Master Lamberth's First Idiots Guide
This brief description hopefully will give those students a better understanding of the techniques that I wish were available when I was learning. I will start with Niunja Sogi, Sang Palmok Makgi. If you find this useful I will continue with an individual diary of techniques and explanations from my point of view by your request.
A bit like a DJ but in a Tae Kwon-Do Instructor kind of way. No Dad dancing but plenty of bad singing!
So get your technique requests in and we will see if it’s helpful.
L Stance Twin Forearm Block
Your Instructor will teach you in a specific way so please listen to her / him as your principle source but this may help your understanding further.
This block is extremely confusing for a student who has been so far used to pushing a single arm away in blocking and utilising the other arm in a reaction force.
This brief description hopefully will give those students a better understanding of the techniques that I wish was available when I was learning. As an Instructor and I know I am not alone it’s funny watching students attempt a new technique. Not in an unprofessional way it takes us back to when we were trying to master technique. This one in particular make s me think of YMCA by the Village People 🙂
If you can see yourself in a mirror doing this technique it may also help your technique as you can visually check and see what your doing and trying to accomplish.
So lets assume a Left L Stance (Pssssttt...that’s rear leg left front leg right) Back foot toes facing away from you; front foot toes facing directly forwards. 70% weight on the left and 30% on the front leg. Back knee bending more than the front knee as you should be what best can be described as sitting back on the left leg. I was told when you can lift up the front leg in a L Stance without massively moving the body back then the stance is about right in weight distribution. This also negates the front leg sweep as you can simply evade by lifting the front foot.
Cross both arms approximately at the level of your left shoulder / rear shoulder. Right arm inside, left arm on the outside, both palms should be facing you, knuckles away from you. Push both arms out simultaneously (at the same time) Both arms should finish protecting your head or your ribs in a bent position. Left arm above your head with your left shoulder back. Your right arm in front forming a ‘V’ Shape over the front leg. As you complete the move this is when you should rotate both wrists with speed pushing the outer forearm outward. This gives your block impact and power.
Look in the mirror is your front arm bent / Is the outer forearm prominent? The higher arm is that actually protecting your head, is your outer forearm protruding? Are you still in a correct L stance , 70% on rear foot and 30% on front foot?
It reminds me of an archer holding the bow up to the face and pulling the arrow back ready to fire.
There is a lot to think about and get right because there is a whole lot that can go wrong. Please remember practise makes perfect, it won’t take 5 minutes. Gradual process of improvement over time. You have to develop patience and it will work for you, some quicker than others but it is down to your perseverance. Repetition in front of that mirror, do the move for 5 / 10 minutes then do the other side. Do it over the weeks , months and even years and you will see an improvement. I wish I could of videoed ny first attempts at these techniques and look back now. I hope there would be a dramatic improvement. It would be funny to see but also satisfying to see how the moves have progressed over the years whether its a low block or a high ranking pattern.
Hope this has helped your understanding a little further?
If you require another technique explained in a ’story teller’ kind of way then please let me know and I will give it my best shot. Thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully you have a better understanding of the technique for your efforts.
