Purpose of Taekwondo Forms

Purpose of Taekwondo Forms

You just tested for a new belt... what's next? A new form, most likely... also known as patterns, poomse, or hyungs. Now, you'll go through the process again of perfecting your forms before the next belt testing. You may ask yourself, what is the purpose of all these forms?
As a Taekwondo practitioner for over 30 years, I've come full circles with the purpose of the items we practice in class. In fact, I've done a couple full circles with regards to forms. During my younger days as a competitive point style fighter, I wasn't too fond of forms. I practiced them, and I did well. As a matter of fact, I did really well in every tournament I competed in. What I was really interested in was the sparring. That's what I lived for.


I found every way to justify that forms had nothing to do with sparring. For instance, a boxer does not do forms. Kickboxers don't do forms. Wrestlers don't do forms. Other sports don't do forms. Why should I pay much attention to forms. I'm as logical of a thinker as you can get. I will justify and calculate just about everything. It's probably why graduated with an engineering degree. By the way, I retired after a year.


I've heard others argue that boxers, kickboxers, and wrestlers do have forms. They are just done in a different manner. Oh, such a sad attempt to create a similarity. Here is my response- Those other sports have combinations and drills, just like we do in Taekwondo, but they still do not do memorized sequences of techniques, consisting of 15 to 30 steps in length.


Okay, here is where I finally made my first full circle. Taekwondo is not a sport. Therefore, it should not be compared to other sports. I first began in the ITF, and now I am in the WTF, and still... I think of our practice as an art form over sport, regardless of the amount of competing I've done and that our academy still does. Taekwondo has a sport component to it, in fact, most martial arts have a sport component. Tai Chi even has competition.


At this point, I understood that it's not fair to compare what we do as Taekwondo practioners to boxers. Taekwondo, and most martial arts, are centered around building yourself from the inside out. Becoming a person of great character. A person that lives by certain tenents- courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control, and indomitable spirit. Martial arts were created thousands of years ago to defend lands, and emperors, as well as for personal protection when traveling great distances.


Ancient history depicts warriors training with memorized sequences of techniques- forms. These forms were most likely used to keep the warriors mentally sharp and in shape when training solo. Doing forms allow you to visualize attacks from multiple opponents. Imagine, you're a monk, 3000 years ago, travelling for several weeks... alone. You need a means to develop yourself physically and mentally. Forms will allow you to visualize attackers, while you defend yourself with explosive techniques. Each time you execute a technique in your form, you execute with power, focus, and precision. The training develops your technique from shear repetition as well as your mental focus and discipline.


Now it's easy to fall off the ancient warrior wagon when you're competing. I have training partners, and equipment to practice on. I don't need to train solo with forms to develop my skills for sparring. Again, I've justified why my Taekwondo forms can be put on the back burner of my training.


Ah, hah!!! It has finally hit me. It was staring at me along during my first full circle with the importance of forms. First, let me explain that forms has many benefits-


1. Taekwondo forms help you build strength in specific techniques by executing them regularly in a powerful fashion.


2. Taekwondo forms disciplines your body to control your breathing by exhaling on the execution of techniques and inhaling in between.


3. Taekwondo forms teach your body good balance by executing kicks, blocks, and punches with power, but then maintaining proper posture, and foot and hand position without comprising your stance. Good technique is of the ought most importance in forms because it challenges us the most with coordination and balance.


4. Taekwondo forms offer us a means to "empty your cup." Emptying your cup is symbollic to life. There is only so much stress and so many tasks you can allow your mind and body to handle. Forms is an activity that allows you to release some of those stresses that are consuming you mentally. Practice forms for 30 minutes after a long stressfull day, and you'll understand the true meaning of "emptying your cup."


Now that's not the big benefit that forms has. The big benefit goes all the way back to the ancient warriors. It's funny how the biggest benefits are the time tested ones from long ago. The benefit is- visualization. 90% of all Olympic athletes are visualizers. 90% of the successful business people in this country envisioned their success.


So how do you tap into this priceless quality? You practice! Visualization is an art that can be mastered. If you perform your Taekwondo forms in a mundane fashion focusing only on technique, balance, and breathing, you're missing one huge component. To develop your skills as a powerful visualizer, you must picture every attack you're blocking and every target you're striking. This mental exercise is so powerful, it ought to carry over in the rest of your life.


There are plenty of books on the law of attraction, so I won't write on that, but the premise of this law is visualization. If entrepreneurs do it, business people do it, Olympic athletes do it, ancient warriors did it, and it made them successful, I would say it's worth doing to.


"Wait a minute... I'm in martial arts for self defense, not for some business success course." So be it. Every step in your form is a defense or counter attack to an assailant. The more you visualize those attacks and your defense and counters against them, the more proficient and natural it will be, should you encounter a similar attack. This is the reason you learn several forms in Taekwondo. Each form offers you a knew perspective on a particular attack. The more forms you know, the more tools you have mentally and physically to use.


2nd full circle, now complete. I'm sure I'll probably do another full circle soon. In fact, I search for a reason to do these circles, because it allows me to keep growing as a Taekwondoist. Like many great people before me have said, "When you're not growing, you're rotting." It's the natural law of nature.