyond the technical differences between organizations, many world champions in patterns (Tul) have a high level of expertise in that particular area of competition, but their performance in combat or power breaking is often unknown.

The same thing happens with many world champions in sparring. Their skills are excellent in that specific area of competition, but it’s usually very difficult to find any of them excelling in other aspects of the sport.

For those who think that Taekwon-Do is about fighting, it is essential to remind them that Taekwon-Do is not about fighting; it is a martial art for self-defense. You may have to fight to defend yourself, but there is a vast difference between fighting for a medal and fighting for survival.

The combat system in the sports arena involves defeating a single opponent without causing serious harm within a limited area, with limited tools, in a set time, following rules, with various protective gears, and under the supervision of a referee. It’s obvious that such circumstances do not exist in self-defense. In the sport arena, you will never have to deal with a hold, fight on the ground, or be attacked by two or more opponents. Then why train more than six or seven techniques that are the average you’ll need to fight in the sport area. But what happen with the other 3.200 techniques of the art?

And for those who only train in patterns to become a champion in that small segment of the art without testing their skills in a real confrontation, have you ever trained how to release a hold? Have you ever trained your hands for material breaking, or do you only attempt it when it’s time to be examined?

Did you know that to be successful in a confrontation against multiple opponents, you need to train that aspect with the same dedication and repetition as when preparing for a tournament against a single adversary?

In summary, you need to understand that Taekwon-Do is a martial art composed of various areas that require training with the same dedication you put into your preferred aspect. Taekwon-Do is not fighting, it is not patterns, it is not only breaking materials, it is not just theory and it is not reciting its philosophy, Taekwon-Do is all of these together.

Many times, black belts are tested by a board that asks them to escape holds or break materials they have never trained for; in other words, they are expected to demonstrate what they should know to honor their rank. The question is: are they trained to meet this demand, or do they do the best they can with evident lack of adequate preparation?

I believe that the current instruction is focused solely on competition, then, the other items will be out of training, pushing the candidates to be promoted doing what they can.

To be honest, the required response for a black belt to honor their rank is to be proficient in all aspects, not just one. A black belt should be an average. After to master such knowledge, if the person wants to be a competitor is his or her choice but not in the contrary. To achieve this, it is necessary to change the current training and mindset regimen.

SGM Ricardo Desimone

To be aware read again the previous notes

One of the details that were usually pointed out decades ago to differentiate the Taekwon-Do founded and developed by Gen. Choi Hong Hi and the now called Olympic Taekwondo, was the stubbornness of the latter emphasizing that the activity was a sport.

Among other things, this strategy was used to access the Olympics, but once this goal was achieved, they began to cast it as a martial art too.

At that time, all activity of the body called WTF was to organize competitions. In order to feed that destiny, the classes were oriented exclusively to the sporting aspect, ignoring or not paying attention to those who did not have aptitude for that field.

On the other side of the coin called Taekwon-Do was the art devised by Gen. Choi whose classes were oriented to teach the martial discipline as it was conceived by him as its founder. In this martial development was included the sporting aspect but in such conditions that it could be carried out without interfering with the development originally planned. The emphasis placed on the pedagogical system that was disseminated throughout the world equally by the hand of its creator throughout seminars and in its Masters and Instructors authorized in the daily classes, allowed to create a great difference between Taekwon-Do and Taekwondo.

«Let’s play in the woods now the wolf is gone”, reads a phrase from a well-known children’s story.

