Soar TSD Training – 9, 11 May
Our focus in training this week is Hyungs (Forms) both open hand and weapons. It’s in the hyungs that Concentration (Chung Shin Tong Il, our 2nd tenet) finds its most obvious depiction. It takes immense concentration and perseverance to develop the foundation that hyungs teach us: our balance points, our length & reach, the moving of our center of gravity. Everything we learn in Tang Soo Do is extrapolated from the hyungs.
Hyung means Form or Shape, so it is the pure form/shape of martial arts, but martial art styles are like water; they start like a river and end up like a tsunami. That’s why there are so many hyungs, like there are rivers. Water takes no damage and always runs it’s 
course no matter the obstacles or the endeavors.
There is a very old belief that in order to achieve balance you have to be equally good in principle and in practice, usually this is explained with the example of a 2 wheeled cart which should be self-explanatory
Hyung in a way is knowing the martial art you dedicate yourself to; it’s a very practical way of studying a very abstract concept while doing it. It is also a way of learning strategy and tactics, so hyung is the martial art, the collection of hyung is the style of the martial arts. That is why it is so important.
SOAR Tang Soo Do 