Let me start by saying that I am still at the student level. This is due to the fact that my training has NOT been consistent over the years. I have been training consistently now for almost five years. My total time spent studying either formally or informally, bouncing from school to school for one reason or another (like deciding to go to college, work, do music, become a dad, marry, and have a life) is about 8 or 9 years. I'll be up for 1st dan in one or two years, in TangSooDo.
I think that you are doing your students a disservice if you do not teach the classical forms. I don't think you should OVER emphasize them, but throwing them away completely is like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Forget about a "link to the past", these kata provide a link to the PRESENT since a lot of people still study them.
Since, as you've pointed out, the Korean and Japanese styles use a lot of the same forms, teaching your students these katas will enable them to understand the paradigm of a lot of martial artists. And, belive it or not, I have used a couple of those techniques from the forms, particularly that low block to protect the groin, in real situations. You MAY not want to go up on one foot in a real fight, but you may end up on one leg for a fraction of a second in a real situation. If so, it would be nice to have the balance to hold that position for however brief a period it is. You may not want to block multiple jabs and hooks with Korean/Japanese blocks, but if you get your speed up you may develop your dexterity so that can bob and weave. The forms will do that for you.
You also are not making it easy for them to learn another style if they so choose. I don't think that you can expect your student to stay with you for life. If they have a grasp for what others are doing, it will make it easier for them to understand new techniques.
Bruce Lee said in his Tao of Jeet Kune Do that the "hidden moves appease the unknowing martial artists." I disagree (and I'm a fan of his!!) I think that the hidden moves should be taught right along with the form, so that students can get an idea of how to use some of that stuff for real, or link together their own ideas. So what if you can do a tension fist manuver down your chest in a real fight, then punch under your forward hand then do a forward punch (I'm talking about Pinan Ieedan's opening movements, starting with the double block to tension move to two punches.) But you can grab a guy, punch him in the diaphragm, then in the face, then trip him. Teach those upper rising blocks as a grab to an elbow smash to the face.
Be creative (read sadistic) with those classical forms. Some of those form moves look like they could lead to some chinna. The more grappling I learn, the more I see inside the forms I am learning also.
I started off in a taekwondo system that taught no forms. My teacher worked us on basic Korean techniques, threw in some Chinese strikes and blocks, and had us basically work on our stances and on sparring. I admit, I did learn how to fight pretty well, to the point that at 2nd Gup, I give first and 2nd dans a hard time in sparring. I don't always win, but I am no slouch either. I have even done some magnificent slipping of power blows from third dans as well. Part of that is probably my size, but I think that a lot of it is from my earlier. I also have done okay in my few encounters on the street.
That being said, I must admit I also did not believe in forms until I started learning more of them. My balance has improved, along with my coordination and focus. Learning the motions of the forms made it easier to learn the jujitsus they teach us, once I was tipped off that some of the stuff in the forms can be interpreted as grappling. The forms helped to improve upon the foundation I had. I could already fight well enough for the street, but the forms are helping me move to another level.
Another thing you may want to consider is that some people need the discipline and exercise of figuring out the movements of kata. It leads to self confidence and awareness of the body. Trust me, as someone who learned first without kata, I can tell you that I would have had an easier time if I had learned how to fight AND learned the forms. I am the type that believes ALL facets--forms, sparring, one-steps, self defense, grappling, weapons (including the gun), and mindset (working toward mushin)--are important. Don't forsake one for the other. Do them all so that you will produce students who are as well rounded as you are.
Let your students decide what they want to throw away. Just because you have reached a point in your training where you don't need the forms doesn't mean that a person with less experience than you do doesn't need them as well. And remember, everyone is not self motivated enough to practice and study on their own. Learning katas is also a quantitative means for evaluating a student's progress.
Respectfully yours,
The Creative Brother
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