Taekwondo 태권도Taekwondo Preschool

Promotion from one geup to the next can proceed rapidly in some schools, since schools often allow geup promotions every two, three, or four months. Students of geup rank learn the most basic techniques first, and then move on to more advanced techniques as they approach first dan. Many of the older and more traditional schools often take longer to allow students to test for higher ranks than newer, more contemporary schools, as they may not have the required testing intervals. View Taekwondo belt levels »

Knife Hand

( 손날 sonnal )

Difficulty Level: Intermediate Surface: Offensive and Defensive

By tucking the thumb into the palm, a striking surface called the knife hand or hand blade ( 손날 sonnal ) is formed. The striking surface extends with the muscle at the side of the hand located between the base of the small finger and the wrist (abductor digiti minimi). It is important to remember to keep the wrists straight, as if done improperly, the practitioner may well break their hands, wrist, or fingers.

The hand blade ( 손날 sonnal ) is used as both an offensive and defensive technique which can be executed as a high, low, middle, side, inward, outward, rising or circular. Use of this technique as both a strike and block is featured prominently in many of the World Taekwondo (WT) Taegeuk Poomse. Suitable targets for the knife hand strike include the mastoid muscles of the neck, the jugular, the throat, the collar bones, the third vertebra (key stone of the spinal column), the upper arm, the wrist, the elbow, and the knee cap.

Single Knife Hand Outward Block ( 한손날 바깥막기 hansonnal bakkat makgi ) is a blocking technique kept in a hand blade ( 손날 sonnal ) position to block attacks to the torso. The blocking arm is angled 90-120 degrees, wrist straight, and the hand blade ( 손날 sonnal ) is as high as the shoulder.

Some techniques that utilize the hand blade ( 손날 sonnal );

Training Methods

How well one improves with training depends on several factors, such as the frequency it is engaged in, and the type of feedback that is available for improvement. If a student does not train often enough, reinforcement fades, and he or she is likely to forget what was learned.

When learning the impact surface, it is helpful to use mirrors to observe your technique and fix your mistakes immediately. Initially, a student may need focused feedback from a certified Master Instructor ( 사범님 sabeomnim ); however, as they progress, they must develop the ability to self-assess the impact surface.

* Please see a certified Master Instructor ( 사범님 sabeomnim ) for training. Proper guidance and instructions are needed to ensure safe training.

Training Safety Precautions

The Knife Hand ( 손날 sonnal ) can be used as both an offensive and defensive technique. It can be executed as a high, low, middle, side, inward, outward, rising or circular motion from both sides of the hand. A striking surface called the ridgehand ( 손날등 sonnal-deung ), or reverse knife-hand is formed by tucking the thumb into the palm, extending a few inches along the inside of the hand below the first knuckle of the first finger.

Blocking ( 막기 makgi ) »: The act of stopping or deflecting an opponent's attack for the purpose of preventing injurious contact with the body. As the front arm sweeps down in an arc from the inside to the outside of the body, the hand is kept in a hand blade ( 손날 sonnal ) position to block attacks to the torso.
Striking ( 치기 chigi ) »: Various surfaces of the hand may be engaged as the striking surface depending on which area of the opponent's body is being targeted. This leads to a large array of hand positions. The knife hand strike is executed by striking with the muscle at the side of the hand located between the base of the small finger and the wrist (abductor digiti minimi).

There are safety concerns with the Knife Hand ( 손날 sonnal ), so one should seek out an instructor. There are many small bones of the hand which need to be very carefully and slowly conditioned for safety.

Impact Surface Area

Surface Area Injuries

Collisions with the ground, objects, and other taekwondo practitioners are common, and unexpected dynamic forces on limbs and joints can cause injury. Taekwondo injuries can also occur in techniques if done improperly or from overuse of a particular body part. Taking a break from training or reducing the volume and the intensity of the training will allow the body to recover. For more information on Injuries »

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Knife Hand ( 손날 sonnal )

Did you know?

Taekwondo Mental Toughness

Mental toughness is very hard to explain through words and can truly be understood when put to the test in an intense situation where you feel like you are at a breaking point, and find an inner will within you to push forward and overcome the situation. There are those who face stressful situations and back down and let them trample them, these people crumble during life. Then there are those who when faced with stressful, energy draining situations take them by the horns and conquer them, and it fills you with such a great energy and confidence, that helps you with every obstacle that you have from there on. For more information View Mental Toughness »

Indomitable spirit ( 백절불굴 baekjul-boolgool ): To have indomitable spirit means to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what odds you are up against, and to always give 100% effort in whatever you do.

Self-control ( 극기 geuk-gi ): This means to not only have control over one's physical acts, but also their mental thoughts and actions.

Perseverance ( 인내 in-nae ): One will persevere time and time again until they have achieved a result which is adequate towards what one was trying to achieve.

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles "Mental Toughness" and "International Taekwondo Federation Philosophy" which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Quiz

Question. What is the korean terminology for Front Stance?

Front Stance is a precursor of the fighting stance ( 겨루기준비 gyeorugi-junbi ) according to some authors. Body should be relaxed in this stance ( 서기 sogi ). From the attention stance ( 차렷 charyeot ) with feet together, one foot is placed straight ahead of the other. Depending on the martial art and style, some instructors teach to step sideways slightly when moving forward.

Question. What is the name of Taegeuk #2 in Korean?

Taegeuk 태극 (in World Taekwondo (WT)) refers to a set of poomse 품새 used to create a foundation for the teaching of taekwondo. A poomse or form is a detailed pattern of defense-and-attack motions and techniques used in traditional martial arts. Each taegeuk form symbolizes a specific state thought to be indicative of the belt the student currently holds, and is represented in World Taekwondo (WT) by trigrams similar to those found in the four corners of the South Korean flag.

Question. What is the korean terminology for Ready Stance?

Ready Stance refers to the most common ready position used in taekwondo training. The stance ( 서기 sogi ) is performed by standing with the feet one foot-length from origin apart, measured from the inside edge or namely the Reverse Foot Blade ( 발날등 balnaldeung ) of the feet. The arms are slightly bent and the fists held tightly about one fist size apart just below the belly button and the fists should be a fist size away from the body.

Impact Surface Area

Various surfaces of the hand and feet may be engaged as the striking or blocking surface depending on which area of the opponents body is being targeted. This leads to a large array of hand and feet positions. The human body's shape is determined by a strong skeleton made of bone and cartilage, surrounded by fat, muscle, connective tissue, organs, and other structures. For more information View Impact Surface Area »