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One of the most important parts of Taekwon-Do is the
use of Sine Wave (Hwaldung Pahdo) in almost all of our
techniques. We use Sine wave for a number of reasons. It
allows us greater power by utilising our body mass
effectively and permits greater control over our
movements.
The Sine wave is (partly) created by effective use of
the leg muscles which is also known as "Knee
Spring". At the beginning of a technique you
should "drop" your body weight, and
then increase your height before dropping again towards
the end of the technique. To understand this you
really need to be able to see it performed and you should
see your instructor for a demonstration. Remember that
Sine wave and Sine wave motion are difficult to
understand and that they are even more difficult to
attain in practice. Do not be discouraged, by continually
working on this aspect it will become second nature to
you to use Sine wave in your techniques, be warned
though, there are some techniques that do not use Sine
wave for various reasons and you should not
"add" your Sine wave to these.
In addition to Sine wave, we also have the Sine wave
motion which is harder to understand. There are a number
of different ways of moving in Taekwon-Do and here is a
summary of how to use the Sine wave in each case. These
have been ordered with the slowest first (to perform two
techniques) with the fastest last (to perform two
techniques).
| Slow motion |
The Sine wave is performed as usual, beginning
with down, then up, and then down again. The movement
is performed slowly with slow breathing. This is used
to emphasise an important movement and to check
balance and control. It also aides muscle
development. An example is in
Joong-Gun tul.
Please note that there are no fast
"bits" in a slow motion technique.
Some people still have a "phit"
breath control (Hohup Jojul) in slow motion, you
should NOT have this. What you should do is still use
breath control but not to make the sharp sound at the
end, this is because the move is in slow motion and
the breath control is part of that, therefore you
perform the breath control slowly too. |
| Normal motion |
| The Sine wave motion is performed as usual. The
first movement is downwards by bending the knees
(note do NOT bend at your hip/back). As you move
forward begin to straighten your leg which will lead
to an increase in your height (and therefore
potential weight). Once you have reached your apex
you will then start to come down and this is where a
great deal of the power is generated. This is usually
the end of your Sine wave. When performing one
technique after another there is a time gap between
them, this should not be too long, just enough to
clearly indicate that the whole of one move has
finished and that the next is about to begin. You
should have one breath control for each
technique. |
| Fast motion |
| The Sine wave is performed as usual. The only
difference is a split second pause between the end of
one movement and the start of the next. This time
interval is smaller than with normal speed. You
should breathe normally and have one breath control
for each technique. Fast motion are nearly always
attacks - mainly two punches. An example is in
Do-San
tul. |
| Continuous motion |
| This is performed as usual with the exception
that there is NO pause between the end of one
movement and the start of the next. An example is in
Dan-Gun tul. You should have one breath control
for each technique as usual. You should always start
with a block. The main reason for using this kind of
motion is to allow an instant response to the attack
by either blocking the next technique or issuing your
own counter. |
| Connecting motion |
| This is performed as usual with the following
exceptions: There is no pause between techniques,
there is only one breath control for all techniques
(which is at the end), it is usually impossible to
determine where one technique ends and the next
begins. Note that there is only ONE Sine wave and ONE
breath control. Connecting motion is always with two
movements using opposite arms. One reason for using
this kind of motion is where one technique
"sets up" the opponent for an
immediate attack. An example is in Yul-Gok
tul. |
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