Human Weapon: Taekwondo
December 28, 2007 by Bob Patterson
Call it good karma. I woke up from my post-relative nap to catch the last 45 minutes of Human Weapon: Taekwondo. I absolutely have to get this on DVD when it comes out. If you go to the Human Weapon website you can see the trailer while it’s still up. Included in the trailer is Bill getting knocked out with a spinning hook kick (at least I think that’s him). They only show a flash of it near the end of the trailer but if you catch the full episode you’ll see that Bill got his bell rung. In addition, Jason Chambers blows his knee out while trying the damned tornado kick in a live match. I’ve been working on that kick for at least six months and it still gives me trouble. So, I really appreciated seeing two experts having trouble with taekwondo. At some point they’ll probably update their video gallery to include footage from the taekwondo episode. Finally, from the cool break department you can watch a taekwondo master break 12 marble slabs with a chambered punch. It’s on the trailer and it’s also on the episode.
I missed the first 15 minutes so I can’t discuss that part of the show. I caught it when they were talking about early forms of taekwondo. In particular, they covered Takkyeon and how many of these ancient techniques were eventually incorporated into modern taekwondo.
Taekkyon contains all kinds of techniques, including hand and leg techniques as well as joint locks, head butts and so on. However, today there are different styles which sometimes do not emphasize all techniques. In all styles, just like in past centuries, kicks are most dominant. Taekkyon teaches a great variety of kicks, especially low kicks (ddanjuk) but also jumps.
After Taekkyon they then trained in Hwa Rang Do which is thought to be another ancient style of Korean fighting that also influenced taekwondo.
During the course of study up until black sash, a practitioner will learn a long form, eight basic techniques, around 30 “one step sparring” techniques and about the same number of self-defense techniques, and some short forms, every sash level. In addition, three main weapons will be taught: The Ssang Jyel Bong (nunchaku), Jang Bong (long staff), and the Gum Mu (sword). Defense against other weapons, such as the knife, are also taught, but training with those weapons does not occur until black sash. Hwa Rang Do students will also have extensive study in grappling, joint manipulation and submission fighting, and new curriculum rollouts allow studying kumdo and weapon fighting earlier in the program.
After that Bill and Jason both got to fight some taekwondo master who was dubbed “the professor.” I’m guessing that the professor was about 140 lbs wet and not very tall. However, he’s very good at taekwondo.
Now I’m sure people will argue that Bill and Jason where confined to taekwondo rules during the match. Well duh Eisenstein! That’s pretty much been the theme of EVERY episode and is pretty much the point of the whole series: Have the hosts immerse themselves in a particular martial art. So, you really have to give Bill and Jason credit for trying to play by someone else’s rules.
This also was about as hurt as I’ve seen Bill or Jason. Bill gets knocked out and Jason burns a knee. Jason even quips with frustration that they both were wearing all of taekwondo’s protective gear. Welcome to my world.
I also had to chuckle. After calling me crazy (a frequent occurrence in my household) my wife stated that she “now knows why I’m always hurt.” Hey, what can I say? It ain’t ballet!
~BCP
I recorded the episode on my DVR. I really enjoyed the episode as well.
The professor really was a professor, as I’m sure you saw that he was part of that university that allows you to major in TKD.
Also, he was a national champion, I believe. The last 720 kick that almost hit Jason was amazing!
I don’t know if you remember the guy w/gray hair who kicked the cigarettes out of Bill and Jason’s mouths, but he is in the video “Revolution of Kicking”, which you can see on youtube. It has lots of great tips for the basic kicks, like back kick, axe kick, etc, and if you’re looking for a challenge, the 540 back hook kick.
If I tried the 540 back hook kick they’d be picking my hip up off the floor and carting me off.
I have ENOUGH trouble with the tornado kick.
Regardless, pretty cool episode.
~BCP
It must be hard for Jason to rein in his natural instincts as an MMA fighter. I give him props for that.
Yeah Bill had trouble. He accidentally punched his opponent in the face.
I saw the entire episode, i think from the start a single week isn’t enough time to learn enough tae kwon do, or enough of it to really do much in sparring. Also, nobody really bothered to teach them the sparring rules beforehand or train them in how to spar etc.
A couple of points however about the gear they were both forced to wear, I actually practice tae kwon do, that gear may look funny, but it doesn’t prevent you from doing techniques and prevents bad things happening that would take you out of practice for months at a time, concussions, broken ribs, broken wrists, and injuries that can take you out permanently, like destroyed veins along the shins. Secondly, you don’t practice point sparring on the street, i’ve seen a lot of people point out “well they were fighting tkd rules, if they were fighting, football, or mma rules chambers and bill would’ve won” that’s absurd, if u took the rules out of tkd, like no kicking below the belt, no eye gouging, knifehandstrikes to the neck, etc, for point sparring it would change dramatically, the same goes for mma too, so that statement is false (yay contrapositive).
Overall, i thought it was a good episode, and i learned a lot about tkd’s history.
First, thanks for posting!
Second, I agree with just about everything you said!
~BCP
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