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 »

Key Points in Poomse Competition

Poomse is the 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. Poomse is useful in developing proper kinetics, mental and physical fortitude.

Taekwondo patterns, also known as Poomse 품새 or hyeong constitute an important part of Taekwondo competitions. A pattern is a series of movements linked together in a prescribed sequence. Both basic and advanced Taekwondo techniques can be contained within a single pattern and the higher the level of the competitor, the greater the difficulty of the techniques and the complexity of the pattern. Competitors must perform their highest pattern in front of a panel of judges.

Types of Taekwondo Pattern Competition:

Solo Taekwondo Patterns: Performed simultaneously by two competitors, each from an opposing club. Every competitor may perform two patterns chosen from a range corresponding to his level - one designated pattern and one optional pattern. The best pattern is chosen by the judges and that competitor goes through to the next round by a process of elimination.
Team Taekwondo Patterns: Performed simultaneously by several competitors from a club organised into a single team. Club teams compete by performing two patterns each, one after the other. Once one team have finished both their patterns can the competing team then perform theirs. Again, the judges choose the best pattern to go through to the next round.

Key Points

Accuracy: Taegeuk 태극 poomse should begin and end in the same place.
Posture: Practitioners must have their body weight correctly distributed during each different stance ( 서기 sogi ) and during footwork ( 딛기 ditgi ). Each technique must be correctly aligned.
Realism: Taekwondo patterns are the learning ground for real combat. As such, every technique must display the requisite speed, power and firmness to be realistically used as an attack or defense move.
Spirit: A competitor's presence on the mat must be as credible as their technique. Self belief, confidence in abilities, and intention to perform to a personal best are tangible virtues considered indispensable in taekwondo practitioners.
Decorum: Proper manners must be displayed when interacting with the judges directly before and after the pattern. Respect must also be extended to rival competitors, clubs and other officials.
Form: General qualities that judges look for in any taekwondo practitioner include proper breathing technique and body control. The diaphragm must be engaged in deep breathing, shallow breathing concentrated in the upper abdomen results in raised shoulders and stressed muscles. The muscles of the body should be lightly relaxed in order to perform the pattern with fluidity, speed and grace. Muscles should only be tensed at the moment of imaginary impact in order to commute maximum power to any individual taekwondo technique.

Quiz

Question. What is the name of Taegeuk #8 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 Back Stance?

Back stance is specifically focused on shifting weight to the back leg, as it offers much more control, and makes it easier to kick off the front leg. To perform this stance, the body faces to the side, with the front foot facing forward and the front leg bent. The back leg is bent slightly and the foot is turned outwards perpendicular to the front foot making the letter "L" for this stance.

Question. What is the korean terminology for Self-Defense?

Self-Defense is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. Self-defense techniques and recommended behavior under the threat of violence is systematically taught in self-defense classes. It forms one of the main principles of the taekwondo art.

Question. What is the name of Taegeuk #7 in Korean?

Additional Resources

Taekwondo Stances ( 서기 sogi )

This book is available for download with Apple Books on your Mac or iOS device, and with iTunes on your computer. Book can be read with Apple Books on your Mac or iOS device.

The Korean martial arts taekwondo has several stances ( 서기 sogi ) used for different activities. Although there are strong similarities in stances ( 서기 sogi ) throughout taekwondo schools, individual instructors often have their own preferred style. These stances ( 서기 sogi ) are most commonly seen in taekwondo forms ( 품새 poomse ), and are critical for balance, precision, and good technique in the martial art.
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There are five tenets defined in the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) and several more in World Taekwondo (WT).

**Integrity ( 염치 yeom-chi ): "Although it may be similar, this form of integrity takes on a more wider role then defined in the common dictionary. In taekwondo, integrity means not only to determine what is right or wrong but also having the conscience to feel guilt if one has done wrong and to have the integrity stand up for what is right." View Taekwondo Tenets »**

Promotion from one dan to the next can take years. The general rule is that a black belt may advance from one rank to the next only after the number of years equivalent to the current rank. For example, a newly promoted third-degree black belt may not be allowed to advance to fourth-degree until three years have passed. View more information on Black Belt Dan ( 단 ) ».

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of Taekwondo Techniques", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.