2. What is the
Philosophical Principle of Taekwondo?
The
Philosophical Principle of Taekwondo (PPT) is a constant one. It is as constant
as the laws of physics. But Taekwondo philosophy, which conceptualizes it,
changes and advances. It changes and advances just as physics, which studies
the principles of physical phenomena, changes and advances.
This
PPT is inherent in man’s motion, so it is an internal principle that lies where
Nature meets Man.
PPT
is a principle that focuses the most basic and fundamental of man’s motions,
that which is immanent in the fighting movements with which a man protects his
own life and survives. Here we can pose some questions:
Why
do we focus on fighting movements?
What
are the contents of the principle?
Firstly,
let me explain why we focus on fighting movements.
Man
is a life. This life seeks to survive, and so in most cases it is averse to
fighting for its inherent threat to life. In spite of our struggle to erase
death, however, we cannot cleanse it away either at the beginning nor the end
of life, nor here and there throughout our life. It is an escape, even a sort
of lie, to attempt such a thing. Though we may attempt to avoid a fight when we
inevitably meet it in the course of life, Taekwondo spirit rejects this escape,
and compels us to meet face to face that which we most abhor. I conceive it in
this book as a “transcendence to the inside of life”. This means the adoption
of a positive contemplative attitude that accepts not only the bright but also
the darker aspects of things.
It
is not for this reason alone that the principle of Taekwondo focuses on the
fight. In the negative term “fight” we may discern the clearest manifestation
of the “interaction between you and your opponent”. In fact, this interaction
between you and the adversary constitutes every factor of your life, not simply
Taekwondo. In other words, through the PPT you can come to understand the
principle that underlies every aspect of your life and thus come to better
understand not just Taekwondo but your life entire. This is why Taekwondo may
stand as a philosophy in itself. With this understanding, you can see that
Taekwondo’s focus on the fight serves to sublimate the darker aspects of life
we can neither erase nor ignore.
Secondly,
let me explain the contents of the PPT.
As
mentioned in the foregoing, though the PPT is constant, it may be explained in
various ways. The explanation you will encounter in this book is but one of
such ways. It begins with the ways of Samjae
(“The Three Materials”): Haneul
(“Heaven”), Tang (“Earth”) and Saram (“Man”). The way of Haneul
(Heaven) says you must maintain your center, i.e. maintain everything steady in
its most proper place among the continuous change that surrounds you. The
way of Tang (Earth) says you must make your opponent opposed to the world by
using your harmony as an opposition. On the other hand, the way of Saram
(Man) says you must keep what you are, remain true to your intentions
and avoid extremes in your interactions with others.
Each
of these Samjae principles, in combination with another, forms an important
abstract factor in the motions of Taekwondo, as well as in every sort of human
interaction. These are distance, tide, and balance. Haneul and Tang when united
make distance; Haneul and Saram when united make tide; and Tang and Saram when
united make balance (Chapter 19). You should consider them all as a way to
comprehend and apply the techniques of what in Korean is called Kyorugi.[1]
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