Faced with the physical disappearance of the General, the pedagogical system designed by him began to blur. That sporting area that was included in the activity’s schema to be utilized by those who had already developed tools to act it pushed to the side the martial aspect to predominate in the new pedagogical system. It was not long before the psychic change and the new way of thinking was more of a sport than martial, to the point that everything that was not related to the competition is looked from the sidelines. The knowledge of the art for self-defense is topics to be dealt with sporadically, more out of obligation than conviction. This new way of proceeding entails a new way of thinking that over look the Do and the physical knowledge necessary for self-defense and with an attitude of total lack of concern. Participating in every tournament is part of the ritual, no matter if it is municipal or national. The medal or trophy has become the target to be achieved.  No one notices that if they name him national champion it is only from the institution that sponsors the event. It cannot be completely national because there are countless institutions that also propose this. As far as the continental, Pan American and world champions, the same thing happens even if it is not said. With the diversity of entities there are the diversity of rules for the competition and when this happens the champion of one organization may not be it in the other, since the regulations that govern the competition may have changed. This shows that the head of the practitioner has a perspective called triumphalism whose only destiny is a prize coined in illusions. In other words, triumphalism has come to life and the martial art is agonizing. Triumphalism brings with it an unequivocal way of thinking and the pursuing of goals. When you win a championship you start dreaming of higher estates. If what has been achieved is national, the next one must be continental and if this is achieved, the one that follows is worldwide. The idea of I THE INVINCIBLE, THE BEST, would begin to be devised for those who were able get to his point.

It is curious, one do not process self-defense like that, since saving one skin is the only triumph sought. For those who think “I THE INVINCIBLE, I THE BEST”, it is necessary to remind them that beyond the great sports champions that undoubtedly exist and have been, especially when there was only one Taekwon-Do, that the best has always been Kronos. There are many that have tried to strip him of its privileged place but have not succeeded. It is undefeated in all categories and in all institutions. It is more; his reign encompasses all races and all fighting systems. If you think it’s not, you just have to challenge him.

SGM Ricardo Desimone

To be aware read again the previous notes

After having contributed for many years to the diffusion of the Art called Taekwon-Do through demonstrations at the beginning of this discipline and as an Instructor later, it is very difficult to digest the current situation that surrounds us in the global development of the activity. In the late 60’s and early 70’s it was a constant to persuade other martial disciplines that tried fiercely to prevent the development of Taekwon-Do and to be considered one more among the martial arts that by then were already established.

Fortunately that current of thinking changed thanks to the effort of the Instructors who as Western pioneers accompanied the Koreans envoy by Gen. Choi Hong Hi, Founder of Taekwon-Do and President of the only federative entity that by those times internationally governed their destinies. In those times the art was in its formative years all over the world and the number of countries supporting its growth was not so large. However and due of the political attacks that occurred in South Korea (then birthplace and seat of the international federation that governed it), this institution and its president and founder had to go into exile in Canada. The other part of Korea (North Korea) was not among the countries that made up this federative movement because it was, as it is at present, a closed political regime with an almost non-existent relationship with the rest of the world.

On 1981 and also for political reasons General Choi visited that country. In that year and after an agreement, he sends Instructors to begin the development of the discipline there and then be able to incorporate it into the international context of countries member. At that time, the federation already had Western Instructors in the 4th, 5th and 6th Dan who assumed the responsibility of organizing national institutions to cover the desertions of the Korean instructors. These Koreans originally sent by the General became part of a new world entity dependent on the South Korea’s government.

Gen. Choi sent Instructors or new Masters whenever any country presented the need to straighten out misunderstandings among the nationals of the countries member. This happened until some of these envoys attempted to undermine the Founder’s leadership. This fact determined that Gen. Choi decided to put an end to political and biomechanical discrepancies by traveling in person throughout the globe. With seminars for International Instructor given by him, he dealt with unifying the manipulated biomechanical criterion and ordered the political imbalance produced in different countries of the world.

In countless radio, written and television interviews and among the many anecdotes that were disseminated journalistically, always and as a litany he repeated: «Taekwon-Do is not a sport, it is a martial art. This art does not depend on any country or any regime, it belongs to the humanity. It has been created for humanity and without restrictions. No one can or should try to take ownership of it. They have already tried and only managed to make us bigger and stronger. Wanting to appropriate it responds only to two motivations: 1) political management (using art to influence internationally on the people where otherwise they could not do it) and 2) by particular economical ambitions. Both actions have already been attempted and I have personally opposed it, defusing the try and managing to maintain the freedom of Taekwon-Do over all attempts.»

His memoirs, his encyclopedia and filmed interviews, give an account of what has been aforementioned said.

