darren_stranger | got the spirit, lose the feeling.. (Reply)

I just realised something obvious that i've been doing wrong in my poomsae practice.

For a while, i've been trying to find the right way to perform patterns to best express a sense of power and 'mastery', when doing them with a view to artistic expression over technical precision or martial application. I'd been impressed by footage of Kim Jeong-Cheol of Spain at the first World Championships, particularly the sense of mastery and control he gives in his performance and body language, and have been trying capture a bit of that style in my own poomsae. The results have been mixed - while i've managed to get more of a feel for some patterns, in others i seem to have lost the touch i had before. Taegeuk Five, for instance, just hasn't felt right lately, though i couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Then last night it finally occurred to me what the problem is: Without thinking of it consciously, i realise i've been trying to apply the same consistent style through all of my patterns, even though i know they're all meant to have their own feel and 'voice'. It was like i'd forgotten the simple fact that the patterns aren't meant to be the same. That controlled, powerful style might work well for patterns like Jitae or Shipjin, and does help with some of the difficulties of Pyongwon, but trying to do Koryo or Taebaek like that just feels wrong as they're supposed to be fast, irregular patterns. In Taegeuk Five, i realised it was the sense of flow and lightness that was missing, lost while trying to express that power and control.

It's a bit of an epiphany - i'm always talking about the different meanings of the poomsae and how they relate to the way each pattern is performed, but in practice i realise i have a tendency to do them all the same. I might on occasion do Taegeuk Four with the idea of braving a terrible storm or Taegeuk Five thinking about the wind, but i don't think i've properly appreciated the difference in feel that each one has. I might know that Taegeuk Five should whip and swirl like the wind, but do i feel that in the motions?

I also realise that i've been applying different styles and ideas i come across in a blanket fashion too. That is, i might watch a kungfu movie and be inspired by the fluid, graceful style of the fight scenes and try putting that feel into my poomsae, or i might see videos of Shotokan guys doing their kata and be impressed by the strength and explosive power in the technique and try to mirror that. But what i haven't thought of is how those differing styles may fit in with particular poomsae, rather than doing the whole set aiming for a given effect. It's quite obvious when i think about it - Taegeuk Four feels right done with strong, focussed individual technique (as befits the idea of someone standing strong in the face of a storm), but Taegeuk Three should be light and fast like a flickering flame. It just feels wrong to do them the other way around.

Which is not to say there isn't room for approaching a session with a certain idea in mind (eg today i want to focus on relaxing, or today i want to work on speed and timing etc) but i think i do need to spend time approaching each pattern as a different entity, with its own style and mood and pace, and to really work out what feels right for each one.