In addition to grading requirements, Wyllie instructors and students are also guided by a set of 15 performance indicators or landmarks of development which when satisfied bring the student into a higher level of development and which also coincide with grading requirements. Generally speaking a student will go through the following stages of development at the end of which the student will be ready to enter the black belt level.
Taekwondo is no different to anything else you learn. When we first learn to walk we crawl then stand and eventually take a first step. We then build on that in time learning from experiences. In Taekwondo the process is no different, we start by learning the basic techniques upon which we later develop the more complex techniques.
Although learning techniques is important, learning how to train after we know how to do them is of equal importance. The motor exercise itself may on the surface appear simple but that is only half of what needs to be learned, the other half is the way it is performed, with intensity. The student also begins to add Kiai to assist that process and starts venturing into strategy.
Precision of technique then starts to become important to refining the motor skill through which the student is able to start developing power.
Prior to venturing into mobile technique delivery ie. striking whilst moving, the student needs to be balanced firstly when executing the techniques from a stationary position and learning about balance teaches the student a balanced delivery of power.
Power delivery through techniques requires balance when rotating around the body’s axis. This is at the core of all techniques and requires mastering and constant refinement through practice. More importantly, learning how to properly pivot on one foot saves knee and ankle wear and injuries
So far the student has come a long way in learning how to be balanced when executing a technique but now the student needs to be balanced when moving from target to target. Fortunately, from the beginning the student has been developing this technique through doing patterns but now the importance of patterns starts being appreciated.
Delivering techniques whilst moving distinguishes Taekwondo from other martial arts which teach technique execution from a stationary position only. Again through non contact free sparring the student is being taught positioning and now must start focusing on executing techniques whilst moving his balance base.
With movement the range of strategies increases significantly and the student should start to appreciate that it must be given priority and inclusion in the way techniques are delivered. It also allows the student to use advantages and hide weaknesses.
Control of intensity if not already practiced needs to be looked at because no matter how fit one is a person’s endurance may be extended through economy of movement and the ability to turn intensity on and off.
Power delivery by now must be almost there if the student has been training properly and listening and watching intently. The movement of mass or body weight into the movement must be mastered as that needs to occur at the same time as the speedy execution of the technique. Combining mass and acceleration produces the force that can break boards and tiles.
Learning how to combine body weight and acceleration then focusing them into a knuckle or a heel which is then to come in contact with a target about one centimetre square is the final step in mastering the core concept of Taekwondo. This enables the practitioner to produce the force capable of destroying objects as hard as tiles and boards.
All Taekwondo techniques are used in self defence, now the student can apply the correct movement to old and new techniques to bring them to life especially the ones that seemed difficult to apply before. A vast new range of self defence techniques including locks and takedowns will open up the student that seeks to learn them. The fancier techniques now become easier for the student to do and the student is ready to seriously venture into the more advanced techniques.
Before takedowns can be learned the student needs to learn how to fall so they may be practiced in a realistic format and in relative safety. Again precision in learning and patience is extremely important to insure safety. Self control starts to become extremely important to both the student and his or her training partners as significant power is now able to be generated.
Disarming assailants
Various techniques of disarming armed assailants may now be learned and practiced. These are much more difficult to master as precision together with speed and strategy put these techniques on a different plane of difficulty to successfully execute.
In order to disarm an armed assailant you need to know what he or she is likely to do with a particular weapon so we must learn how to use them. Some weapons allow us to adapt common implements that may be laying around to be used efficiently as improvised weapons so we learn how to use weapons that lend themselves to that kind of use.
These stages of development may not always occur in this precise order because some students come to the academy with knowledge from other martial arts. What is important is to have developed these skills by the time the student is entering the black belt arena.