Learnt with a coach

Taekwondo at home

A mat, a soft target held by a parent and room to kick; sparring only at a club with an instructor.

2 cards at home 2 for a park or court 4 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?

Who is playing?

Start a session

New to taekwondo? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.

The sport in short: A Korean martial art and Olympic sport known for its kicks. Students learn stances, punches, blocks and kicks, then patterns (poomsae) and, at a club, controlled sparring. Respect, self-control and stopping on the instructor's word come first.
How belts work: Students move up through coloured belts called kup grades, from 9th kup (the first) to 1st kup, by passing a test of techniques and patterns; then black belt grades called dan. Juniors may hold a junior black belt (poom).
How contests work: In sparring, two athletes in protective gear score points with kicks and punches to the body protector and kicks to the head guard; harder kicks such as turning and spinning kicks score more. Bouts are in rounds of two minutes, often with electronic scoring. In poomsae contests, judges score a pattern for accuracy and presentation.
Rules children break first: Bow and listen; stop the moment the instructor says so.
Warm up for at least five minutes before any kick.
Kick only at a soft target held still, never at a person, at home.
No sparring at home; sparring only in full gear at a club.
At home and in the park you start with: The bow and stances, balance, the punch and blocks, the front snap kick and a low turning kick at a held pillow. Patterns, kicks at height and all sparring are learnt with an instructor.

Words you will hear (24, in plain language)

Dojang: The taekwondo training hall.
Instructor: The teacher.
Dobok: The white training suit and the coloured belt.
Kup: Colour-belt grades (9th kup is the first), black-belt grades, and a junior black belt.
Attention: Standing tall with feet together; bending forward from the hips to show respect; feet shoulder-width with fists in front of the belt.
Guard: The fists up in front to protect the body.
Walking stance: A short natural step; a long stance with the front knee bent and back leg straight; a stance with most of the weight on the back leg.
Middle punch: A straight punch to chest height; a punch with the hand on the side of the back leg.
Low block: Forearm blocks to protect the lower body, the middle and the head.
Counter: An attack straight after a block.
Chamber: Lifting the knee and folding the leg before a kick.
Front snap kick: A kick straight forward with the ball of the foot, snapped out and back.
Ball of the foot: The pad under the toes, the top of the foot, and the outside edge, each used for different kicks.
Turning kick (roundhouse): A kick that turns the hip over and hits with the instep, the most common scoring kick.
Pivot: Turning on the foot you stand on so the heel points at the target.
Side kick: A kick pushed out sideways; a kick lifted high and brought straight down; a kick driven backward while turning.
Poomsae: Set patterns of moves; the eight Taegeuk patterns are the colour-belt ones.
Paddle: Soft targets held for kicking.
Sparring: Practice fighting with a partner under rules and in full gear.
Protectors: The trunk protector, head guard, forearm and shin guards, groin guard, gloves, foot protectors and mouth shield worn for sparring.
Golden round: An extra round played when a bout is level.
Weight class: A group of athletes of similar weight.
Electronic scoring: Sensors in the protectors that record hits.
World Taekwondo: The two main styles of taekwondo, with different rules and patterns.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.

A suggested first ten sessions (optional)

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.

Basic 5 cards · show· hide The first colour belts (about 9th to 6th kup): etiquette, stances (walking, front, back), the middle punch, blocks in three sections (low, middle, high), the front snap kick and a first turning kick. Start with the guard and stances, then the punch, then blocks, then the front kick.

Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b4 and the instructor passes the belt.

Intermediate 2 cards · show· hide About 6th to 1st kup: the turning kick (the most common scoring technique), the side kick, the axe kick and the back kick; the Taegeuk patterns; the contest format (rounds of two minutes, an extra deciding round if level, an eight-sided mat about 8 m across, weight classes), and reaction and counter-kicking. Not for home.

Move on when the instructor judges control and contact are safe.

Advanced 1 cards · show· hide Dan grades and competition: advanced poomsae (Koryo, Taebaek, Keumgang), spinning and jumping kicks, feints and fast combinations, weight-class management, and electronic-scoring pressure. Contest rules change often, so the club checks the current ones.

a1 Competition and poomsae At a club what the coach teaches, what to ask

Teaching this at home

Contact, falls, weapons or heights. At home only games and knowledge; the skill is taught at a club.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.