Taekwondo
Taekwondo's forms are poomsae; the WT colour-belt set is Taegeuk 1-8. Half of solo practice is leg preparation.
Starter program (from zero)
- Daily: 10 min dynamic stretching + balance work
- Daily kicks both legs: 20 front, 15 roundhouse, 10 side
- Weeks 1-6: Taegeuk 1 in the mirror at constant stance height
- Then: the next Taegeuk every 6-8 weeks, older ones weekly
Kata / Forms
Taegeuk 1 — Il Jang 태극 1장
Colour belt18 moves: low block, middle punch, front kick.
Taegeuk 2 — I Jang 태극 2장
Colour beltAdds face-level techniques and more front kicks.
Taegeuk 3 — Sam Jang 태극 3장
Colour beltKnife-hand techniques and kick-punch combos.
Taegeuk 4 — Sa Jang 태극 4장
Colour beltSide kicks and back stance — the difficulty jump.
Taegeuk 5 — O Jang 태극 5장
Colour beltHammer fist, elbows and jumping transitions.
Taegeuk 6 — Yuk Jang 태극 6장
Colour beltRoundhouse kick enters the form.
Taegeuk 7 — Chil Jang 태극 7장
Colour beltHorse stance, knee strike, scissor blocks.
Taegeuk 8 — Pal Jang 태극 8장
Colour beltThe black-belt exam form with the jumping double front kick.
Koryo ve ötesi 고려
1st dan+Black-belt poomsae: Koryo, Keumgang, Taebaek and beyond.
Techniques & Strikes
Kicks
- Ap chagi
- Front kick — the mother of all kicks.
- Dollyo chagi
- Roundhouse — taekwondo's signature.
- Yop chagi
- Side kick with the foot blade.
- Dwit chagi
- Back kick — straight line, look first.
- Naeryo chagi
- Axe kick — requires hamstring flexibility.
- Ap hurigi / Bandal
- Whip and crescent kicks of modern competition.
Hand techniques
- Momtong jireugi
- Middle punch — the most frequent poomsae technique.
- Sonnal chigi
- Knife-hand strikes, inward and outward.
- Palkup chigi
- Elbow strike (from Taegeuk 5).
Blocks
- Arae makki
- Low block.
- Momtong makki
- Middle block, inward and outward.
- Olgul makki
- High block.
- Sonnal makki
- Double knife-hand block in back stance.
Stances
- Ap seogi
- Walking stance.
- Ap kubi
- Long front stance.
- Dwit kubi
- Back stance, 70% rear.
- Juchum seogi
- Horse stance.
Tips
- Skipping hip-flexor mobility work before kicking raises lower-back injury risk — always start sessions with dynamic stretching.
- Master low/mid kick mechanics before chasing head height; height comes with time, but bad mechanics invite injury.
- Keeping a constant stance height (no bobbing) in poomsae is one of the first things judges look for.
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