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Fall-of-Kuryong-at-GeumGangSan

Kuryong Falls at Mount Kumgang in Korea

Kukkiwon/WT Taekwondo uses the following series of forms (called the Yudanja series) for Black Belt forms:

  • Koryo (고려) - first dan, also spelled Goryeo and Koryeo ("learned man", symbolizing a wise person)
    • An older, deprecated form called Original Koryo also exists, but it isn't considered so by the Kukkiwon (for gradings or the Master Instructor Course) or by WT (for the World Poomsae Championships).
  • Keumgang (금강)) - second dan ("diamond", symbolizing hardness, unbreakable)
  • Taebaek (태백)) - third dan ("sacred mountain", symbolizing spirituality)
  • Pyongwon (평원)- fourth dan, also spelled Pyeong-won ("open plain", symbolizing peacefulness)
  • Sipjin (싶진)) - fifth dan, also spelled Shipjin ("eternal 10", symbolizing health and longevity)
  • Jitae (지태) - sixth dan (symbolizes mankind as the connection between heaven and earth)
  • Cheonkwon (천권) - seventh dan, also spelled Cheon-gwon ("sky", symbolizing piety)
  • Hansoo (한수) - eighth dan, also spelled Hansu ("water", symbolizing adaptability)
  • Ilyeo (일여) - ninth dan (symbolizing the Buddhist concept of oneness of the mind and body)

Each of the yudanja forms has a floor pattern that traces out a Chinese character or other symbol. Each character is said to represent a characteristic that should be exhibited by a taekwondo master: wise, unbreakable, spiritual, peaceful, long-lived, pious, adaptable, etc.

Yudanja Meanings

금강 (geumgang), which means diamond, symbolises hardness, or that which is too strong to be broken. This form refers to the mountain called 금강산 (Keumgangsan), which is considered the centre of Korean national spirit, and is a symbol of immovability and the immutability. Just as a diamond exhibits hardness, and beauty through clarity, this form must express the spiritual strength necessary to cut through all distractions presented by life.

See: Mount Kumgang on Wikipedia.

Video

The Kukkiwon video for this form is here.


Diagram

To print the diagram, click on the image and select "See full size image," or right-click and open the image in a new tab.

Keumgang 3D


Written Instructions

First going forward...

Keumgang OutwardOpeningBlock Chamber

Chambering for the Inner Forearm Opening Block

Keumgang OutwardOpeningBlock

Inner Forearm Opening Block

Keumgang PalmheelJawStrike

Palmheel Jaw Strike

Then going backward...

Then going left...

Keumgang LargeHingeBlock

Large Hinge Block

Keumgang MountainBlock

Mountain Block

Then going right...

Keumgang DiamondBlock

Diamond Block

Going left again, back to the starting point...

References

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