Dichotomy is defined as a sharp division of things or ideas into two contradictory parts.
Taekwon-Do is as everybody knows a martial art. It development has a particular biomechanics that let the human being use the 100% of his potential in all and each techniques used.
The power breaking application with different materials (woods, roof tiles, bricks, etc.) corroborates such assertion.
But its handling is not so easy to obtain. It will require a firm determination and perseverance to acquire the necessary skill to be effective in self defense situations.
Different parts of the human body structure are used as weapons to block an opponent’s attack or to produce a considerable damage in the occasional adversary.
The biomechanics alone of the mentioned weapons doesn’t produce any damage in the enemy whose structure cannot be predictable. The opponent can be smaller or bigger than us, but never as weak as we would like to find if the circumstances arrive. It is necessary to apply a well trained tool to be effective against their weapons or to seriously injure the adversary’s structure. These strong weapons cannot be bought in the market or granted by the superiors, they can only be acquired through hard work over the years, using the only unavoidable elements to obtain such a tool: perseverance, repetition and sweat.
We use patterns (Tul) as the method to train different movements and postures; to prepare our legs for jump, kick, block or to build solid stances for an appropriate use of our hands.
This pandemic time and the virtual method used to communicate or train allow us to see that many are teaching how to use the body in different Taekwon-Do techniques without the right employment of the muscle contraction in their hands when blocking or striking. In other words the emphasis is placed in the biomechanics alone without taking into account that the muscle contraction is part of the mentioned working out.
That training is a dichotomy. People are trying to use 100 % of their potential but not adequately preparing the weapons to support the impact of such a power.
Many pretend to teach how to punch or how to use the hands, but theirs are not properly trained to be the true example of what is intended to teach. This is not only a dichotomy but also an imposture.
It is evident that those speeches lack effectiveness in their use for self defense and are only a description of choreography.
Taekwon-Do has many surprises in their development for the oblivious. The actual self defense solution admits no mistakes. At the beginning of Taekwon-Do, a category was acknowledged as it is today with a certificate that recognizes the capacity level. Certificates or diplomas arrived at that time with considerable delay, but no one was suspicious of the person’s competence because their ability corresponded to the category displayed even though they did not yet have the certificate.
The nowadays dichotomy about this matter can be caused by the factors already established to grant a promotion, which in several cases are not coincident the approved grade with the skill and knowledge of the applicant. The issue wrongly used to produce such dichotomy is using the time as sufficient parameter to promote.
Time between categories is necessary and unavoidable. Those promoted without such consideration do not only cheat the system and companions but also deceive themselves when they look for this place without the necessary ripeness in their former degree.
Another curious dichotomy is that linked to the knowledge.
It is said that the only Taekwon-Do’s knowledge that a person has is the one that he or she can apply with his/her body. Other knowledge is allegoric. This means that if the knowledge cannot be put into action with your body, such information is only an intellectual exercise or a personal compilation. Theory without practice is something empty; practice without theory is a shot in darkness. Both parts are necessary, they are faces of the same coin called proficiency.
The greatest Dichotomy occurs when a person knows that he or she is not learning, is not increasing his or her knowledge due to being in the wrong place, but keeps on there. Another analogue situation takes place when an Instructor insists with staying on an entity lead by the wrong people, with the logical consequence of an instructor leading the students in the perpetuation of a mistake.
To avoid the mentioned dichotomies and other too long to feature here, it is necessary to take into account the following details: the grade you pretend is not suitable if it does not match with your capacity, then don’t look it before the time required. If you want to be effective in self defense techniques, inevitably you have to strengthen your weapons; on the contrary you’re only training a fantasy. Finally, if you are an Instructor, dedicate yourself only to training the skill required for such a profession or you will be selling what you don’t have.
Senior Grand Master Ricardo Desimone
To be aware read again the previous notes