Wales & West Tae Kwon-Do : Pattern : Choi-Yong

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Choi-Yong
Choi-Yong is named after General Choi Yong, premier and commander in chief of the armed forces during the 14th century Koryo Dynasty.

Choi Yong (or Choe Yeong) was greatly respected for his loyalty, patriotism, and humility. He was executed by his subordinate commanders, headed by general Yi Sung Gae (or Yi Seonggye), who later became the first King of the Lee Dynasty.

Number of movements:	46
Starting position:	Closed ready stance 'C' (Moa Chunbi Sogi 'C') on X facing towards D.
Move the left foot to D to form a right rear foot stance toward D while executing a middle guarding block to D with the forearm Execute a high punch to D with the left middle knuckle fist while maintaining a right rear foot stance toward D Move the left foot on line CD to form a left rear foot stance toward C while executing a middle guarding block to C with the forearm Execute a high punch to C with the right middle knuckle fist while maintaining a left rear foot stance toward C Move the right foot on line CD to form a left walking stance toward D while executing a rising block with the left knife-hand Execute a circular block to AD with the right inner forearm while maintaining a left walking stance toward D Execute a middle punch to D with the left fist while maintaining a left walking stance toward D Move the left foot on line CD to form a right walking stance toward C while executing a rising block with the right knife-hand Execute a circular block to AC with the left inner forearm while maintaining a right walking stance toward C Execute a middle punch to C with the right fist while maintaining a right walking stance toward C Move the right foot on line CD to form a right L-stance toward D while executing a low guarding block to D with a knife-hand Execute a middle turning kick to AD with the right foot and then lower it to the side front of the left foot Execute a high reverse hooking kick to D with the left foot Execute a middle side piercing kick to D with the left foot, pulling both hands in the opposite direction. Perform 13 and 14 in a consecutive kick Lower the left foot to D forming a left walking stance toward D while striking the left palm with the right front elbow Move the left foot on line CD to form a left L-stance toward C while executing a low guarding block to C with a knife-hand Execute a middle turning kick to AC with the left foot and then lower it to the side front of the right foot Execute a high reverse hooking kick to C with the right foot Execute a middle side piercing kick to C with the right foot, pulling both hands in the opposite direction. Perform 18 and 19 in a consecutive kick Lower the right foot to C forming a right walking stance toward C while striking the right palm with the left front elbow Move the left foot to C to form a left walking stance toward C while executing a pressing block with the right palm Move the right foot to C forming a right walking stance toward C while executing a pressing block with the left palm. Perform 21 and 22 in a fast motion Move the right foot to D and then the left foot to D, turning counter clockwise to form a left walking stance toward D while executing a W-shape block with a knife-hand Execute a middle front snap kick to D with the right foot keeping the position of the hands as they were in 23 Lower the right foot to C forming a right L-stance toward D while executing a middle guarding block to D with the forearm Move the right foot to D to form a right walking stance toward D while executing a W-shape block with a knife-hand Execute a middle front snap kick to D with the left foot keeping the position of the hands as they were in 26 Lower the left foot to d forming a left L-stance toward C while executing a middle guarding block to C with the forearm Move the left foot to C and the right foot to C then slide to C turning clockwise to form a left L-stance toward D while executing a middle guarding block to D with the forearm Move the left foot to D forming a left walking stance toward D while executing a high thrust to D with the left flat fingertip Move the left foot on line CD forming a right walking stance toward C while executing a high thrust to C with the right flat fingertip Move the right foot to D turning clockwise to form a parallel stance toward B while executing a middle hooking block to B with the right palm Execute a middle punch to B with the left fist while maintaining a parallel stance toward B Turn the face toward A while forming a left bending ready stance A toward A Execute a middle side piercing kick to A with the right foot forming a forearm guarding block Lower the right foot to A in a jumping motion to form a right X-stance toward AD while executing a high side strike to A with the right back fist and bringing the left finger belly to the right side fist Execute a high reverse hooking kick to B with the right foot Lower the right foot to B in a stamping motion to form a left L-stance toward B while executing a middle outward strike to B with the right knife-hand Move the left foot to D turning counter-clockwise to form a parallel stance toward A at the same time executing a middle hooking block to A with the left palm Execute a middle punch to A with the right fist while maintaining a parallel stance toward A Turn the face to B while forming a right bending ready stance A toward B Execute a middle side piercing kick to B with the left foot forming a forearm guarding block Lower the left foot to B in a jumping motion forming a left X-stance toward BD while executing a high side strike to B with the left back fist and bringing the right finger belly to the left side fist Execute a high reverse hooking kick to A with the left foot Lower the left foot to A in a stamping motion to form a right L-stance toward A while executing a middle outward strike to A with the left knife-hand Slide to A to form a right fixed stance toward A while executing a middle punch to A with the right fist
When finished:	Bring the right foot back to a ready posture.

Despite being born into a relatively wealthy family, his beginnings were humble, and his lifestyle would best be described as spartan. At 36 he became a national hero, successfully quelling a rebellion by Jo Il-shin. In 1355 he was sent to help the Chinese Yuan Dynasty forces squash the Red Turban Rebellion and his success, in nearly thirty different battles, won him more fame and favour at home. Choi later fought to recover various towns west of the Yalu River, to the great delight of his king, from the waning Yuan. He served briefly as the Mayor of P'yŏngyang, where his efforts at increasing crop production and mitigating famine won him even more attention as a national hero. In 1363 a powerful minister, Kim Yon-an, tried to overthrow the government, but Choi gathered his forces and defeated a Mongol force of 10,000 which subsequently attacked Goryeo in support of the rebellion. A poweful, but corrupt, Buddhist monk named Shin Don engineered false accusations of misconduct against Choi that resulted in six years in exile, and brought him dangerously close to execution. However, when Shin Don died, Choi Yong was restored to his previous position and was immediately asked to prepare a fleet to fight the Japanese pirates and eliminate the remaining Mongol forces on Jeju Island. He freed the island first, then, in 1376, when the Wokou pirates advanced into Goryeo and captured the city of Gongju, having obtained the new gunpowder recipe from the Chinese, General Choi Yong and his subordinate Yi Sung Gae managed to rout and defeat the pirates, reclaiming Gongju. In 1388, General Yi Sung Gae was ordered to use his armies to push the Ming armies out of the Korean peninsula and invade Liaodong. However, Yi decided to return to the capital, Kaesŏng, and trigger a coup d'état. This incident later became famous as the Wihwado Retreat, and became the first sign of the change of dynasty. When Yi returned to the capital, Choi Yong put up a gallant fight at the palace, but was overwhelmed by Yi's forces. Records differ as to what happened next, although it seems likely that after his defeat, Choi was banished to Goyang. He was later beheaded in the name of the government controlled by Yi Sung Gae. Before the execution, he was famously known to have predicted that grass would never grow on his grave, due to his unjust demise. Interestingly, grass never did grow on his grave, and it was known as jeokbun (red grave), because of the red soil. In 1979, the first sprouts of grass were found growing from General Choi's grave. Choi Yong risked his life many times for Goryeo, and his unswerving loyalty eventually cost him his life.