Mission 4 of 10 · 5th–4th geup
Blue Belt — reaching toward the sky
Spinning kicks, real sparring, and the halfway point of the whole journey.
Blue is the middle of the colour ranks and the most common place to quit — the novelty has worn off, black belt is still years away, and progress becomes invisible from the inside. Knowing that in advance is most of the defence against it.
Technically, blue belt is where your body learns to turn its back safely. Back kick and spinning hook kick require you to lose sight of your opponent and find them again, which is a coordination problem long before it is a power problem.
Techniques
Back kick
dwit chagi
Turn, look, thrust the heel straight back. Your strongest kick and the one most likely to be scored against you if you miss.
Axe kick
naeryeo chagi
Leg lifts high and straight, then drops heel-first onto the collarbone or head. Great against a guard, useless if your hamstrings are cold.
Fast roundhouse
bandal chagi
The shortened competition roundhouse — smaller chamber, faster, scored off the front leg without stepping.
Sparring gear
hogu
Chest protector, headgear, mouthguard, shin/forearm guards, groin cup. In WT competition the hogu is electronic and registers valid impact itself.
Side kick, refined
yeop chagi
Now used as a stopping kick — thrown into an opponent's advance rather than at a stationary target.
Tiger stance
beom seogi
Almost all weight on the back leg, front foot resting on the ball. Introduced around here for palm-heel blocking sequences.
Forms
Taegeuk O Jang
태극 5장 · 20 moves
Seon ☴ — wind; gentle by default, destructive when it chooses
Hammer fist, elbow strike, and a distinctive cross-step. The rhythm alternates soft and violent, which is the whole point of the wind trigram.
Taegeuk Yuk Jang
태극 6장 · 19 moves
Gam ☵ — water; it flows around obstacles and still wins
First form with a roundhouse kick in it, plus outer forearm block and palm-heel block. Movements should feel continuous rather than stamped.
Terms
Quiz
In WT competition sparring, how many points is a spinning kick to the head?