Technique Variations

Different versions of Taekwondo are being taught around the world. The techniques and patterns taught in each version are basically the same with a few variations. Some variations are organization based, some are due to the instructor's training in other martial arts, and some are simply the personal idiosyncrasies of individual instructors. Some instructors have sound reasons for the way they perform certain techniques; others just do them without question. Here are a few of the variations I have noticed in my training with various instructors in various Taekwondo organizations.

Front Stance

• Feet
  • Both feet should point forward (a forced position).
  • Rear foot should angle outward slightly (a natural position).
• Width
  • As long as the width is suitable for stability and movement, the amount of width is merely aesthetic.
  • Feet should rest be in the opposite corners of an imaginary square on the floor.
  • Feet should be in the opposite corners of an imaginary rectangle on the floor.
• Movement
  • Stepping foot moves straight forward for quickness.
  • Stepping foot moves inward and then outward in a crescent shape (moon-walking) for stability.

Center of Mass

• Center of mass should not move vertically while moving for stability.
• Center of mass should rise and then drop into the next stance (sine wave) for power.
  

Punching

• Arm
  • Arm should be fully extended and locked into the punch for power transfer.
  • Elbow should not be locked to prevent injury.
• Movement
  • Fist should move first with the elbow directed behind it for power.
  • Elbow should move toward the target first and then whip the fist outward for speed and power.
• Shoulders
  • Some lunge the shoulders forward with a punch; others do not.
• Chamber
  • Chamber fist at hip.
  • Chamber fist high beside ribs.
• Power
  • Hip snaps into punch.
  • Rear heel lifts and then drops into punch (knee spring or winding).

Kicking

• Side thrust kick (piercing)
  • Kicking foot should be horizontal to the floor.
  • Kicking foot should have the toes pointed toward the floor.
• Side snap kick
  • Some teach it, others do not. I was once severely chastised by a Korean master for using it while sparring. He said Taekwondo does not have a side snap kick, only a side thrust kick.
    

Chamber

• Some re-chamber after a kick, some just drop foot to the floor.
• Rear leg roundhouse kick
• Lift knee upward and camber behind the hip before rotating.
• Foot moves from the floor to the target in a straight line.

Blocking

There are numerous variations on how the arms should chamber for a block or strike. For example, for an inside-to-outside inner forearm middle block, some chamber with the blocking arm crossed above the non-blocking arm, some chamber under the non blocking arm.

• Block with boney sides of forearm.
• Block with meaty top and bottom of forearm.
• Block with follow-through motion.
• Block with snapping motion.

Patterns

There are many variations in the chambering, techniques, stances, and movements within the standard traditional patterns. It is similar to a virus. An instructor forgets and slips a change into a pattern, or purposely introduces a change, which then gets replicated and spread by his/her students until it becomes a part of the pattern.