The height of the knee determines the height of the kick
Force of every kick comes from the hips, not just the
legs
Always look at your target when you kick
Place your actual target 6 inches beyond the physical
target to ensure that you go through the physical target, not stopping
your kick at the surface of the physical target
The knee of the supporting leg should be slightly bent,
not locked, to maintain balance
The body should be up, not leaning back
A kick can be divided into 4 steps:
Chamber (this can be in 1 or 2 motions, but the motions
are not distinct, but fluid)
Extension
Retraction
Landing
Angle of the strike is always perpendicular to the surface
of the strike to maximize force.
If angle of strike is not perpendicular to the target,
part of the force is lost upwards. Only the horizontal component of the
force effects the target:
Front Kick
Striking surface is the ball of the foot. Pull toes back
as far as possible to avoid hitting the toes when you strike
The Chamber is the lifting of the knee
Extend leg straight forward
Retract to Chamber position
Land in original position for form. Land in an effective
position for sparring
Angle of the foot from the side viewpoint is 45 degrees
to the horizontal, not 90 degrees
From your point of view, the angle of the foot should
be vertical, not angled to either side
Hips are square forward with a forward thrusting motion
for a front kick
Round-House Kick
Striking surface is the instep of the foot. Pull toes
back like a ballet dancer for striking with the instep to avoid hitting
the toes.
Striking surface for breaking boards is the ball of the
foot. Pull toes back as in a front kick when striking with the ball of
the foot
The Chamber starts with the knee lifted, then turn the
hips to open up the legs (keeping the knee up) to cock the kicking leg
so the instep of the foot is perpendicular to the target
The two motions in the Chamber are not distinct, but
one smooth motion (do not skip directly to the second motion).
Extend leg to kick perpendicular to target surface
The supporting foot should move naturally from pointing
forward at the beginning of the kick to pointing towards the back after
the chamber and extension
Retract leg to the cocked Chamber position
Land in original position for form. Land in an effective
position for sparring
Do not drop your knee when you kick!
Fast Round-House Kick
The kicking leg is the front leg
Motion is in a straight line
Slide back foot towards front foot
As soon as the back foot reaches the front foot, the
front foot lifts to execute a round-house kick
There is never a moment when you have both feet planted
Feet do not cross at any time during the slide towards
the target
The resulting round-house only has the part of the Chamber
that is cocked because you are already turned for this kick
Retract your leg before landing, not drop into the front
landing from the kick
Land with kicking leg forward
Do not drop your knee when you kick!
Side Kick
Striking surface is the blade of the foot
The Chamber starts with the knee lifted, then turn the
hips completely over without opening up the legs (keeping the knee up)
From this position, extending the leg out to kick straight
sideways
A side kick is not a round-house kick – make the distinction!
In the striking position, the toes are pointing downwards,
not upwards
If your toes are pointing upwards, you have not turned
over your hips enough
Don't forget to look at your target when you kick!
Do not lean too far over when you kick or you will lose
your balance
Retract to the cocked Chamber position
Straighten your body back up when you retract
Land in original position for form. Land in an effective
position for sparring
General Note on Forms
Start in Joon-Bee stance
Forms (Poomse) is a series of movements to simulate a
defense against multiple opponents attacking from all sides
Always look before you move in a new direction
Execute each technique with power and conviction.
Make sure your stances are distinguishable
Time your blocks and punches to land when you lock into
a stance
The end of one movement should be the start of the succeeding
movement (e.g. a movement from a block into a punch: the block should end
with the shoulder of the punching arm slightly pulled back to give the
succeeding punch more power)
Gibon Poomse 1Attention (Cha-Riut) Bow (Kyung-Nyeh) Ready Position (Joon-Bee)
Turn left 90 degrees, left low block in left front stance.
Step forward, right body punch in right front stance.
Turn right 180 degrees, right low block in right front
stance.
Step forward, left body punch in left front stance.
Turn left 90 degrees, left low block in left front stance.
Step forward, right body punch in right front stance.
Step forward, left body punch in left front stance.
Step forward, right body punch in right front stance.
YELL! (Ki-Hap)
Turn left 270 degrees, left low block in left front stance.
Step forward, right body punch in right front stance.
Turn right 180 degrees, right low block in right front
stance.
Step forward, left body punch in left front stance.
Turn left 90 degrees, left low block in left front stance.
Step forward, right body punch in right front stance.
Step forward, left body punch in left front stance.
Step forward, right body punch in right front stance.
YELL! (Ki-Hap)
Moving left foot, turn left 180 degrees.
Return to Ready Position (Bah-Roh) Attention (Cha-Riut) Bow (Kyung-Nyeh)