I fear to be repetitive but I have been his translator in countless interviews and seminars for many years and I have translated his condensed encyclopedia into Spanish, therefore I can attest that all said here is true. I believe that if any particular country tries to take over Taekwon-Do it does so for the reasons rejected and made explicit above by the Founder. If were a person who was doing it, I wouldn’t doubt that it is for economic reasons exclusively. Any other explanation they want to give to this usurpation would be a gross lie to be able to carry it out.

A fierce opposition to the subtraction of art is the only possibility of maintaining this discipline as it was conceived. In some other country there was an attempt to prohibit practitioners from using the design of the dobok that General Choi approved for the practice, however, what was achieved by those who tried that shameful action was that they were marginalized by all practitioners. It is necessary to remember that the only owner of Taekwon-Do is the practitioner.

SGM Ricardo Desimone

To be aware read again the previous notes

According to the dictionary, loyalty is also synonymous of fidelity, which is considered a virtue born from respect for the trust that one person places in another. Therefore, fidelity is related to an unconditional trust towards a person, while loyalty is the unrestricted support to a cause. In other words, you are loyal to a cause, while you are faithful to someone.

In the case of our activity, it would be to be loyal to Taekwon-Do and faithful to who teaches us this art.

The two concepts are so closely related that it is difficult to think about them separately.

However, current circumstances compel us to seriously reconsider such concepts.

Starting with this discipline, which it is not a cause, loyalty is only possible to the art itself and not to the entity that claims to teach it. There is so much corporative and biomechanical diversity under the same institutional name, that it is impossible to be loyal to the name of the entity.

This fact brings the tacit permissiveness of an institutional change without a feeling of transgression.

Although it is not established with this connotation, the actions in this direction of a large quantity of people, confirm this fact.

The interesting thing about this transgressor action is that this institutional change has a direct identification with the black belts and not with Gups or color belts. Apparently the latter keeps intact their belief in the definition of loyalty and fidelity. Then, is the black belt the passport to transgression?

Although fidelity is closely related to an unconditional trust to a person, in this case the Instructor (to whom we have granted the place of knowledge), he also hopes to be recognized, among other things, with the unconditional follow-up of his teachings.

When this doesn’t happen, the feeling of displeasure is so big and irreversible that it becomes inexcusable.

The concepts of loyalty and fidelity run together but the present procedures have separated them.

Being loyal to an institution requires that it be unique. Unfortunately this is absent these days, especially for those of us who have had the privilege of belonging to that concept of unity from the beginning of the international development of the art.

The current circumstances and events between entities that carelessly use the same name bring the detachment and lack of institutional belonging.

This behavior suggests that loyalty is only towards a cardboard that recognizes the person at one level or another, regardless of if the next will be obtained in the same place or in a different one in hands of another person. This attitude intrinsically bears the feeling that knowledge can be easily purchased, as if this barbarism were true, in a course or a seminar.

Something is remarkable: many people who changed several teachers and entities, the only thing they have modified is their degree, but their shortcomings are the same as that was at the beginning of their institutional changes.

The curious thing is the new god called «training to fight», doesn’t matter if it matches with what was learned in countless courses or not, because it is totally fashionable to add other combative activities as a homemade MMA style.

Therefore, loyalty is either obsolete or a thing from the past.

Unfortunately fidelity has followed the same path and it apparently is an old and unusual feeling.

Could be possible to disseminate responsibilities everywhere for the inadequate and transgressor handling of these essential and foundational concepts; however introspection or looking inside of our own self, is the only possible way to proceed, of course if you have the capability to feel guilty, otherwise don’t lose your time, it would be a vain exercise.

Have competition and triumphalism taken the martial art over?

Although both concepts (loyalty and fidelity) are tacitly included in the Tenets of the art, it is important to keep them in mind when these are enumerated, since their inadequate handling has produced a large part of the problems that affect to all and every one of the entities that sponsor Taekwon-Do

SGM Ricardo Desimone

To be awarded read again the previous notes

On this day, a new entity that also claims to be the federation created by the Founder of the Art, General Choi Hong Hi, has not been born until now. Obviously none is.

