Mission 2 of 10 · 9th–8th geup
Yellow Belt — sunlight hits the seed
Your first form, your first real stances, your first correction loop.
Yellow is where taekwondo stops being 'a class you go to' and becomes a set of skills you can be measurably bad or good at. You get Taegeuk Il Jang, and with it the discovery that remembering a form and performing a form are two entirely different abilities.
The technical theme of yellow belt is the stance. Front stance, back stance and walking stance are the chassis every technique bolts onto. Instructors will correct your feet far more than your hands this whole rank, and that is correct.
Techniques
Front stance
ap kubi
Long and wide. 70% of weight forward, back leg locked, hips square to the target for punching.
Back stance
dwit kubi
About 70% of weight on the BACK leg, feet forming an L, both knees bent. The defensive stance — it lets you kick with the front leg without shifting.
Low block
arae makgi
Prepare with the blocking fist by the opposite ear, then sweep down so the forearm finishes about one fist above the front knee.
Middle block
momtong makgi
Forearm vertical, fist at shoulder height, elbow bent just past 90°. Blocks toward the centre line, not out past your own shoulder.
High block
eolgul makgi
Forearm angled above the forehead, about a fist's clearance from the skull, fist slightly higher than the elbow.
High punch
eolgul jireugi
Same mechanics as the middle punch, finishing at the height of the opponent's nose. Shoulder stays down — do not shrug into it.
Forms
Taegeuk Il Jang
태극 1장 · 18 moves
Keon ☰ — heaven and light; the beginning of all things
Low block / walking-stance punch on the outside legs, front-stance punches down the centre, one front kick each side near the end. Kihap on the final punch of each long run — your school will tell you exactly which counts.
Terms
Quiz
How many movements are in Taegeuk Il Jang?