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Moon-Moo

문무 · Munmu

Also known as: Moon Moo

An ITF tul with 61 movements, named after Munmu, the 30th king of Silla. The movement count refers to 661, the year the king took the throne.

Quick Facts

Martial Arts
People
Form typeTul
SeriesChang-Hon tul (ITF) (21)
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About the kata

Moon-Moo is an ITF tul with 61 movements. Its count is not accidental: according to the explanation given by dotaekwondo.net, it matches the last two digits of 661, the year King Munmu took the throne of Silla. Taekwon-Do Leicester places it among the 4th degree tuls; it is performed from the parallel ready stance narani junbi sogi. Its most distinctive feature is the kicks. Right at the start come two high side kicks in a row, and per the dotaekwondo.net breakdown, the reverse hook kick in movements 5 and 14 is done slowly. In the second half, high twisting kicks appear (movements 43 and 46), a series of check and side kicks, and in movement 58 a kick with a turn in the air. Tkdcoaching.com calls it one of the most popular and physically demanding ITF tuls: it requires mature body control, strong legs, and precision even under fatigue. It lasts about a minute and forty seconds in total.

The kata in different styles

StyleName in the styleMovementsKiai
ITF TaekwondoMoon-Moo61—

Meaning of the name

The tul's name, per the ITF explanation given by dotaekwondo.net, honors the 30th king of the Silla dynasty; kidokwan.org adds the spelling 문무 and characters 文武. We have not found a literal translation of the name in taekwondo sources. The explanation also says the king's body was, by his will, laid to rest in the sea, "where his spirit would forever guard my country against the Japanese," and that the stone cave Sok Gul Am was built to protect his tomb.

Creator and history

The English Wikipedia says Munmu, born Kim Pŏmmin, ruled Silla in 661–681 and is usually regarded as the first ruler of Unified Silla; in 668 he defeated Goguryeo. On his deathbed, per Wikipedia, he wished to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the sea, because he would become a dragon and repel foreign invasion. His son Sinmun then scattered the ashes near the rocky islet Daewangam. The tul's explanation speaks of a body buried near Dae Wang Am, Wikipedia of cremation — we leave both versions side by side here. We have not been able to establish exactly when Moon-Moo was created. Rockstaracademy.com says General Choi Hong-hi created tuls between 1955 and 1965, and ranks Moon-Moo as 21st of 24.

Differences between styles

The grade the tul belongs to differs between organizations. Taekwon-Do Leicester lists it as a 4th degree tul, Iceni Taekwon-Do gives a range of 4th to 5th degree, and TAGB, per blackbeltschools.com, assigns it to 5th dan. The movement count is the same in all three sources, 61.

Common Mistakes

According to tkdcoaching.com, most balance problems in Moon-Moo come from a weak standing leg, not the kicking leg.

Key Tip

Tkdcoaching.com advises mastering every kick separately first and building strength and control for the slow-motion kicks; after the slow and jumping techniques, each technique should end clearly.

Technique Sequence — ITF Taekwondo

Breakdown source: dotaekwondo.net

  1. #1
    Slow
  2. #2
  3. #3
  4. #4
  5. #5
    Slow
  6. #6
  7. #7
  8. #8
  9. #9
    Slow
  10. #10
    Slow
  11. #11
    Slow
  12. #12
  13. #13
  14. #14
    Slow
  15. #15
  16. #16
  17. #17
  18. #18
    Slow
  19. #19
  20. #20
    Slow
  21. #21
  22. #22
  23. #23
    Slow
  24. #24
  25. #25
  26. #26
  27. #27
  28. #28
  29. #29
  30. #30
  31. #31
  32. #32
  33. #33
  34. #34
  35. #35
  36. #36
  37. #37
  38. #38
  39. #39
  40. #40
  41. #41
  42. #42
  43. #43
  44. #44
  45. #45
  46. #46
  47. #47
  48. #48
  49. #49
  50. #50
  51. #51
  52. #52
  53. #53
  54. #54
  55. #55
  56. #56
  57. #57
  58. #58
  59. #59
  60. #60
  61. #61
Further sources on this topic (8)
  1. dotaekwondo.net/itf/patterns/23/moon-moo.html
  2. kidokwan.org/patterns/changhon/moon-moo
  3. icenitaekwondo.co.uk/moon-moo
  4. tkdleicester.com/patterns-2/patterns-black-belt/4-to-6th-degree-internati…
  5. blackbeltschools.com/syllabus/patterns.asp
  6. tkdcoaching.com/moon-moo-pattern
  7. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munmu_of_Silla
  8. rockstaracademy.com/blog/itf-taekwondo-patterns