The Art of TaeKwon-Do

Hi, my name is Annie UnKauf. I am a black belt in Unified TaeKwon-Do International, I’ve been training in TaeKwon-Do for eleven years and teaching all ages in a class format for the last 5. Did you know that learning even basic defense skills could save your life? Today I’m going to be showing you 4 common attacks in a fight, and how to defend yourself. The defenses I will be showing you today will allow you to escape potentially dangerous situations with little to no difficulties.

TaeKwon-Do is a Korean military martial art that focuses of defensive techniques rather than offensive. TaeKwon-Do translates to “The Art of The Hand and Foot”, which speaks to the fact that there is a mix of both hand and foot techniques, and some aspects mix punches and kicks together. There are 3 main TaeKwon-Do Federations, World TaeKwon-do, which is the version of TaeKwon-Do seen in the Olympics, they focus more on the combat aspect using more kicks than punches because they train with rifles due to the military background. International TaeKwon-do, they focus more on the non-combat aspects of TaeKwon-do, and then finally Unified TaeKwon-do which attempts to have an even combination of combat and non-combat.

This lesson will need to be done in pairs, one person to be the attacker and the second to be the victim and defender. The attacks we are going to be working on are four common attacks in any fight. Two that are commonly used against men, and two that are common attacks on women.

To begin the first defense for men, the attacker and the defender will stand shoulder to shoulder facing the same direction. The defender will bend over at the waist and the attacker will put his right arm in a headlock on the defender as demonstrated by the first picture. This is the starting position, and the attack I will be showing you how to defend from.

The first step for the defender is the most important, the defender needs to shrug their shoulders upwards into the attacker’s hands and dig their chin into the attacker’s forearm. This initial step allows the defender to breath, as it should loosen the attacker’s hold on their neck.

The second step, once the attacker no longer has a tight grip on the neck of the defender, is for the defender to grab the forearm of the attacker with both hands, palms facing in towards their face (see photo #2). With this grip the defender will now pull down on the attacker’s arm and slip their head out through the opening now given. As the defender slides their head through the opening, they should follow the path of their head with their right hand (photo #3). As the right hand comes through the open hole between the attacker’s arm and body, the defender must bring their right hand up to grip the attacker’s right shoulder while bringing their left hand – still holding the wrist of the attacker’s arm – up behind the attackers back.

The final step of this defense is for the defender’s right hand – currently on the attacker’s right shoulder – to grip on the soft nerve cluster positioned between the collarbone and neck (photo #4). When this grip is held tightly it should cause the attacker’s right arm to go numb, at this point the defender should bring their right foot up so the arch of the foot faces the back of the attacker’s knee and press into the back of the knee so that the attacker is forced to bend backwards towards the defender (photo #5).

Once the attacker is now controlled by the defender, the defender can calmly inform the attacker that in this position the attacker has two choices, they can either leave the defender alone or if further aggression is taking place the defender can leverage further on the nerves in their shoulder and, positioning their foot on the outside of the attacker’s knee, they can then stomp down snapping the attacker’s knee.

The beginning of the second defense is similar to the first, as it is another headlock, the difference is that to begin the assailant and the defender must stand shoulder to shoulder facing the opposite direction and the attacker will then put the defender in a headlock using their right arm as per the first picture.

The first step for the defender here is to once again ensure that they can breathe, this initial step is also similar to the first defense, in that the defender should shrug their shoulder up and dig their chin into the attacker’s forearm. The defender should once again place both hands – palms facing towards the defender – on the attacker’s forearm pulling the arm down and into their chest, this position should give the defender better control over the attacker’s arm (photo #2).

The second step here is the opposite of the last defense. Once the defender has a solid grip on the attacker’s arm, they should then take their right foot – which should be the foot closest to the attacker – and step forward, crossing their right foot in front of their left (photo #3 + #4). As the defender shifts to this new position and slowly stands, their body should twist. Due to the grip that the defender has on the attacker’s arm, this rotation should cause their arm to twist behind their back, placing the attacker off balance and no longer in control of their motion (photo #4).

Now that the attacker in controlled by the defender the defender can choose to either shove the attacker away from them and escape, or while keeping a hold of the attacker’s arm with their right hand they can bring their left forearm up against the upper part of the attacker’s arm and leverage them down to the ground where they can then fully control the situation (photo #5).

The attack of the first defense for women begins with the defender standing with their back facing towards the attacker. The initial attack is as the defender is attempting to get away as this is a common situation to defend against. The attacker will grab the defender from behind, either grabbing something like a ponytail or a fist full of hair, this should just be a one-handed grab, and, for this example it should be the right hand (photo #1). This defense can also be for men with longer hair that can be grabbed.

The defender needs to clasp their fingers together with their palms facing each other, reach behind their head, rest their fingers over the top of the attacker’s hand and squeeze their palms together while also pressing the attacker’s hand to the back of their neck (photo #2). This should cause the attacker to release their grip on the hair to avoid squashing the small bones in their fingers. From here, the defender should step backwards so that their right leg crosses behind their left. Then bending over at the waist slightly the defender should turn to the right to face the attacker (photo #3).

Still bent over the attacker’s hand should now be in a slightly uncomfortable position to hold, the defender should now turn again to right – continuing in a circle - till the defender is again facing the direction they started in. At this point the attacker will have also turned – back-to-back - due to the tension on their arm, and their arm should be bent over their shoulder behind them (photo #4). From here the defender should – while still holding the hand – take the hand from the back of their neck and pull it down towards their shoulder. Continuing this motion should cause the attacker to bend backwards towards the ground until they are laying down with their arm stuck behind their back (photo #5).

To finish this self-defence the defender should leverage their arm by trying to touch their elbow to the ground – this will be painful, so please don’t do it hard on your practise partner – until the attacker agrees to leave the defender alone. If this does not work, the defender can release one hand from the grip and simply punch the attacker in the face.

The second defense is similar to the first for women. Beginning again with the defender facing away from the attacker, the attacker will grab the back collar of the defender’s shirt in a single fist (photo #1). This is another common variation of the ponytail grab that is commonly used to pull someone back towards a person.

To begin the defense, the defender will take both hands and grab the front of their own collar – warning your shirt may be slightly stretched out after this. The defender will then pull the back of their collar tight against the back of their neck, catching the attacker’s fingers between their shirt and neck (photo #2).

Once the attacker’s fingers are trapped the defender will then bend forward and turning to the right spin swiftly in a circle (photo #3) until the attacker is forced to release their grip on the defender’s shirt. Once the attacker’s grip on the shirt is released, it now frees the defender to run away (photo #4).

Please remember that often the best defense in any situation is to run away. Also, keep in mind that there is a point where self-defense becomes assault. If an attacker does not use lethal force or is unarmed, it is unethical to react with lethal force. In the first example where it is possible to break their knee, this is the last resort, it should only be used if the attacker continues to attack or escalates the situation by bringing out a weapon. TaeKwon-Do is only for self-defense and should never be used to attack someone or escalate any situation.

If someone were to find themselves in a situation where they are being physically attacked and there are other people around who haven’t noticed, the best thing to do is to struggle, make noise, bring attention to the struggle. If a woman finds herself being attacked by a man, research has concluded that the best thing to do is make sure that people know that it is an attack. Experiments have found that when a man attacks a woman in public, many people assume that they are in some sort of domestic relationship, and they are more reluctant to intervene when they believe this is the case. In a case like this the best thing to do is scream, or Yell something along the lines of “Why are you doing this? I don’t even know you!” or “Who are you?”, this ensures that people know that they can intervene in a situation without complicating things.