Most are just small groups with little inventiveness for the naming and are dedicated to copying the three letters that until now have worked magically, also economically. Some of them have not added any acronym or word to the federative description like the others; it does not mean in any way that they do not belong to the atomizing group. The explanation is very simple for those who want to identify it.

There is no document that contains the legacy in writing, any group that wishes to call itself as the General called his administrative system can do so.

In previous years there was a judicial dispute in Vienna-Austria that involved two parties that claimed the patronage of the name that General Choi used for his administration. Of course, at that time the atomization had not begun to make wave, and the people waiting to take advantage of the situation had not yet discovered the possibility of the free use of the acronym.

In the times that followed the death of the Founder of the discipline, the tug of war was (for most), due to the management of a federative entity. However, the real dispute was over the possession of the property where that entity had its base (Vienna-Austria). In order to own the property, it was necessary to be called with the federative name registered by Choi Hong Hi. Years of sterile dispute only produced an unnecessary economic expenditure that had its end point in an out-of-court settlement between the parties in conflict.

One continued to function from the house of Vienna in Austria and the other from another part of Europe, without either swallowing the other, in other words, both kept their members. Neither of the parties in conflict judicially won possession of the name, therefore both continued to use it.

Among the other groups there are also those who do not fully understand that legally a federative system cannot be inherited. A federation is a management system that periodically requires the vote of its members to renew administrative positions.

No legal document has been released to the contrary.

From then on, and as if the starting shot had been fired, there was the incessant birth of new entities all called the same but with details that differentiate them from each other (added letters and names), similar but not the same uniforms, different sports rules and a plethora of details that allow them to be easily identified.

Unfortunately, the real federation disappeared with its Founder on June 2002.

There are details that must necessarily be revealed so that no one is deceived and that everyone can belong where they please. I have described many of these details in previous notes; however I consider it necessary to mention them again.

Gen. Choi Hong Hi, founder of the Martial Art called Taekwon-Do, cited as a litany in all seminar dictated by him or interview he was summoned, that his creation did not belong to any particular country and so he left it in written in his literature (Books, Encyclopedia and in his memoirs).  He used to say that this was his legacy to humanity free of all religion and race.

The biomechanics of the movements that feed his work is one and not two. In his hands, the evolution of his work was constant until his death, from then on any modification belongs to the daring delusion of some «masters» who have dedicated themselves in recent years to being more papist than the Pope.

All the entities that use the acronym created by him and that is only the abbreviation of an administrative system and not a style, have made capricious modifications without support or practical application.

As a translator of his condensed encyclopedia into Spanish (version 1995), assisting him in more than 10 seminars for International Instructor and translating countless reports (written, radio and television), I attest that what I’ve  received from him as my direct Instructor and Master, responds strictly to what has been described.  Therefore, if in some remote opportunity serious efforts were made to unite the factions divided since 1973, among the details to be taken into consideration the following inclusions should be present: the biomechanics of the movements to be used, the clothing that will be worn from since then, the sports rules that will govern the competitions, the recognition of what has been done up to that moment by both parties and of course the desire of the person who founded it that his Art maintain its freedom without dependence on any country or regime.

Obviously, a new administration will have to be established with a central headquarters in an agreed –upon location.

Now, in the hypothetical case of this ephemeral merger and as long as the differences noted can be resolved, the problem would lie in the growing atomization existing in Taekwon-Do founded, developed and systematized by General Choi Hong Hi.

None of the currently atomized parties would have the mandate or consent of the others to represent them in the negotiation with Olympic Taekwondo without a prior merger between them.

Because if any of the parties that today atomized the Taekwon-Do of General Choi Hong Hi wanted to play that role, it would be a minority group that would be leaving out the majority of the practitioners that make up those other groups and who were never granted that role.  Everyone has to be vigilant and not allow this kind of segregationist and fundamentally dishonest transaction.

SGM Ricardo Desimone

To be aware read again the previous notes

Too much has been said about the different biomechanical used in the many entities that claim to teach Taekwon-Do founded, developed and systematized by Gen. Choi Hong Hi.

Is it a way used by all organizations to establish a particular characteristic to differentiate between each other or simply it is an ignorance of what the founder intended?  I’m prone to think that are both. By first, unknowing the parameters proposed to incorporate the right knowledge, leads to execute the movements with erroneous biomechanics. But take care, because later they exploit these diversities as a particular trademark.

