Taegeuk Sam Jang

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Taegek Sam Jang is the third of eight taekwondo forms practiced by the Kukkiwon and the World Taekwondo Federation. A form, or poomsae (also romanized as pumsae or poomse), is a choreographed pattern of defense-and-attack motions. Taegeuk Sam Jang is often (but not universally) practiced by students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo with rank of 6th geup. Sixth geup students of Kukkiwon/WTF-style taekwondo practice this form in order to advance to the next rank (5th geup).

The taegeuk symbol

The word taegeuk (Korean: 태극; Hanja: 太極, Korean pronunciation: [tʰɛgɯk̚]) refers to the universe from which all things and values are derived.[1][2] It is also the symbol that makes up the center of the flag of South Korea and the source for its name, taegeukgi (hangul: 태극기, where gi means "flag").[3] The taegeuk is commonly associated with Korean Taoism philosophical values[4] as well as Korean shamanism.[5]

The word sam is the number 3 in the Sino-Korean numbering system. The word jang translates roughly as "chapter" or "part". Taegeuk Sam Jang translates as "Part 3 of the Taegeuk".

Symbolism

The floor pattern (or yeon-mu) of each taegeuk poomsae is three parallel lines. On each line, a 180 degree turn is performed.

  • If the turn is performed by pivoting in-place, the line is considered to be a broken line.
  • If the turn is performed by moving the lead foot to the rear, the line is considered to be a solid line.

The floor pattern of each taegeuk poomsae then represents three broken or solid lines, called trigrams or gwae (bagua in Chinese). Each trigram (gwae) corresponds to a natural element.

The Pal Gwae or 八卦 Bāguà—The eight trigrams
乾 Qián
兌 Duì
離 Lí
震 Zhèn
巽 Xùn
坎 Kǎn
艮 Gèn
坤 Kūn
Heaven/SkyLake/MarshFireThunderWindWaterMountainEarth
天 Tiān澤(泽) Zé火 Huǒ雷 Léi風(风) Fēng水 Shuǐ山 Shān地 Dì
Gun Tae Yi Jin Seon Gam Gan Gon
digram illustrating taegeuk sam jang
The first and last turns of Taegeuk Sam Jang are performed by moving the lead foot. The middle turn is performed by pivoting in-place. This indicates that the associated trigram is a solid line, a broken line, and a solid line.

The first and last turns of Taegeuk Sam Jang are performed by moving the lead foot. The middle turn is performed by pivoting in-place. This indicates that the associated trigram is a solid line, a broken line, and a solid line; this is the trigram for fire ("yi"). The Kukkiwon teaches that this poomsae should be performed with energy, like a fire.[6]

Techniques

This poomsae builds up on the two prior forms (Taegeuk Il Jang and Taegeuk Ee Jang) and introduces "knife hand" techniques, specifically:

  • neck-high knifehand strike (sometimes called a "neck slice")
  • knifehand outward block

In addition, this form introduces the first combinations involving three techniques:

  • a front kick followed by a double-punch (seen first at the beginning of the form)
  • a low block, kick, punch combination (seen at the conclusion of the form)

Development

See also

References

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