Forms      

Hyung, or forms training, is perhaps the most esoteric and yet deeply practical method of martial arts training.  Where as kick drills, sparring practice, board breaking, grappling and joint lock practice all have their direct application to the world of martial arts, Hyung apply to much more.  Indeed, the true benefits of hyung are really so numerable that there isn't space to write them in this website.  Listed here, though, are several direct benefits.

Strength.

Flexibility.

Balance.

Awareness.

Agility and dexterity.

All of these combine to keep the movements of the body smooth and supple allowing the adult martial artist to enjoy good healthy and greater longevity.

An Argument in favor of Hyung practice.

One modern for of fitness training is called circuit training.  There are several stations, each one dedicated to training one aspect of the body.  There are some dedicated to arms and shoulders, others to the legs and others to the abs and back.  One spends a few minutes at each station working the body for health and improvement.  There are a lot of aspects that are sometimes overlooked in circuit training; flexibility, aerobics, balance and coordination to name a few.  That's okay, the conscientious athlete adds more stations to circuit so that he can cover anything and everything that is missed.

In the martial arts, though, there are additional stations that would need to be added to circuit training.  Sparring (which would require a partner), weapons training (a station for each one), self-defense practice with joint-locks and pressure points (which also requires a partner), and gymnastics.  It starts to become pretty clear that your half hour circuit has just expanded into an hour or two workout.  How can you get all or most of that workout in a less amount of time?

The answer is hyung.

Hyung, actually requires an additional element that isn't found in most training regiments.  It requires spirit.  By "spirit" we mean that it requires the martial artist to push himself and to strive for his own excellence.  In stead of the immediate feedback of pumping hundreds of pounds in a leg press, he must satisfy himself with conducting his hyung in a low stance and still move smoothly and completely.  This requires great discipline and, consequently, a great spirit or drive for personal perfection.  There will never be a statement like "I can leg press hundreds of pounds." because there will never be such a boast.  There is only his own innate knowledge of his own dedicated practice, determination for personal perfection and attention to detail.

In this sense, hyung practice becomes a great workout catering to the needs of the practitioner and an expression of his hard work and dedication.  Such qualities are far more satisfying than a number on a dumbbell.

Hyung and weapons.

Each weapon has at least one Hyung associated with it.  Some have more than one.  These forms are designed to teach the martial artist how to use his body in conjunction with the weapons.  The virtues and abilities of the weapon become more and more apparent with practice, most of all, the practitioner learns to move in conjunction with the weapon.  These forms help to build up the body, strength joints and muscles, and improve balance and eye hand coordination with the weapon.  A weapon will just as easily hurt the defender as it would the attacker so expert practice moving and using the weapon are necessary.  Weapons hyung are the best way to learn such knowledge.