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Patterns: The Devil Is In The Details - Part 3
by Stuart Anslow
Page 1/2
In the last article we covered Juche’s Dodging Reverse Turning Kick and as promised, here are a few more snippets relating to pattern Juche.
Juche’s Middle Hooking Kicks
Moves #7 and #19 call for a Middle Hooking Kick followed by a High Side Piercing Kick. We are going to look at the Middle Hooking Kick in more detail as a lot of people misunderstand the technique and perform it sort of like a crescent kick. First of all, though I`m sure some will disagree, the terminology for it is not the most insightful description in the world, mainly because other martial arts have ‘hook kicks’, which refer an offensive type kick, executed using the heel or bottom of the foot cross-wise, whereas Taekwon-Do’s Hooking Kick is executed in an up/down motion and is similar in motion to the Palm Hooking Blocks found in Yul-Gok tul.
The Hooking Kick in Juche is considered a defensive technique and the comes up and down in sort of ‘n’ shape, so it does actually ’hook’ or loops over/around the intended target. The striking area is the Back Heel, not the side of the foot as a crescent kick would use.
To finish this combination, you would chamber directly from the finishing position of the Middle Hooking Kick, then execute the High Side Piercing Kick landing with a ‘stamp’ into Sitting Stance and executing the High Outward Cross-Cut.
Juche: From Guarding Block To Heaven Hand
This is a simple error, but one that is common place as it does actually feel natural to do it the incorrect way. Following the Pick-Shape Kick landing in a Rear Foot Stance with a Middle Forearm Guarding Block (move #25), then forming into Closed Stance with Heaven Hand, many move their left foot to their right to form the stance because, as I said, it does seem natural to do so, as the right foot is already bearing all the weight, but in actual fact it is the other way around and it is the right foot that should move towards the left foot to form the stance.
Yoo-Sins Side Fist Downward Strike
Digressing slightly while we are discussing foot movements, there's another common error seen in pattern Yoo-Sin, when the student moves from the final 9-Shape Block (move #63) into a Vertical Stance to execute the Side Fist Downward Strike (move #64). Like in Juche, there is a foot movement that seems natural to move one way, when in fact it should be the opposite.
The common theme is that the students preceding movements are travelling back towards the start position, so it seems natural that the feet moving to form the Vertical Stance follow suit by bringing the right foot towards the left, but it is in fact the opposite way round and the left foot should travel towards the right foot to form the stance.