I always repeat a Gral Choi’s saying that paints the circumstance very clearly: «Taekwon-Do is very easy if you know how to do it, otherwise it is very difficult”. This leads me to remember that on one occasion and watching the performing in a patterns’ competition, I remark that this or that movement had been explained several times, however they were being wrongly executed yet. One of the Masters present there (today GM), told me: «don’t worry, that’s better for me, I need it to be so to continue justifying my place». Beyond the unscrupulous of the remark, it contrasts with what was the Founder’s intention, who took great care to teach and explain in detail the composition of the basic in order to reach easily the advanced. He repeated and showed tirelessly with his own body the same technique, because he really wanted those present there to learn. One by one and in details is the right pedagogical method. The human being needs to digest what he is receiving informatively to be able to incorporate it and that requires repetition and detail. If somebody is “teaching” several movements at a time, he wants that you don’t learn any of them in the right way.

If the person does not understand the basics of biomechanics, everything he tries to build afterwards will not only be very difficult but will have poor practical application. Many people are surprised when in a seminar for black belts I explain in detail why it is necessary to understand the basic biomechanics in the execution of four direction punch and four directions blocks (Saju Jirugui/Saju Maki).

In the basics is the advanced I answer.  But of course if you have been instructed that the advanced is very complicated, the explanation will seem unnecessary and you will say that this is for beginners or at least you’ll have that feeling until the illustration is finished.

The explanation is also very simple and easy to incorporate. Remember that the theory is one for all movements (elementary and advanced). But if you are a Black belt of a superior level, you will instinctively reject this because it will compels you to review what you have incorporated. In addition, this will take you to understand that Taekwon-Do uses nature for its purposes and not vice versa. Your body is producing a sine wave all the time you are in motion (walking or running), even if you do not intend to do so and are not practicing Taekwon-Do.

Now, if due bad information you think you should force it implementation, you are telling nature what she already knows it should do when you are in motion.  I guess that you heard General Choi on many occasions (in person if you were in any of his seminars or in movies and in his bibliography if you are from this era) saying: «both arms and both legs should be properly bent while the movement is in motion». When you watch the filming of a crowd that moves (on a busy street or running in a marathon), you will see that although they are not in a Taekwon-Do’s training, they are clearly producing a sine wave when moving. The human body has several joints in the inferior extremities and the natural use of these produces that type of wave when in motion.

That is why every time you fully extend the supporting leg when moving, the sine wave disappears and the saw tooth wave emerge. The latter not only prevents generating maximum power but among other things, risks at the extreme the knees joint. Conclusion, if this basic explanation is not understood and fundamentally executed with your body, your Taekwon-Do is very difficult.  If it is properly incorporated, not only is your Taekwon-Do very simple but it is more powerful and easier to execute, it is more, all the advanced movements will be at your reach as you progress through the next promotions.

SGM Ricardo Desimone

to be aware read the previous notes

When confrontation is unavoidable, the effectiveness of self defense largely depends on not thinking about our actions. This means that we must act on the basis of reflex action. Reflexes will be activated based on a given stimulus. The stimulus is sometimes the movement that an opponent produces. But it can also be the attitude of the opponent that signals possible aggression. Of course, for our reflexes to be able to respond to the stimulus described, a considerable number of mechanisms must have been incorporated that allow us to act defensively or anticipate the offensive action.
In both cases we will have to have tirelessly repeat each and every one of the mechanisms that will allow us to act in this regard. We will find the greatest collection of such techniques or movements in the patterns or Tul. Different exercises of pre-established sparring will let us train and improve those mechanisms with an opponent or opponents, in such a way that we can adjust the use of time and distance from them. As I said, the exercises will be pre-established because repetition is the only possible method for such movements or techniques to be incorporated and over time count among our reflexes. The process is not fast but it is unavoidable.
Now, if our instinctive movements depend on tireless repetition for their effectiveness, we must be careful about the quality of the movement or biomechanics that we are going to repeat. In the case of Taekwon-Do, founded and systematized by General Choi Hong Hi, each technique has a single destination and is biomechanically supported by the laws of physics and the kinetic energy to produce maximum power. With repetition, time, and perseverance, we will be able to incorporate as a reflex action an interesting variety of mechanisms that we can use for self defense. All of the above requires us to be careful with each technique and its biomechanics that we incorporate based on repetition and perseverance. Therefore, the information that we obtain for such an important achievement must be accurate and proven.

