Striking Principals

Physically, taekwondo develops strength, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. An example of the union of mental and physical discipline is the breaking of wooden boards, bricks or tiles, which requires both physical mastery of the technique and the concentration to focus one's power.

Strikes in Asian martial arts and Western boxing have many of the same principles in common. These principles apply to strikes with most parts of the human body. These principles are typically learned by martial artists through multiple repetitions under the supervision of a qualified instructor.

Timing of muscular tension: The striker relaxes to the extent possible during the strike, tensing the muscles of much of the body only at the time of impact, then relaxing again to recoil the striking part. Relaxation enables the strike to achieve the greatest possible velocity during travel, while rigidity at impact allows the maximum transfer of force.
Breath control: Practitioners may include a shout or yell ( 기합 kihap ), to help tense the muscles at impact and distract or frighten the opponent. Strikers generally exhale as the strike nears the target. Breath control is also important to relax the body when not attacking; novice strikers often waste significant energy because they are tense at inappropriate times.
Penetration: Strikes should aim for a point 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) behind the target surface, to impart the most energy into the target. The striker in combat should attempt to strike through the target area, not just contact the surface. An example of increase penetration is in turning the fist as it is thrown, a very natural punching technique that the amount of turn depends on the position be it either as an attack, defense, or counter.
Focus: Strikes should channel force through a small area of the attacker's body. For example, this is the knuckles of the middle finger and index finger during a reverse middle punch ( 몸통 바로 지르기 momtong-baro-jireugi ), or the crescent/blade of the foot in a side kick ( 옆차기 yeop-chagi ) technique. Focus helps in achieving proper penetration and in maximizing the damage at the point of impact.
Kinetic linkage / Summation of force: Muscles are activated in a precise sequence to maximize the force generated. Strikes should generally be thrown with some measure of shifting body weight supporting the blow, as opposed to just the striking arm or leg. For example, the traditional boxing jab is made more forceful by driving off the rear leg and shifting body weight into the blow, while twisting the trunk and shoulder to further enhance the striking force.
Footwork: Proper footwork is used to enable the proper balancing of the body, to support combinations of strikes and launch strikes from the proper angle or distance. This is among the most complex elements of striking, as power ultimately flows from the legs in striking and optimizing the ability to throw combinations involves precise footwork.
Gravity: Strikes that go from high to low like hammerfists, downwards elbows, and stomp kicks see their force enhanced by gravity.

Training Safety Precautions

Usually before the taekwondo class starts, the master ( 사범님 sabeomnim ) instructs the students to jog around the dojang to warmup. Depending on the size of the dojang, several laps are done. Risk of injury can be reduced by completing an effective warm-up consisting of a heart raiser to get your pulse up, followed by sport specific dynamic stretches (stretches whilst moving).

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

Quiz

Question. What is the korean terminology for Single Knife Hand Outward Block?

The Single Knife Hand Outward Block is an intermediate blocking technique. The hand is kept in a knife hand posture to block ( 막기 makgi ) attacks to the torso. As the front arm sweeps across in an arc from the inside to the outside of the body, the back hand is simultaneously pulled back to the back hip and ready for a counter-attack such as a punch ( 지르기 jireugi ) to the opponent.

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 Palm Heel Pressing Block?

Palm Heel Pressing Block is a standard block ( 막기 makgi ) used to deflect incoming kicks ( 차기 chagi ) and punches ( 지르기 jireugi ). Open the hand ( 손 son ) and use the 'bottom of the palm' or ‘palm heel’ to block the trunk area. The open hand is raised up to shoulder height and thrust directly down to meet the attackers hand or limb.

Taekwondo hand strikes are performed as a close distance alternative to kicks ( 차기 chagi ). Various surfaces of the hand may be engaged as the striking surface depending on which area of the opponents body is being targeted. This leads to a large array of hand positions. They are executed in a number of ways - from standing, jumping, spinning and rushing forwards. Hand strikes make up fast combinations of strikes which can leave an opponent stunned and unable to defend himself. Taekwondo also makes use of reverse, front and downward elbow strikes. View Taekwondo Strikes »