• Do you love the Taekwon-do patterns?

• Do you wonder about the applications of the moves?

• Do you suspect they contain 'secret' techniques?

Well you are right!  They do! 

Discover the secret 'Self-Defence' applications in TKD pattern Joong Gun  

TKD patterns contain the largest collection of ‘really useful’ self-defence techniques you will ever find. 

 

So why are the Taekwon-do patterns so difficult to decipher? 

 

Well like  most codes, though right in front us,  the answers are hidden and almost impossible to see.  This is why so many instructors concentrate on what a pattern looks like rather than what it contains.   Many instructors tell me they would love to know how to apply the secret  self-defence  the patterns contain.  They just can't find good materials that can explain them.  

Doesn't Taekwon-do already teach effective self -defence?

Taekwon-do is an incredibly effective art at long range.  TKD people are the best at kicking and our sparring is exciting and dynamic. However, real violence happens in very close proximity.  Bad guys may use subterfuge, distraction or simply rush you to get close, but ‘real violence’ doesn’t occur at the range TKD trains for. And violence takes many forms other than just punches, kicks and blocks.

 

 

For example does you training prepare you for being:

 

• grabbed and seized 
• bear hugged 
• strangled 
• pulled by hair 
• thrown 
• head locked 
• thrust against a wall 
• repeated punched with hook punches 
• head butted 

 

 

The answer is both yes and no for the vast majority of us.  Your classes may not specifically address these types of ‘real life’ violent attack but… your patterns do.  Yes, that right it’s all in the patterns!

 

Does this mean my training is useless?

 

No it most certainly doesn’t! TKD will give you fitness, body conditioning and a set of skills to deal with long range attacks.  However, if you want to discover how to deal with ‘close proximity’ threats you need only look at the patterns.

 

So how do I discover what is in the patterns?

 

Well, there is the rub.  It's tricky!  Unless you have had specific training in grappling based arts you may not be able to access all the great self-defence hidden in the patterns and they will just be a form of dance.  This leaves you with two options:

 

 

This will take you a lifetime! And to be honest most people have lives outside of martial arts.  Most people can’t travel the world seeking out expert advice and gaining belts in other arts. And why would you wish to?  It's Taekwon-do we love right?

 

 

Well you are in luck!  Because that is me ;)

 

 

So is it disrespectful or dishonest to question the standard applications of the patterns?

 

No it most certainly is not!  General Choi himself was known to say that “each technique can have a multitude of applications” and that “one application may suit one person and not another”.  This makes perfect sense if you think about how people vary in size, shape, age and fitness levels.  Only insecure people will be threatened by questions.

 

In an age of reality-based arts like Krav Maga and MMA if we want to stay relevant, we should embrace what it is that makes us unique.  Namely the beautiful patterns of Taekwon-do and their treasure trove of self-defence techniques.

 

My story

My Name is Ciaran McDonald M.A., M.Ed.  I am an academic, celebrated author and martial arts nut.

I am currently the Head instructor of the highly successful martial arts schools:

• Oxfordshire Taekwon-do                
• Didcot Old School Karate-Jutsu

 

 

I love Taekwon-do.  I love the kicking, the sparring, the dynamism and the beautiful patterns; I love it all.  I was so proud when I finally managed to achieve my black belt.  However, strangely I was also dissappointed.

 

You see for many years I had begun to suspect that the patterns contained much more than just blocks, kicks and punches.  However. no one had confirmed my suspicions. I thought it was 'secret knowledge' that would be revealed to me on gaining my blackbelt.  Imagine my disappointment when I found out: 

 

1. No one knew what the patterns contained!  
2. No one was ever going to reveal the secrets because the knowledge had been lost in time!

 

I was distraught and went through a crisis of confidence.  I concluded that I could either:

1. Accept the situation and settle for never knowing what it was I had spent years studying or…
2. I could seek out the answers

 

I chose option 2 and so began my journey of discovery.

My Journey of Discovery

 

My journey took me round the world and I trained in many grappling systems and striking arts.  

 

 

In my time I have studied:

 

• ITF Taekwon-do
• P.U.M.A. Taekwon-do
• WTF Taekwondo
• Free-style Taekwon-do
• Shotokan Karate
• Koryu Uchinadi
• Classical Ju-Juitsu
• Application Based Karate
• Brazilian Ju-Juitsu
• Kick Boxing
• Yamane Ryu Kobudo
• And attended countless seminars on ‘reality based arts’ and weapons defence

 

Many of these arts seemed to have some of the answers but none had all of what I was looking for... until I met Patrick McCarthy 9th Dan in Koryo Uchinadi.  Through him I learnt an old form of application based karate which dealt with all manner of violent encounters in a systematised and hands on way.  I learnt:

• Pressure point striking  
• Throwing
• Ground fighting
• Strangulation
• Joint manipulation
• Clinch work
• And kata applications

All the bits that were missing from TKD.  The Karate kata were so similar in parts to the TKD patterns that I began so note the commonalities and wrote about them in my ‘critally acclaimed book ‘Old School Persepctives on Taekwon-do’.  

 

Not only that but I began to build up a bank of applications that I was sure were the ‘real’ secret applications for the Taekwon-do patterns.  I was elated to discover that as I suspected Taekwon-do did indeed deal with all manner of violent attacks at all ranges and for all body types.

 

I could at last confirm what I had always suspected:

 

Taekwon-do contains some of the most effective self-defence techniques known to humans.   

 

 

 

Though I was already a 3rd degree and Instructor in Taekwon-do I decided to gain my blackbelt and teaching qualification from Hanshi Patrick McCarthy 9th Dan and in 2012 I opened my own school teaching Koryu Uchinadi (KU).  I was now an instructor in both TKD and Old School Karate. 

 

 

 

TKD was my first love and I wanted to share my findings with the world of `TKD' 

That’s why I founded 'Old School Perspectives on Taekwon-do'  

Inspired by this need I wrote and published a critically acclaimed book: "Old School Perspectives on Taekwon-do"  designed to help the TKD world find the most effective self-defence in the TKD patterns and make it ready for self-defence in the ‘real world’.   

 

My scored ‘10 out of 10’ from Grand Masters and Masters alike.

 

It is this knowledge that I now offer the Taekwon-do world in this unique course on the beautiful pattern Joong-Gun Tul.

 

 

This is what this course offers:

• The worlds first comprehensive course on the ‘secret’ applications of pattern Joong-Gun

• Confidence in being able to defend yourself against grabs, chokes, restraints, hook punches, wrist locks, kicks and much more…

• The results of 10 years of academic research and 25 years of physical training

• Countless detailed explanations in how to perform throws, chokes, wrist locks, effective blocks, trapping and follow up ground control techniques

• The worlds first professionally developed two-person drills designed to safely train the deadly techniques of the TKD patterns

• Access to the secret world of TKD History

• Effective and efficient self-defence that is both timeless and universally applicable

• An easy to follow and incremental approach to learning designed by professional educator and academic Ciaran McDonald M.A., M.Ed.

• A completely new approach to study that will breathe life into TKD for many years to come

All contained in a unique online course! 

This can be visited as many times as the learner requires for a one off fee!