Yon-Gae

Quick Facts

About the kata

Yon-Gae is an ITF tul for 4th dan with 49 movements; according to tkd.cz it is practiced by holders of 4th dan and above, and its movements consist of 28 attacks, six of them with the leg, and 21 blocks, all with the hand. It begins in Moosa Junbi Sogi A, and the first movement goes sideways: the practitioner slides into Niunja Sogi with a low block with the reverse knife-hand Sonkal Dung Najunde Daebi Makgi. According to dotaekwondo.net's breakdown, movements 1–11 are mirrored in 12–22, but only the second pair, the palm block Sonbadak Golcha Makgi and the strike in the parallel stance Narani Sogi (21–22), is performed continuously. In movements 8, 19, 29 and 36, according to Torbay Taekwondo, the practitioner jumps into the crossed stance Kyocha Sogi with the back-fist strike Dung Joomuk. Toward the end come movements 44 and 45: a jump with a kick in the air and a turn, once clockwise and once counterclockwise, landing in Niunja Sogi with a knife-hand block. The tul ends with the side elbow strike Yop Palkup Tulgi. Among the techniques that tkd.cz lists as new for this tul are the W-shaped block in the stance Annun Sogi, the upward fist strike in Kyocha Sogi, and the inner-forearm block at the waist An Palmok Hori Makgi.

The kata in different styles

Meaning of the name

The name refers to Yon Gae Somoon, a Koguryo-era general. According to the ITF's interpretation, as given by dotaekwondo.net and Focus Tae Kwon-Do, the 49 movements match the last two digits of 649, when he forced the Tang dynasty to leave Korea after destroying nearly 300,000 of its soldiers at Ansi Sung. The English Wikipedia, which renders his name as Yŏn Kaesomun (연개소문) and calls him Koguryo's military dictator in its final period, describes the events differently: in 645, the resistance of commander Yang Manch'un at the fortress of Ansi held up Emperor Taizong's main army, and 649 is the year of Taizong's death, after which his son Gaozong continued the campaign. We have not been able to find the figure of 300,000 dead in it. The general's dates of life also differ: Wikipedia gives 594–666, Dragon's Spirit 603–665.

Creator and history

The Chang Hon Origins Project states that Yon-Gae was missing among the twenty tuls that Choi Hong-hi published in his first English book, Taekwon-Do: The Art of Self-Defense, in 1965. Together with Eui-Am, Moon-Moo and So-San, it therefore places it among the youngest tuls of the set, said to have been completed the following year.

Differences between styles

The breakdowns differ on the tempo of the first half: Torbay Taekwondo lists the slow high strike with the long fist Ghin Joomuk Nopunde Jirugi in movements 2 and 13, dotaekwondo.net only in 13. For the waist block An Palmok Hori Makgi in movement 38, tkdcoaching.com advises lowering the body, and adds that General Choi Hong-hi sometimes taught raising it instead.

Technique Sequence — ITF Taekwondo

Breakdown source: dotaekwondo.net

1. #1
   Niunja SogiSonkal Dung Najunde Daebi Makgi
2. #2
   Gunnun SogiGhin Joomuk Nopunde Jirugi(R)
3. #3
   Niunja SogiKaunde Palmok Daebi Makgi
4. #4
   Niunja SogiSonkal Bakuro Taerigi(R)
5. #5
   Niunja SogiKyocha Joomuk Momcho Makgi(both)
6. #6
   Gunnun SogiOpun Sonkut Nopunde Bakuro Ghutgi(R)
7. #7
   Dwitbal SogiSun Palkup Naeryo Tulgi(R)
8. #8
   Kyocha SogiDung Joomuk Yop Taerigi(L)
9. #9
   Gunnun SogiSonkal Najunde Bakuro Makgi(R)
10. #10
    Narani SogiSonbadak Golcha Makgi(L)
11. #11
    Narani SogiKaunde Jirugi(R)
12. #12
    Niunja SogiSonkal Dung Najunde Daebi Makgi
13. #13
    Gunnun SogiGhin Joomuk Nopunde Jirugi(L)
    Slow
14. #14
    Niunja SogiKaunde Palmok Daebi Makgi
15. #15
    Niunja SogiSonkal Bakuro Taerigi(L)
16. #16
    Niunja SogiKyocha Joomuk Momcho Makgi(both)
17. #17
    Gunnun SogiOpun Sonkut Nopunde Bakuro Ghutgi(L)
18. #18
    Dwitbal SogiSun Palkup Naeryo Tulgi(L)
19. #19
    Kyocha SogiDung Joomuk Yop Taerigi(R)
20. #20
    Gunnun SogiSonkal Najunde Bakuro Makgi(L)
21. #21
    Narani SogiSonbadak Golcha Makgi(R)
    Continuous
22. #22
    Narani SogiKaunde Jirugi(L)
    Continuous
23. #23
    Annun SogiSonkal Dung San Makgi(R)
24. #24
    Kyocha SogiSang Palkup Tulgi(R)
25. #25
    Annun SogiSang Palmok Momcho Makgi(R)
26. #26
    Kyocha SogiOllyo Jirugi(R)
27. #27
    Bandae Dollyo Gorochagi(R)
28. #28
    Yop Cha Jirugi(L)
29. #29
    Kyocha SogiDung Joomuk Naeryo Taerigi(L)
30. #30
    Annun SogiSonkal Dung San Makgi(L)
31. #31
    Kyocha SogiSang Palkup Tulgi(L)
32. #32
    Annun SogiSang Palmok Momcho Makgi(L)
33. #33
    Kyocha SogiOllyo Jirugi(L)
34. #34
    Bandae Dollyo Gorochagi(L)
35. #35
    Yop Cha Jirugi(R)
36. #36
    Kyocha SogiDung Joomuk Naeryo Taerigi(R)
37. #37
    Niunja SogiKaunde Palmok Daebi Makgi(L)
38. #38
    Dwitbal SogiAn Palmok Hori Makgi(R)
39. #39
    Niunja SogiSonkal Bakuro Taerigi(L)
40. #40
    Niunja SogiKaunde Palmok Daebi Makgi
41. #41
    Dwitbal SogiAn Palmok Hori Makgi(L)
42. #42
    Niunja SogiSonkal Bakuro Taerigi(R)
43. #43
    Niunja SogiKaunde Palmok Daebi Makgi
44. #44
    Niunja SogiTwio Dolmyo Yop Cha Jirugi(R)Sonkal Daebi Makgi
45. #45
    Niunja SogiTwio Dolmyo Yop Cha Jirugi(L)Sonkal Daebi Makgi
46. #46
    Gunnun SogiSonkal Dung Najunde Anuro Makgi(R)
47. #47
    Niunja SogiYop Palkup Tulgi(L)
48. #48
    Gunnun SogiSonkal Dung Najunde Anuro Makgi(L)
49. #49
    Niunja SogiYop Palkup Tulgi(R)