It is generally accepted that the Tuls are meant to teach the Taekwondo-ka all aspects of the martial art Taekwon-do.

It is my belief that the ‘early masters’ of Shaolin, Karate, and Taekwondo knew very well how to train students and that they incorporated this wisdom into their forms. This is particularly evident in the first 9 Tuls, which are designed to turn a beginner student into a Taekwondo-ka who has mastered the basics: the black belt.

The first nine Tuls progressively become more difficult and complex. New techniques are introduced, and the form demands more from the student. Even after the 9th Tul (Chung-Moo), new techniques and more challenging structures appear, but especially in the first 9 Tuls, you can see a progression from simple to difficult, from a single attacker to multiple attackers, and from singular techniques to combinations of techniques.

If you look at the first 9 Tuls from the perspective of self-defense, there is something special going on. Notably, the majority (I estimate 90%) of the blocks are executed after the Taekwondo-ka has stepped forward. A defense in partner exercises or in reality is actually made by first stepping out of the path of the attack (backward or sideways) before executing the defense. Stepping forward and blocking does not fit here.

The question that arises here is: ‘what is the purpose of moving forward and blocking?’

If you look again at the first 9 Tuls, but now from the perspective of ‘movement’, a clear picture emerges: ‘the movement that the Taekwondo-ka makes when moving corresponds to the turn the body makes to execute the technique.’

For example:

Chon-Ji Tul Position 1: The Taekwondo practitioner turns left and steps forward into the left stance. The body then also turns left to execute the technique: the left low forearm block.The technique follows the turn of the movement, which allows that technique to be executed powerfully in a simple manner.

Try to make a right low forearm block in the same position. For an advanced Taekwondo practitioner, this won’t make much difference, but for beginner students, it will. Moving in the same direction and executing a technique occurs, in my estimation, in about 75% of the techniques in the first 9 Tuls. In the subsequent Tuls, this varies. For example, in Eu-Am Tul, stepping back and defending is consistently practiced.

In other words: the first 9 Tuls teach the student Taekwondo-ka to execute powerful techniques. Tactical movement in response to an attack is subordinated to this. This comes into higher Tuls and in partner exercises. And THAT is what the first 9 Tuls, in my opinion, aim to teach us.