Heights of Attack & Defence
Almost every technique is aimed at one of three sections of the body. The Korean term often forms part of the technique's full name.
High Section Nopunde
The face and neck — from the shoulders up. Targeted by high kicks, high punches and rising blocks.
Middle Section Kaunde
The trunk — from the shoulders to the navel. The most common target in sparring and patterns.
Low Section Najunde
From the navel down. Low blocks protect this region; check event rules separately for legal competition targets.
Hand & Arm Techniques
Attacks are classed as punches, strikes or thrusts, and named after the “tool” — the part of the hand that makes contact.
| Attacking tool | Korean | 한글 |
|---|---|---|
| Fore-fist | Ap Joomuk | 앞주먹 |
| Back-fist | Dung Joomuk | 등주먹 |
| Side-fist (hammer-fist) | Yop Joomuk | 옆주먹 |
| Knife-hand | Sonkal | 손칼 |
| Reverse knife-hand | Sonkal Dung | 손칼등 |
| Fingertips | Sonkut | 손끝 |
| Elbow | Palkup | 팔굽 |
| Palm / back-hand | Sonbadak / Sondung | 손바닥 / 손등 |
Striking Surfaces
Red marks the contact surface. Hands vary, so ask your instructor to check your hand position.
Fist adapted from Jean-Paul GIBERT (CC BY 4.0), based on a drawing by Denise Morgan / University of Utah. Front view cropped, contact markers added and colours changed.
References: ITKD basic hand-formation guide and Soo Shim Kwan fingertip explanation. There are several fingertip forms; the drawing shows three fingertips lined up.
Three classes of hand attack: Jirugi (punch — a straight thrust of the fist), Taerigi (strike — a swinging or downward blow, e.g. with the back-fist or knife-hand), and Tulgi (thrust — a stabbing attack, e.g. fingertip thrust).