The logical way for the information to meet such requirements is that it comes from whoever has the theoretical / practical knowledge to do so. If the information is only theoretical it is useless because it has no verification, which invalidates the information received on many occasions by those who have never set in motion such advice, but have only read about it. If it is only practical, it have a different and better value, but we do not have the security of compliance with the biomechanical parameters that will ensure the generation of maximum power and efficiency. It is necessary to develop the maximum power that our body can generate because it is impossible to know the size of a future adversary or adversaries. Finally we need to have information that contains both aspects. For this, the system has a place called Instructor. Every time an order or command is issued that does not comply with what is systematized and indicated by the Founder of the discipline, its legacy is being misrepresented. Every time a mechanism established by him is modified, Its fate is being changed and rendered ineffective in our reflex actions for self defense. The plurality of versions of the same technique, as currently occurs, produces doubts, errors, and false beliefs about a mechanism that was designed for a unique utility. Books, encyclopedia, and films of the Founder of Taekwon-Do show that the current biomechanical diversity is nonsense. If such variety only affected choreography, it would not be correct but it would remain an anecdote in the identification of an institutional sales policy. The problem is that these differences in execution are not only choreographic but also affect the effectiveness of the mechanism, which was designed for self defense and not for corporate showmanship. In summary, our body is not autonomous, its mobility depends on the laws of physics, which in turn respond to the information received; therefore, making modifications or giving false information is misleading with serious consequences.

Senior Grand Master Ricardo Desimone

To be aware read again the previous notes

It is universally accepted that Gen. Choi Hong Hi is the Founder of the Martial Art called Taekwon-Do. Beyond the obstacles, qualms, and political foundations of those who, using the same name, achieved Olympic recognition some time ago, the word Taekwondo sounds unique. It is really so?

I think that an analysis on this is pertinent. The activity was born as a Martial Art on April 11th, 1955 as unique a conception and with strictly internal roots in South Korea, where its founder resided and served as a military general. Several years would pass, with various internal disagreements between its members, before its name gained national recognition. This circumstance and other political misfortunes of South Korea of that time catapulted the possibility of crossing borders and making this Art known in neighboring countries first and in the West later.

Those years and the internationalization or the art had nothing to do with sport or the Olympics. What was known and published was a martial art born in South Korea called Taekwon-Do and written in this same way, Taekwon-Do.

Different political vicissitude of the country and of the Founder resulted not only in the spread of the Art to the East and the West but also in the exile of this unique entity and its founder. These political/institutional disagreements allowed the birth of a sport that curiously was called Taekwondo. It was born in South Korea too, but 18 years later.

Similarities:

1. a) Their names are phonetically identical.
2. b) They were born in the same geographical place.

Differences:

1. a) They do not have the same foundational base.
2. b) They are written in different manners.
3. c) They don’t belong to the same organization.
4. d) They do not have the same philosophical base.
5. e) They don’t use the same uniform.
6. f) One is a martial art with a sports dimension and the other is a sport with martial art pretensions.

The most important difference is that their movements and biomechanical structures are totally dissimilar.

Ju-Do and Karate-Do have the same geographic origin (Japan) but they are two different and autonomous martial arts. Thus, having the same geographical origin does not overrule dissimilar activities with different administrations and disparate philosophies.

The Taekwon-Do conceived, systematized, and founded by Gral Choi Hong Hi in 1955 has nothing in common with the sport born in 1973 and phonetically pronounced Taekwondo but written as one word.

This was intentionally written in this way to take out all philosophical connotations that could be an obstacle for the Olympic sport pretentions finally obtained.

The disputes between the two activities took their entire students hostage without them even knowing it; without understanding what was happening, they took part in the quarrel as if it belonged to them.

