This is, by far, one of the most frequently asked
questions I receive. There are two primary reasons for my not including
one-step sparring among these pages -- one personal and one practical.
The practical reason is actually two-fold.
First, there are already some very excellent books on the subject in print.
Hee Il Cho publishes an excellent book on one- and three-step sparring
that can be purchased from a variety of sources (including his
own site). Additionally, nearly any book that covers self-defense
techniques can be used as a one-step sparring guide. (See: Where
can I find instructional books on the hyungs?) "But these are
print resources -- not online," one might argue. True. But
I feel that text-based descriptions of one-steps would not be a benefit
to anyone. They would require some sort of video (or other visual)
presentation to be an effective teaching or study aid. Also, one-steps
are not the same from school to school. Some instructors require
specific techniques at specific belt ranks while others are more relaxed
and allow for greater creativity.
This brings me to the second reason. I come
from schools that stressed the student's role in developing his/her own
one-steps. All the combinations of techniques that I use for testing
were developed by me. Sure, I got a lot of ideas from watching others,
reading martial arts books, even trying to adapt techniques I saw in action
movies into real life. But I developed and crafted every combination
personally, whether it was in the dojang, in the gym, or just running through
some ideas in my bedroom at the spur-of-the-moment. I'm not afraid
to share my one-steps with anyone, but I'm afraid this will actually be
robbing students of the entire process involved. I believe that making
these things your very own is half the fun.
In absence of their coverage here on my site, here's
what I recommend. If you are required by your school to perform specific
one-steps for your rank, then the only place you can learn them and improve
upon them is with your instructor and fellow students. If you are
a member of the USTF, there is a small paperback guide that outlines all
of the one- and three-step sparring requirements for each belt rank.
You can order it online for $10 by clicking
on these words to reach the appropriate site. Unfortunately,
I am not aware of any such guides for the USTU or other Taekwondo organizations.
If you are looking for examples of one-steps or
inspiration for creating your own, I would pick up virtually any textbook
on Taekwondo. Nearly every one contains examples of self-defense
techniques that can easily be adapted to the one- and/or three-step format.
I would also recommend that you not limit yourself to searching only Taekwondo
resources. There are many fine books offered by such clearinghouses
as Century Martial Arts Supply
and Asian World of Martial Arts that
cover a wide range of subjects and styles. Any of these could provide
you with a variety of options for developing your own combinations and
techniques.
Lastly, don't be afraid to be creative. Don't
be afraid to try something fancy. Don't be afraid to do something
different, something that no one else in your school -- even your instructor
-- does. Don't get carried away at the expense of solid form and
technique, but don't let yourself be restricted by the norm either.
And practice, practice, practice. Anyone can do a one-step that they've
seen every other student before them do. But, if you want your own
creations to take hold and capture someone else's attention, you have to
be able to make them perfect on your own. This often requires months
and months of effort just to get a single one-step right. That's
okay. I recently visited the very first master I had the pleasure
of studying Taekwondo under. His students still do some one-steps
that I made up in the late 80's as a green, blue, then brown belt.
20 years later, I don't know any of his current students, but they're learning
these combinations that were good enough to be passed down, practiced and
perfected.