Taebaek

Quick Facts

About the kata

Taebaek is a Kukkiwon master poomsae that Taekwondo Compendium (nbtkda.com) and the English club Frontline Martial Arts both place at 3rd dan; Phoenix Taekwondo requires it for the 4th dan examination. Kukkiwon uses its name for a practitioner who has mastered the Taegeuk stage and can deliberately switch between yin and yang. Frontline Martial Arts and Phoenix Taekwondo both count 26 movements in it, and Phoenix adds 40 techniques. Two kihap shouts are given by Taekwondo Compendium, Frontline Martial Arts and Phoenix Taekwondo; according to Frontline, the first falls after the third geodeo makgi block. According to Taekwondo Compendium, the poomsae newly features the low opening block arae sonnal hechyeo makgi, the geodeo makgi block and the wrist release palmok ppaegi, and the keumgang momtong makgi block is here performed with the body turning in one direction. Sources differ on how to perform it: Phoenix Taekwondo asks for lightness and agility, the English Wikipedia for precise and fast movements, with the determination and hardness of Mount Baekdu. In the poomsae rules of British Taekwondo, adopted from World Taekwondo (12 June 2025), it is a compulsory poomsae from cadets up to the over-65 category.

The kata in different styles

Meaning of the name

Kukkiwon interprets Taebaek as the Red Mountain, or Bright Mountain: the sacred Mount Asadal (Asi-Tang), where the ancient Korean state of Gojoseon was founded. According to it, the Bright Mountain symbolizes the origin of spirit and tradition, sacredness and the idea of Hongik Ingan. There are several places bearing the name Taebaek, but their main representative is Mount Baekdu, the "womb symbolizing the people". Kukkiwon therefore derives the poomsae from the noble ideal of Dangun, the legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon. Frontline Martial Arts places the founding of the nation more than 4,300 years ago and links the name with light as the source of life and with sacredness. The English Wikipedia states that the word taebaek literally means "lightness", which can be read as both brightness and lightness.

Floor pattern (embusen)

The line of the poomsae follows the character 工. According to Kukkiwon, the two horizontal lines mean heaven and earth, the vertical line between them man. It depicts a person trained to receive heaven and earth's energy, at a stage where every part of the body reacts instantly and moves freely from defence to attack.

Bunkai – applications

Ørjan Nilsen (blog Traditional Taekwondo Ramblings) reads the opening sequence as defence against a two-handed lapel grab: a finger jab under the jaw sets up the block, hand-blade strikes to the inner arms above the elbows with the weight shift into beom seogi free the grip, and the raised fists pull the opponent by the shoulders into the knee and the kick ap chagi. He reads keumgang momtong makgi to the elbow strike as defence against a hook plus another strike, rejecting the view that the second half, from the side kick on, is just a Korean add-on to a sequence known from karate kata.

The hardest part

Taekwondo Compendium notes several details. In the first position of arae sonnal hechyeo makgi, fingertips should be at shoulder height with the blade edges turned toward the body; in jageun doljjeogwi, the upper fist is always vertical, palm inward. Keumgang momtong makgi can follow the older path, each arm on its usual course, or the newer straight path from jageun doljjeogwi, without changing the score. In moa seogi before the second dwit kubi, both feet point 30° left with knees bent. Turning into mom dora deungjumeok bakkat chigi, the pushing-block hand stays still during palmok ppaegi, the eyes track the jab until the turn ends, and the strike aims at temple height with the elbow angled slightly down, unlike in Taegeuk Chil Jang.

In grading syllabi

• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 4th poom
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 4th dan
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 5th dan
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 6th dan

Technique Sequence — WT Taekwondo

Breakdown source: phoenixtaekwondo.net

1. #1
   Beom SeogiSonnal Hecheo Makgi
2. #2
   Ap Chagi
3. #3
   Ap KubiMomtong Jireugi
4. #4
   Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
5. #5
   Beom SeogiSonnal Hecheo Makgi
6. #6
   Ap Chagi
7. #7
   Ap KubiMomtong Jireugi
8. #8
   Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
9. #9
   Ap KubiJebipum Sonnal An Chigi
10. #10
    Ap KubiGeodeo Makgi
11. #11
    Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
12. #12
    Ap KubiGeodeo Makgi
13. #13
    Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
14. #14
    Ap KubiGeodeo Makgi
15. #15
    Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
    kiai
16. #16
    Dwit Kubi
17. #17
    Dwit KubiDanggyeo Jireugi
18. #18
    Dwit KubiMomtong Jireugi
19. #19
    Yeop ChagiMejumeok Bakkat Chigi
20. #20
    Ap KubiPalgup Pyojeok Chigi
21. #21
    Moa Seogi
22. #22
    Dwit Kubi
23. #23
    Dwit KubiDanggyeo Jireugi
24. #24
    Dwit KubiMomtong Jireugi
25. #25
    Yeop ChagiMejumeok Bakkat Chigi
26. #26
    Ap KubiPalgup Pyojeok Chigi
27. #27
    Moa Seogi
28. #28
    Dwit KubiSonnal Geodeureo Bakkat Makgi
29. #29
    Ap KubiPyeonsonkkeut Sewo Jjireugi
30. #30
    Ap KubiPalmok Ppaegi
31. #31
    Dwit KubiMom Dora Deungjumeok Chigi
32. #32
    Ap KubiMomtong Jireugi
    kiai
33. #33
    Ap KubiGawi Makgi
34. #34
    Ap Chagi
35. #35
    Ap KubiMomtong Jireugi
36. #36
    Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
37. #37
    Ap KubiGawi Makgi
38. #38
    Ap Chagi
39. #39
    Ap KubiMomtong Jireugi
40. #40
    Ap KubiBaro Jireugi