Taegeuk Sah Jang

Quick Facts

About the kata

Taegeuk Sah Jang is the fourth Taegeuk form and carries the trigram Jin (☳) – thunder. Per the English Wikipedia, Kukkiwon teaches it performed majestically, like a storm. Sources link it to different grades: the Taekwondo Compendium (nbtkda.com) and Korean Wikipedia to the 5th geup, English Wikipedia and phoenixtaekwondo.net to the 4th, taekwondopreschool.com to the 6th geup. The form opens with the doubled knife-hand block sonnal geodeureo makgi. English Wikipedia also lists as new the fingertip thrust pyeonsonkkeut sewo jjireugi, the side kick yeop chagi, and the strike jebipum mok chigi, where one hand blocks upward while the other's edge aims at the neck. Per the same source, more than earlier forms it requires preparing hands and feet for the next technique during the previous one. The pattern follows three parallel lines; the first turn shifts the front foot, the next two pivot on the spot. For the first time in the series, the practitioner moves from the first line straight to the third in one continuous sequence. Phoenixtaekwondo.net counts 20 movements of 29 techniques, taekwondopreschool.com about 27 – the difference is in the counting method. Per the Compendium, the single kihap belongs to the last strike.

The kata in different styles

Meaning of the name

Kukkiwon interprets Jin as thunder and lightning, born in the clouds in an instant; that is why it is called the heavenly dragon in the East. In the human body, per Kukkiwon, it corresponds to the mobility of both legs, allowing fast movement and powerful kicks: the practitioner turns the whole body, changes direction or attacks in a flash, adjusts distance to the opponent to their advantage, and attacks like a dragon that keeps changing shape. Per English Wikipedia, the trigram is written as one solid line above two broken ones. Phoenixtaekwondo.net adds the image of thunder bringing rain that refreshes the air after a storm; the form is meant to open correct understanding of taekwondo techniques.

Bunkai – applications

The Taekwondo Compendium (nbtkda.com) describes jebipum mok chigi as a strike in which one hand catches an attack to the face while the other simultaneously returns a counterattack; the name, it says, refers to the narrow, fast attacking shape of a swallow. Taekwondopreschool.com names the neck, throat or collarbone as the target of the hand edge and adds that the technique serves self-defence more than sport sparring, where hand strikes to the face are forbidden.

The hardest part

The Taekwondo Compendium (nbtkda.com) watches mainly hand position in this form. In the doubled block sonnal geodeureo makgi, the supporting arm should be parallel to the floor, with the forearm, not the palm, in front of the solar plexus. Stepping from dwit kubi to ap kubi, the fingertips of the hand edge rise from shoulder to nose height, and the supporting hand pulls back to the hip. Per the same source, the blocking arm's wrist should end at body centre, turned toward the front leg.

In competition

The June 2025 British Taekwondo parapoomsae rules, based on the August 2023 World Para Taekwondo rules, place Taegeuk Sah Jang in the first group of compulsory forms for dan holders in all age categories from 8 years up. They also prescribe it for juniors in classes K1 (4th–1st geup) and K2 (10th–5th geup). We have not been able to find it on World Taekwondo's competition lists.

In grading syllabi

• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 1st poom
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 2nd poom
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 3rd poom
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 4th poom
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 1st dan
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 2nd dan
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 3rd dan
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 4th dan
• Kukkiwon system (poom and dan): 5th dan

Technique Sequence — WT Taekwondo

Breakdown source: phoenixtaekwondo.net

1. #1
   Dwit KubiSonnal Geodeureo Bakkat Makgi
2. #2
   Batangson Nulleo Makgi
3. #3
   Ap KubiPyeonsonkkeut Sewo Jjireugi
4. #4
   Dwit KubiSonnal Geodeureo Bakkat Makgi
5. #5
   Batangson Nulleo Makgi
6. #6
   Ap KubiPyeonsonkkeut Sewo Jjireugi
7. #7
   Ap KubiJebipum Sonnal An Chigi
8. #8
   Ap KubiAp Chagi
9. #9
   Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
10. #10
    Dwit KubiYeop Chagi
11. #11
    Dwit KubiYeop Chagi
12. #12
    Dwit KubiSonnal Geodeureo Bakkat Makgi
13. #13
    Dwit KubiBakkat Makgi
14. #14
    Dwit KubiAp Chagi
15. #15
    Dwit KubiAn Makgi
16. #16
    Dwit KubiBakkat Makgi
17. #17
    Dwit KubiAp Chagi
18. #18
    Dwit KubiAn Makgi
19. #19
    Ap KubiJebipum Sonnal An Chigi
20. #20
    Ap KubiAp Chagi
21. #21
    Ap KubiDeungjumeok Ap Chigi
22. #22
    Ap SeogiAn Makgi
23. #23
    Ap SeogiBaro Jireugi
24. #24
    Ap SeogiAn Makgi
25. #25
    Ap SeogiBaro Jireugi
26. #26
    Ap KubiAn Makgi
27. #27
    Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
28. #28
    Ap KubiMomtong Jireugi
29. #29
    Ap KubiAn Makgi
30. #30
    Ap KubiBaro Jireugi
31. #31
    Ap KubiMomtong Jireugi
    kiai