PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
For 6 years I trained in, instructed and competed in ATA Taekwondo. The lessons of confidence, leadership, perseverance and respect I experienced during those formative years helped shape the person I am today.
This project was a way for me to commemorate that experience and was made possible through a collaboration with my former instructor, Master Nick Keene, owner of Keene’s ATA Black Belt Academy in Glendale, AZ. We also received help from individuals at ATA headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas as well as one of Master Keene’s Korean speaking students and her family.
PROJECT DESIGN ELEMENTS:
Introductory Poster
Poster Series – All Color and Black Belt Forms
Introductory Poster
Within the ATA (American Taekwondo Association), each belt rank includes a specific form, a set of choreographed movements that gradually increase the student’s skill and become more complex with each new level. This project begins with an overview of all color belt and black belt forms, number of moves and the meaning of each belt.
Poster Series – All Color and Black Belt Forms
The following series includes an individual poster for each color belt and black belt form. Components of each poster are as follows:
Top Left – Form name and number of moves
Center – A visual representation of the path movements follow for that particular form. All movements take place over an underlying grid called the Songham Star. All forms performed on the star intentionally begin facing the east in respect to Taekwondo’s motherland, Korea. This is why you will see that East appears at the top of each diagram as opposed to North.
Bottom Left – Meaning of each form. The key word in bold is represented to the right, translated into Korean.
Bottom Right – Korean character representing the key word of each meaning