Evidently being held as hostage for other people’s political and economic controversies only brings headaches and the unpleasant feeling of having been used.

The passing of this discipline’s Founder (June 2002) opened the way for countless entities to claim to be the rightful heirs of the art created by him.

It is evident that none of them are.

Some are merely economical opportunists while one uses it as a political tool to escape from obscurity and achieve a level of international success that would otherwise never be possible.

To the growing and never-ending list of entities claiming the Founder’s legacy as well as the acronym of the federation also created and presided over by him are added words that only fuel new divisions. These new words added to the original acronym (unified, union, traditional, original, and countless others), are merely banal attempts to keep oneself alive with another’s creation.

There’s no unity if the world of Taekwon-Do is totally atomized. And there is no unification in sight because individualities are fervently defended. The original no longer exists because the Art evolved during the Founder’s lifetime (and the subsequent modifications are incoherent and fanciful attempts by supposed “masters” of no actual relevance).

Is sport what holds these entities together?  Impossible. All the rules are different. Never forget that Taekwon-Do is a martial art. The only amalgam possible was that of Gral Choi Hong Hi.

Corollary: if the rules and administrations are different, the uniforms are similar but not equal, the certifications can be signed by inexperienced hierarchies without background, and the biomechanics are so far from those of the founder as to be unrecognizable, what unity are we talking about?

In accordance with the aforementioned panorama, if somebody (from East or West) says that Taekwon-Do is only one, it sounds like a joke, an insult to the intellect, or a plea for inclusion because «I also want to be part of the current opportunism.      “Don’t you think so?

Senior Grand Master Ricardo Desimone

To be aware read again the previous notes

It is obvious that the passage of time entails, among other things, the accumulation of experience in the activity to which a person has dedicated his entire life. The stages of human existence are inexorably fulfilled in each and every living being. Birth, development, decline, and death are inexorable. Therefore, and following this unequivocal destiny, we can affirm that there is a stage in the performance of the person that has better possibilities in the use of his body. In this phase, an amazing handling of the most complicated techniques from the point of view of mastery of the body is usually achieved. This is due to the possibility of the maximum use of muscle tone and joint flexibility, elements that will allow the use of the human structure in the execution of positions, jumps and turns that are difficult to master for the public. As the body by itself cannot do what it doesn’t know, it is imperative to have the information that will allow such skill.

Without losing sight of what was originally proposed related to the different stages of human life, we can say that it is in its second phase where a rare combination occurs: theoretical knowledge is less than the available body capacity; however, the physical act incorporates the understanding of that event and corroborates the conjectural proposals. The experience of the performer is built in this way. In the stage of decrease, the experienced practitioner will find that his knowledge is greater than that of the previous stage, but he will also notice that the limit of his actions has receded and it will impose a new use of his information. The acrobatic techniques with jumps and turns inexorably fulfill these two stages of the human parable. In my long and uninterrupted career as a practitioner and instructor, I have met a great number of people of all ethnicities who fulfilled with the aforementioned description.

The coordination and correct synchronization of the movements allow the implementation of the theory of how to increase power in the application of Taekwon-Do techniques. Every time these concepts are not present at 100%, there is a reduction in the power that each body can generate and therefore its effectiveness on the target.

The Taekwon-Do developed by Gen. Choi Hong Hi meets the biomechanical requirements for such achievements. Many years I have had the honor of assisting the Founder of the discipline in a number of interviews as his translator into the Spanish language, in the translation of his condensed Encyclopedia (1995 version) and more than 10 International Instructor Seminars. These facts allowed me to say without hesitation that the army of instructors and people who have collaborated in demonstrations all over the planet has been huge; however and despite their abilities they could not be equated with the practical executions that the General put into action in each of the technical corrections he made. His level of coordination and synchronization of movements was such that it revealed the perseverance invested in each of the executions for that achievement. While the aforementioned army of instructors who knew how to demonstrate the benefits of this Art put their objective in spectacular kicks, jumps and turns, acrobatic movements in short, the Founder had dedicated all his daily effort to the real characteristics of its creation, the generation of maximum power in each and every one of the techniques that compose it.

