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So-San

서산 · Seosan

Also known as: So San, Sosan, Seosan

An ITF tul for 5th dan and, at 72 movements, the longest of the Chang-Hon tuls. It bears the name of the monk Hyujeong (Seosan Daesa), who led a monk army during the 1592 Japanese invasion.

Quick Facts

Martial Arts
People
Form typeTul
SeriesChang-Hon tul (ITF) (22)
Created1968
← Previous: Moon-MooNext: Se-Jong →

About the kata

So-San is the longest ITF tul, with 72 movements; ITF Taekwon-Do Australia groups it with Se-Jong among the 5th dan tuls. It starts and ends in Moa Junbi Sogi A. Tkd.cz counts 42 attacks in it, 9 with the leg, and 25 blocks, all with the hand. New techniques include the flying front kick Twimyo Apcha Busigi, the reverse vertical strike Sewo Jirugi in Gunnun Sogi, and a high inward knife-hand strike. According to dotaekwondo.net, the tul alternates tempo: pairs 5–6, 7–8, 39–40 and 47–48 are fast, 52–53 and 57–58 continuous, and so is the closing 71–72. In pairs 10–11 and 14–15, a side kick Yopcha Jirugi is followed by a turning kick Dollyo Chagi, landing in Kyocha Sogi with a back-fist strike Dung Joomuk. Movement 28 is a flying front kick; in movements 51 and 56 the practitioner jumps with a turn into Niunja Sogi with a block Palmok Daebi Makgi. GM Paul McPhail (tkdcoaching.com) recommends teaching So-San in sections: it has natural breaking points and many techniques repeat. In movements 5–8, he notes, the body rises into Gunnun Sogi and sinks again into Annun Sogi.

The kata in different styles

StyleName in the styleMovementsKiai
ITF TaekwondoSo-San72—

Meaning of the name

ITF interprets the name So-San as a pseudonym of the great monk Choi Hyong Ung (1520–1604) from the Yi dynasty era. The English Wikipedia lists him under the Buddhist name Hyujeong (휴정) and also gives the name Seosan Daesa (서산대사). The 72 movements, per ITF, match his age when, with the help of his disciple Sa Myung Dang, he organized a corps of monk soldiers. Wikipedia's article on Hyujeong, however, says he assembled the army of about 5,000 monks at 73; we have not been able to explain the one-year gap from the sources. Sa Myung Dang, per tkdcoaching.com, is an honorific name of the monk Yujeong; the English Wikipedia lists him as Samyeongdang (1544–1610) and says he took command of the army after Hyujeong's departure.

Creator and history

According to the Chang Hon Origins Project, So-San was missing from the twenty tuls in Choi Hong-hi's first English book, Taekwon-Do: The Art of Self-Defense, of 1965; along with Eui-Am, Yon-Gae and Moon-Moo it was reportedly finished a year after its publication. The English Wikipedia, citing Stuart Anslow, places the addition of these four tuls in 1968 and names General Choi Hong-hi together with Kim J. C., Park Jong Soo and Lee Byung Moo as their authors. Hyujeong was, per Wikipedia, a master of Korean Seon. When about 200,000 Japanese soldiers invaded Korea in 1592 and King Seonjo abandoned the capital, he was called on to form guerrilla units from monks. His army operated out of Heungguksa monastery and was a major force in driving out the Japanese in 1593 and 1598. The ITF's account here speaks of Japanese pirates who overran most of the Korean peninsula.

Bunkai – applications

Movements 18 and 21 are marked in the breakdown as a releasing motion, and their Hangul description on Wikipedia is 호신술 (hosin sul). The practitioner places the palm on the front of the other hand's fist, turns both hands until the back of the fist faces down, while stepping into Gunnun Sogi; right after, the other fist strikes high forward. GM Paul McPhail (tkdcoaching.com) advises gripping the hand without bending the arm and staying relaxed so the palm reaches the fist.

Common Mistakes

The tul is long, and according to tkdcoaching.com, precision fades as fatigue builds: stance length drifts, breathing stops being regular, and techniques get rushed. According to the same source, So-San quickly exposes leaning forward, raised shoulders, and a relaxed core.

Key Tip

For Sewo Jirugi in movement 2, tkdcoaching.com says: don't pull the fist to the hip. The arm bends about 40 degrees, thumb level with the solar plexus, on the shoulder line.

Technique Sequence — ITF Taekwondo

Breakdown source: dotaekwondo.net

  1. #1
  2. #2
  3. #3
  4. #4
  5. #5
    Fast
  6. #6
    Fast
  7. #7
    Fast
  8. #8
    Fast
  9. #9
  10. #10
  11. #11
  12. #12
  13. #13
  14. #14
  15. #15
  16. #16
  17. #17
  18. #18
  19. #19
  20. #20
  21. #21
  22. #22
  23. #23
  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
    Fast
  40. #40
    Fast
  41. #41
  42. #42
  43. #43
  44. #44
  45. #45
  46. #46
  47. #47
  48. #48
  49. #49
  50. #50
  51. #51
  52. #52
    Continuous
  53. #53
    Continuous
  54. #54
  55. #55
  56. #56
  57. #57
    Continuous
  58. #58
    Continuous
  59. #59
  60. #60
  61. #61
  62. #62
  63. #63
  64. #64
  65. #65
  66. #66
  67. #67
  68. #68
  69. #69
  70. #70
  71. #71
    Continuous
  72. #72
    Continuous
Further sources on this topic (9)
  1. dotaekwondo.net/itf/patterns/24/so-san.html
  2. tkd.cz/vzory.aspx
  3. itftaekwondo.com/itf-patterns/5th-6th-degree
  4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So-San_(teul)
  5. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyujeong
  6. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yujeong
  7. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teul
  8. changhon.wixsite.com/archive/chang-hon-information
  9. tkdcoaching.com/so-san-pattern