University of Leicester Taekwon-Do Club

HOW TO DESCRIBE TKD TECHNIQUES

Taekwon-Do has a set way of describing techniques which, if adhered to correctly, allows the student to accurately describe any technique, even ones never before encountered.
The format goes thus:

Stance - Tool - Height - Technique

Examples:

Technique	Correct name
Walking stance forefist middle reverse punch	Gunnun so ap joomuk kaunde bandae jirugi
L-stance knifehand middle guarding block	Niunja so sonkal kaunde daebi makgi

In order to completely specify a technique, it would be necessary to add in the orientation of the stance (left or right), and for some techniques which hand or foot is to be used:

Technique	Correct name
Left walking stance forefist middle reverse punch	Wen gunnun so ap joomuk kaunde bandae jirugi
Right L-stance knifehand middle guarding block	Orun niunja so sonkal kaunde daebi makgi
Sitting stance left knifehand side strike	Anun so orun sonkal yop taerigi

Finally, when giving commands to move into a technique, it would also be necessary to specify the type of movement:

Technique	Correct name
Step forward into Left walking stance forefist middle reverse punch	Apuro nagagi wen gunnun so ap joomuk kaunde bandae jirugi
Spot turn into right L-stance knifehand middle guarding block	Gujari dolgi orun niunja so sonkal kaunde daebi makgi

Note that in practice, a number of basic assumptions tend to be made that reduce the amount of information needed to describe a technique. Some of the more common are:

most techniques tend to be middle section unless specified otherwise, e.g. punches, guarding blocks, upset attacks
some techniques are usually performed at a given height due to the target involved, e.g. backfist strike; twin vertical punch (both high)
some techniques are always performed at a certain height, e.g. pressing blocks (always low), rising blocks (always above the head)
punches tend to be middle front punches using the forefist unless specified otherwise, e.g. side punches (to the side), or those using different tools (e.g. open fist)
some times the instructor deliberately omits (never forgets!) to specify, in order to test his students' understanding and initiative
if in doubt, stick to these basic rules: blocks are usually executed with the left hand first; attacks are usually right; and if asked to move into a stance but not told which leg to move, start with the left

Sogi or So?

Due to the way Korean is structured, you only have one -gi ending (sogi, makgi, chagi), at the end of a sentence; thus walking stance is gunnun sogi, but walking stance front punch is gunnun so ap jirugi
See also the Korean terms page for more interesting snippets.