In his executions, stiffness and all fanciful movement are absent. The simplicity with which he executed each technique, allowed finding his movements spectacular due to the power he could generate with his small body. In his human structure were the proofs of the work necessary to strengthen the tools to be used in self defense. More than fifty years training these, allowed him to comfortably surpass the development of larger physical structures. The biomechanics of his invention requires mastery of the body’s axis or center of gravity in each and every one of the movements (static or dynamic). There is no technical posture or movement of the hands or legs that doesn’t reflect this fact. The innate use of the sine wave that by nature a human body uses in its movements becomes evident. The biomechanics that characterize this Art allow us to take advantage of this natural sinusoidal mobility of our body in a vertical and horizontal sense; the relevant fact is, being able to use it at the right time.

To do this, the accurate synchronization of the movements is necessary, which will allow the laws of physics to be used in a coordinated way to, together with the kinetics of the movement, produce 100% of the power that a human body can generate.

Every time a performer seeks maximum body power through force, not only he doesn’t achieve the desired goal, but he also reduces the power that he could have achieved. Force and power are parallel but not synonymous. Let’s say that force is the physical aptitude to perform a job or a movement (physical strength). While power is a resultant. In strength, muscle contracture is necessary, while to generate power, the speed factor must to be present. To push an object you need force, to hit you need speed, hence the well-known formula of mass by the square of acceleration as the power formula.

In short, the biomechanics that characterizes us and whose greatest exponent has been General Choi Hong Hi without any doubt needs the correct management of the body’s center of gravity, coordination in the use of the laws of physics and synchronize the movements to make this possible.

If you do not want to achieve this goal, just dedicate to use your strength.

Senior Grand Master Ricardo Desimone

Beyond being something owned by a person, belonging is also the circumstance of being part of a group, such are the meanings described in the dictionary. Sometimes both concepts merge into one.

The art of Taekwon-Do creates belonging to the group with which one practice and also identification with the Instructor who imparts the knowledge. Likewise, over time and with the incorporation of the skills he is acquiring, the student considers that the art belongs to him. In the aforementioned description, both concepts have been merged.

Many practitioners do not consider the belongings referred to above but rather do so through an acronym that is not a style since it describes only an administrative system and which, curiously, is totally atomized. You have to consider that the word belonging takes on value when it responds to a single, defined destination. You cannot belong to a name or an acronym whose identity is diversity, since it varies according to the need or commercial convenience of different people. They are similar in their name but they are not the same.

Usually it is considered that the acronym and the Founder is the same thing. In fact, they once were, and in that case the word belonging had a particular and distinctive connotation. Several things made that distinction: a single institution, a single uniform, a single emblem, a single regulatory methodology and fundamentally a single biomechanics in its movements. The single turn of the belt symbolizes, among other things, what has been said.

Today offers us a different circumstance: there is not a unique institution, a unique uniform, there is not a unique emblem, there is no single regulatory methodology and fundamentally there is no single biomechanics in their movements. Curiously, and if he were alive, the Founder of the discipline would find his achievement of unity obtained with so much effort to be demolished. In different circumstances and on the occasion of translating his words in an interview, he described his art as unique. His techniques and concepts are the same all over the planet, he said. This fact made it different from other martial arts that only had a unique name but their movements varied from one place to another.

In the current institutional potpourri, everyone believes they belong to the Taekwon-Do founded, developed, systematized and disseminated by General Choi Hong Hi simply by mentioning his name and the acronym of the federative system that he presides over. However, this is not the case. As I said in a previous note, the true legacy is in following his pedagogical system, the distinctive biomechanics of the movements and the criteria that always supported the Art of his invention. If you say you belong to the followers of General Choi but your movements do not respect what he taught, you do not belong, no matter how much you put your photo and repeat the philosophical principles as a litany. If you make the sport part your flag, you are walking in another direction than the martial art he founded, even if you keep showing his photo, use the name of his art and repeat the principles again.

In short, to belong you have to invest in the work of which you want to be a part because it is the only way to also own it.

To be awarded read again the previous notes