Blue Belts; The Symbol of The Heavens
Congratulations on making it to this higher rank! Earning a blue belt is a great accomplishment that symbolizes the hard work and focus that your student has put in each class. For the student, blue symbolizes the sky towards which the plant matures into a towering tree as the student's training progresses. At this point in their training, students have begun to develop the appreciation for the art and discipline for martial arts and as such we begin to give them more difficult goals to achieve during class to keep them engaged. For our Blue belts we teach them Taegeuk Chil Jang and the Crossing Kick, and for our High Blue Belts we practice Taegeuk Pal Jang and Hop Back Kick.
The Blue Belt Form; Taegeuk Chil Jang: "The Mountain"
Taegeuk Chil Jang is aptly symbolized by the mountain as it requires immense balance and patience. Two of the movements in the form depend on a well grounded stance and dexterity. This form is unique in that it has a lot of new movements that the student has never seen before but that is what makes this form so fun to learn!
The new techniques introduced in this form include:
- Tiger/Cat Stance
- Low Double Knife Hand Block
- Knee Strike
- Horse Stance
- Double Uppercut
- Cross Block
- Wheel/Target Kick
Blue Belt Board Breaking Technique; Crossing Kick
Another practical kick, the crossing kick (also known as the hook kick), utilizes positioning in sparring by creating a hooking motion and quickly "slicing" or crossing downward with the heel and outer step of the foot. The crossing kick needs control and focus in order to break the board, as it can be potentially painful if executed poorly. The video to the right shows the many uses of the crossing kick in a variety of scenarios as well as explaining some helpful tips and tricks.
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High Blue Belts
The High Blue Belt Form; Taegeuk Pal Jang "Earth"
As the final Taegeuk Form, Pal Jang demonstrates the abilities of our students in a intricate form that tests balance, strength, focus and memory. It symbolizes earth entirely as in all of the elements of the past forms, all working together to create the final form.
The new techniques introduced in this form include:
- Single Mountain Block
- Jumping Front Kick
High Blue Belt Board Breaking Technique; Hop Back Kick
The Hop Back Kick is similar to the crossing kick in that it takes advantage of spacial situations but unique in that it accomplishes three goals simultaneously; by hopping back the student creates new space between themselves and their opponent, the back kick uses more power than the front kick, and finally the direction switching of the back kick confuses the opponent.
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Testing Summaries
This section provides a concise list of the new techniques that each student should prepare for their next testing date.
Blue Belts
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High Blue Belts
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