Mission 3 of 10 · 7th–6th geup
Green Belt — the plant is growing
Two more forms, the side kick, and your first contact with a partner.
Green belt is the first rank where you look like a taekwondo practitioner to an outsider. You have enough forms to confuse them with each other, enough kicks to have a favourite, and enough control to start working against a live partner.
The technical theme is the side kick — the first kick that does not work by feel. Yeop chagi has to be assembled from a chamber, a pivot and a thrust, and rushing any of the three makes it a bad roundhouse instead.
Techniques
Side kick
yeop chagi
Cross-chamber, pivot the support heel toward the target, thrust the blade of the foot straight out. Head, hip and heel end up on one line.
Roundhouse kick
dollyeo chagi
Knee arrives pointing at the target, then the shin whips across. Support foot pivots at least 90°, ideally 135°.
Knifehand block
sonnal makgi
Performed in back stance with both hands: the outer hand blocks at shoulder height, the inner hand guards the solar plexus.
Knifehand strike
sonnal mokchigi
Prepared past the opposite ear, travelling on a horizontal arc into the side of the neck. Sam Jang's signature move.
Horse stance
juchum seogi
Now used for side-punching sequences. Knees pushed outward, weight straight down through the heels.
Double punch
dubeon jireugi
Two punches, one stance, no bounce. The second must be as sharp as the first — testers watch for the second one going soft.
Forms
Taegeuk Sam Jang
태극 3장 · 20 moves
Ri ☲ — fire and sun; passion and heat
Introduces sonnal mokchigi (knifehand neck strike) and the double punch. Runs hot: the rhythm should feel more aggressive than Il and Ee Jang.
Taegeuk Sa Jang
태극 4장 · 20 moves
Jin ☳ — thunder; great power and danger, met with calm
Introduces the spear hand (pyeonsonkkeut), back-stance double knifehand block, the swallow-form neck strike and a side kick pair. Widely considered the hardest colour-belt form to make look clean.
Terms
Quiz
What is the signature technique of Taegeuk Sam Jang?