It’s that time again for me folks, the mock grading is coming and I can’t remember by makgis, chagis or wotsits. Actually, by writing this article I’m putting off revising my Tae Kwon Do theory as well as the large pile of marking that needs doing and the washing up. The fact is, there isn’t an easy way to bluff your theory but you can use a few methods help yourself access this abstract information and retain it to do well. I remember standing in line in my first class and hearing the first tenet of Tae Kwon Do, ‘I shall observe the tents at Twycross Zoo.’ I wasn’t quite sure what camping and caging wild animals had to do with learning a martial art, until I realised what we were actually saying; but one thing was made clear to me, there was a lot more to getting your first belt than just doing a few press ups and remembering which way to punch.
The following week, I was plunged into my first mock grading. Ok, I thought, I’m an intelligent adult who has to cope with a lot of pressure at work, I can do this. So in my pink t-shirt and faded shorts, I coolly gave as good as I could by stumbling through Saju Jirugi looking more like Bambi than Bruce Lee. Fine so far, I thought, but then came the theory test. Obviously, I hadn’t a clue but fortunately the black belts recognised this and only asked me what my instructor was called, easy for me as has the same name as my father! However, when I was given a booklet with the Korean terminology and a couple of weeks to learn it, the stumbling blocks I saw were clear, both as a potential martial artist and as an experienced school teacher. If I found the words and phrases difficult to learn, then how would a child or a nervous adult access this important information?
Some people may ask, why do we have to learn these words anyway? Well, Tae Kwon Do was developed in Korea, it’s their martial art and so it is only right that we learn the moves in their language. However, one thing I’ve noticed dealing with an Oriental language is to not to try to rationalise what you are learning into the English system. The Korean language has a totally different grammar system to ours and they use tenses and syntax in a way that is alien to us. In other words, their concept of speaking about time and their word order is different to our way of thinking. Unless you are going to live in Korea and learn fluent Korean, the best way of learning the words you need to know is to do it by repetition. Also, don’t be intimidated by the list of words that have no meaning to you, once you have broken them down into manageable chunks, you have a better chance of remembering them.
I applied a method that I used in a summer school teaching English as a foreign language (ironically, some of the children were Korean!) on myself. I bought some card and multi-coloured sparkly gel pens and cut them up into small squares. On one side I wrote the word in English and on the other, in Korean. Spread out the cards onto the floor and then guess the word. You can see if you’re right by turning the card over. This method is a good way of helping children to access the terminology; you have made the language bite-sized and created a game.
Another thing you may want to consider before you start is to think about what your learning style is and apply this to your way of memorising your theory. The main ones that adults use are literacy, aural and kinaesthetic. In plain English that means, writing, listening and action. I’m mostly literacy with a bit of aural thrown in, so I have to set myself the task of copying out the terms repeatedly, which helps me to access quite large chunks of information in a short space of time and to listen to a theory CD in my car. For a few weeks of the year, I can become almost obsessed about the Korean words to the point where, when I wanted to get the students’ attention at school in the middle of a fascinating lesson about Macbeth (well I thought so anyway) I’ve shouted, ‘HETCHYO’ to thirty very confused teenagers whispering, ‘err, is Miss Jackson feeling ok?’ I’m obviously a bit of a nutcase so I wouldn’t recommend doing this at work, but by identifying your preferred method of retaining information you will save a lot of time and it will stop you panicking when you come across a long list of foreign words. For the kinaesthetic learners reading this, you may want to play a theory CD, or get a friend to read out the Korean term and then perform the movement itself, so you associate the action with the information.
One thing I have noticed in the many excellent Tae Kwon Do lessons I’ve had, both in England and New Zealand, is that there seems to be a reluctance or fear of using the language in a functional form in class. We are all very familiar with the instructions given such as hetchyo, si jak or baro as they are repeated to us constantly and these terms now become second nature to us. I would like to hear instructors use the Korean a lot more in reference to the floor work and when explaining movements, again the students will learn by association and by seeing the instructor using the language comfortably, it will take away the abstract nature of the language we have to learn. This will also help the children much more, remember, whatever the adults find tricky or intimidating the children will experience tenfold.
What about pattern meanings? Unfortunately, this is something that you cannot break down or dance around your living room to remember. This is one area that I’ve noticed some people really struggle with when under pressure and especially when reciting them at the top table. I remember at a recent grading watching in horror as I witnessed a friend put in a sterling performance in every other aspect but when confronted at the top table, his mind went blank and he stuttered his way through the meaning of Hwa-Rang. I knew he knew it, the examiner knew he knew it but the damn thing just wouldn’t come out. You must fire off those pattern meanings as an automatic response and this has to be done by rote. You need to either listen to the pattern meaning repeatedly or in my case, copy them out until you can recite them perfectly. Also, finding out the full meaning can be helpful, I found them on www.tkdtutor.com; you discover more about the seemingly random person you are learning about and you get a potted history of Korea. Mind you, judging by the meanings of Do San and Joon Gun, you get the feeling the Koreans aren’t over-keen on the Japanese after being occupied by them for the first half of the twentieth century, I doubt there are very many schools of Tae Kwon Do in Tokyo!
The biggest test that you will have to endure with your theory will undoubtedly be your black belt grading. As I am only a lowly red-stripe, I asked a few black belts in my club who had recently gained their first Dan what strategies they used to learn everything for that big day. Some of the best tips were:
“Cross reference all of the terminology into your own crib sheets. Put all of the kicks onto one page and do the same for the blocks and strikes. Once you have set them into logical groups they become less of a chore to memorise.”
“Copy out everything, by doing this, you must have read the information!”
“Don’t be afraid to ask another black belt for help, they’ve gone through this before.”
“Ignore macho posturing and other people panicking, concentrate on your own work and you will be fine.”
In fact, these are all good tips for anyone learning their theory for both colour and black belt. My last piece of advice would be to allow plenty of time to do this. Don’t try to cram everything at the last minute, a little but often is much better and don’t bother having a panic revision session the night before; if you don’t know it then, you never will. Good luck, and don’t forget that a chagi is a kick and not Scooby Doo’s scruffy friend!
Right, time for me to dig out my sparkly gel pens and start making lists…..
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