TAEKWONDO BIBLE

Volume 1

The Philosophical Principles of TAEWONDO

Written by Lee, Chang Hoo
Drawn by Kim, Hui Soo
Translated by Daniel Kane

Sang A Production

Oneness and Nothingness are to be Born Together as One

"How should I begin Taekwondo?"
Master stood up without a word and I followed him.

Man is by necessity born with his mind and body on earth, and it is impossible to maintain one's mind and body in harmony unless one relies on the principle that has existed since before human existence. This principle, according to which everyone can control his own mind and body and live his life, has been called "TAEKWONDO" by senior masters. There are ways in which the planets move through the sky, ways in which birds and beasts travel along the earth, and also rules that mankind should obey in society. Likewise, there is also a right way by which we should control our hands and feet whenever we make a motion. This is another aspect of TAEKWONDO. Man's life can be constructed only by his own motions, and such motion contains within it everything of him, including inherent nature. Owing to these reasons, we may term Taekwondo a Do (도[道]), which contains the eternal principle.

Do is what makes everything such, i.e., it is the principle that penetrates all things. The very principle that imbues and penetrates and constitutes the natural "suchness" of all things is called Do. It transcends every distinction and discrimination. So there is neither a part nor a whole in it. Because it has neither part nor whole, to know it is to know everything. Therefore, every single word written here is not a piece of knowledge on TAEKWONDO. It is an entirety of itself that includes everything.

With Balance Firmly Centered

"It is difficult to understand technique."
"Because you do not distinguish what is important from what is trivial."

In order to maintain the best balance in every pose and movement of Taekwondo so that you can shift fluently from move to move, you should maintain a settled center. What is a settled center? We can easily imagine what is meant by a stable one. This, however, is not good enough and a settled center in Taekwondo ought to attain a level where it can apply itself to every change in swift motion. Nature, which correct Taekwondo resembles in its essence, possesses such a firm and balanced center that she generates and contains infinite change with no confusion in her order. This settled center of nature always lives in the empty and constant. Following such an example, Taekwondo-Een's training cannot be properly established until it obtains just such a firm center. In the growth process one cannot walk before one can stand firm.

The non-swaying center is naturally low. The low center can be firm relying on the stability of the entirety. Only with deep roots can a tree withstand the severe challenge of the hurricane or drought. On the other hand, a fast moving center is naturally high, riding the flow of nature high where it can avoid obstructions. A thing can fall fast because it starts from a high spot. The top branches of a tree sways faster than its lower ones. The outer rim of a wheel spins faster than its center.

The essence of the Do of all things is change not fixity. However, just as man's learning moves from the immutable to the changeable and man's thinking expands from distinction to that which lies beyond distinction, Taekwondo training should begin with an understanding of a firm and fixed center to eventually obtain a center within rapid motion. You cannot understand the two are beyond distinction until you grasp the distinction between them. This explains why in Taekwondo you are first trained to develop a strong waist and legs.

There is no Difference between Attack and Defense

"What is Yu?"
"Following the opponent's motion without resistance; this principle is called Yu."

<......>

How can you follow these teachings?
Seek out an empty point in the opponent's movements, and then enter into it. As every motion is a continuous flux of emptiness and fullness resulting in HeoSil, you will surely find an empty point in his motion. You should strike his Heo in it. At this moment you should harmonize two kinds of distance between you and him: One is your attack distance to penetrate his center, the other is your defensive distance such that you do not draw back from his attack but rather move suddenly aside to an unanticipated spot.

Correct distance for penetrating the opponent dictates that you strike at his center, as soon as you spot a favorable chance, breaking through his defenses with the tide of a charging beast. What is critical is that you possess the nature of a tidal swell submerging and overwhelming a rocky shore.

Correct distance in moving aside dictates that you do not attempt to directly counter the opponent's fierce attack with powerful tide, but rather suddenly move aside to stab his mind with vacuity. It is important here that you do not distance yourself far from him but maintain a proper distance from him as you seek out your opportunity. What is critical is that you not consider drawing back.

The secret tip to attaining these skills is to keep your breathing even and under perfect control. Breath is the main stem of change, extending from the bottom to the tip of all vital phenomena, and the axis that binds mind and body as one. Controlling breathing you can control mind and the motion, and promoting your body which mediates between the two, you can make a movement that accords with the mind and body that supports such a motion.

In this manner you can calm your mind to control breathing, with which you will generate balance and harmony in your body's vigor and reconcile them to the movements of your bones and muscles, so that you can subdue your opponent and defend against his attack. This is possible because biological breathing flows consistently from each cell to the entire mass. Therefore, breathing can ultimately prove the resource of power to attack your opponent and protect yourself.

The key point of breath control, be it in attack or in defense, is simple and the same whether or not you have mastered the other skills of Taekwondo. It is to inhale when blocking the opponent's attack and exhale when attacking the opponent, with no unnecessary breathing. To inhale does not mean to merely take in air but to empty your entirety to receive his fierceness, while to exhale does not mean to merely release air but to fill your entirety so as to explode with your inner energy. Both should be done at once.

Completing By Cutting Off

"Why is the teaching of Taekwondo so complicated?"
"It is not complicated but simple. It only seems so because you refuse to accept it."

Mastering Taekwondo is not about attaining something but rather transforming yourself through training. You cannot achieve Taekwondo by adding something to yourself, yet you can find it in what remains after you have cut yourself off from all superfluity. Just as a sculptor chisels away stone to reveal the artwork within, or the way a potter breaks old bowls to make new ones. To practice and master Taekwondo is not about performing a given movement but about becoming the motion itself. This "selfication" - the transformation of the self - is the direction in which all learning advances. Otherwise, there can be no true learning.

This is universally valid for any kind of learning, be it mathematics, foreign languages, history, philosophy or anything else. Learning logical thinking in mathematics we come to master how to abandon various ways of faulty reasoning to be left with the only possible way in calculus. When you study a foreign language it is important to abandon many aspects of your own speech in order to change your habitual way of thinking and adopt the proper way of speaking the foreign tongue. You can gain little truth if you seek simply to add to your knowledge - memorizing historical facts or quotations, for instance - rather than abandoning something too. Every learning process is the act of being left with only your necessary self following a process of acquiring and discarding.

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