Poomsae Performance Guide

* There are exceptions to some of these rules but for the most part all recognized poomsae adhere to these fundamentals *

The General Overview section is a very cursory look at how modern sport poomsae should be performed. A more in depth guide to each section follows.

Foreword:

This is by no means meant to be a definitive explanation but rather it reflects my current understanding of how competitive poomsae should be performed, and I do my best to keep as current as possible. While the emphasis here is on WT sport poomsae performance a lot of it does apply to the modern Kukkiwon standard as well.

Please note that if your dojang trains and performs Kwan lineage / non-competitive poomsae there will be things here that do not apply to your performance. Please check with your own instructor and defer to them in your training and execution of poomsae.

While preserving the nuances of each Kwan’s poomsae technique is important for the history of TKD it is crucial to understand that should this be your sole method of training you have zero chance of success in sport poomsae under modern WT rules if the referees are competent and current.

Taekwondo is a living and modern martial art that respects its past while innovating for the future and thus for an instructor or coach to approach it with dogmatic adherence to past standards, whether in poomsae or kyorugi, is to do a disservice to their students, in my opinion.

Considerations For Training Poomsae
Poomsae Sulyeonsang Yuuijeom
품새 수련상 유의점

시선
Siseon
Eye Sight

몸의 중심이동
Mom-Ui Jungsim-Idong
Movement Of The Body’s Center Of Gravity

속도의 완급
Sogdoui Wangeub
Fast And Slow Speed Control

힘의 강유
Him-Ui Kangyu
Tension & Relaxation In Power

동작의 옌결
Dongjag-ui Yengyeol
Flow Of Movement

호흡
Hoheub
Breathing

General Overview

When moving from one technique to the next: Look & Aim/Prep → Step → Pivot & Execute
I usually abbreviate this to “Look, Aim, Step, Pivot”
Don’t finish the “look” before you start the “aim”, don’t finish the “aim” before you start the “step”, don’t finish the “step” before you start the “pivot” — each movement should cascade into the next
The Pulling Hand (aiming hand) is always palm down
Do not aim any arm technique past the first one when performing multiple moves per count in the same stance
Arm techniques use both arms when there is one move per count
When there are two or more arm techniques per count the front arm goes first
Kicking techniques must be at least collar bone height
Kicking technique connection is: Cover → Kick → Aim → Tech
Kicking techniques must cleanly: Chamber → Extend → Re-Chamber
Movements are immediate, 5 seconds or 8 seconds
The rhythm connecting one movement in a line to the next is determined by whether it is offense or defense
At all times maintain proper neck and body posture
The eye line should match the technique direction
Aiming/First Position is smooth and ready
Upper body techniques must have a gradient of speed and power
Stance & arm technique finish at the same time
Every kihap should be short and loud
A striking arm moves inside of the aiming arm
A blocking arm moves outside of the aiming arm
Small Hinge: The top fist is vertical
Large Hinge: The top fist is horizontal
Overlapping arm techniques have the top hand determined by which foot moved
Front Kick cover: the hands are placed side by side on the abdomen or chest
Side Kick cover: the hands are placed side by side on the abdomen or in small hinge (pattern dependent)

Some of these rules have exceptions, though rarely.

Important Terminology

Order of Operations:
Look → Aim → Step → Pivot

Look:
Turn your head in the direction of the next technique

Aim:
Bring your arms into the next technique’s 1st Position, the pulling arm usually aims in its direction, palm down - some movements do not have the pulling arm aiming in the direction of the technique (assisted movements, for example)

Step:
Step or Shift directly to the stance of the next technique

Pivot:
Turn your pivot directly to the end position of the next stance

Step:
When not changing from one poomsae line to another, a step is when you are going from a left stance to a right stance or a right stance to a left stance

Shift:
When not changing from one poomsae line to another, a shift is when you are going from a left stance to a different left stance or a right stance to a different right stance

1st Position:
The position of the arms prior to completing a technique

2nd Position:
The position of the arms after completing a technique

Path:
The movement of the arms when proceeding from 1st Position to 2nd Position

Aiming Arm:
The arm which will not be performing the primary technique, called the Pulling Hand / Danggi Son / 당기 손

Action Arm:
The arm which will be performing the primary technique

Each section of the order of operations will overlap into the next, meaning that you should not have every movement broken into robotic pieces but rather should flow from one to the next with a gradient of speed and power.

Competition Flow

Charyeot - Stand tall in a Closed Stance with fists held at sides
Gyeonglye - Bow at 45°, approximately 5 seconds total, neck stays neutral and the hands should stay in place on the legs — different from the more brief kyorugi bow
Junbi - Hands move forward from sides of legs to the relevant Ready Posture’s 1st Position
Sijak - Begin to perform the Poomsae
Baro - Hands move directly to the relevant Ready Posture’s 1st Position
Sweio - You are no longer being scored

Competition Tips

Techniques and stances are generally performed uniformly throughout each Poomsae, their execution in one form will be the same as in another aside from occasional exceptions
Moving from stance to stance via a step or a shift can have a maximum of one step/shift and one pivot
Pivoting is done on the ball of the foot, without raising the heel, and should drive a turn of the hips
Minor mistakes will result in a -.1 deduction from your score
Major mistakes will result in a -.3 deduction from your score
Techniques are executed in one of three timings: immediately, 5 seconds or 8 seconds
There is a +/- 1 second threshold for drawn out techniques (5 +/- 1 and 8 +/- 1)
Upright neck and body posture is maintained at all times
The eye line must match the current technique’s direction
Kihap should be short and loud
Finishing outside of a one step radius from your origin point will result in a deduction