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Taekkyon contains many kinds
of techniques, including hand and leg techniques as well as joint locks, and
head butts. Today, however, different styles sometimes do not emphasize all
techniques. In all styles, just like in past centuries, kicks are most
dominant. Taekkyon teaches a great variety of kicks, especially low kicks
(ddanjuk) and jumps.
The movements of Taekkyon are fluid and dance-like with the practitioners
constantly moving, in this regard it resembles Capoeira and Shaolin Kung Fu
but is unique in many ways. Taekkyon uses many sweeps with straight forward
low kicks using the ball of the foot and the heel and flowing crescent-like
high kicks. There are many kicks that move the leg outward from the middle
and inward from the outside using the side of the heels and the side of the
feet. The art also uses tricks like inward trips, wall-jumping, fake-outs,
tempo, and slide-stepping. The art is also like a dance in which the fighter
constantly changes stance from left to right by stepping forward and
backwards with arms up and ready to guard. This art requires traditional
Korean white robes.
Low kicks, frequent in Taekkyon, are used to block the opponents kick. These
kicks include leg sweeps as well as direct blows to the knee.
When Taekkyon is practiced in competition, it uses a limited subset of
techniques, focusing on grappling and kicking only. Points are scored by
throwing (or tripping) the opponent to the ground, pushing him out of the
ring, or kicking him in the head. There are no hand strikes or headbutts,
and purposefully injuring your opponent is prohibited. (The head kicks are
often quite sharp, but usually not full force, and fighters may not attempt
to wear the opponent down with body blows as in western boxing or muay
thai). Matches are sometimes decided by the best of three falls -- the first
fighter to score two points wins. However, different modern associations
employ slightly different rules. To an untrained eye, the matches are
cautious but exhilarating affairs. The contestants circle each other warily,
changing their footwork constantly and feinting with low kicks, before
exploding into a flurry of action which might leave one fighter flat on
his/her back.
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