Yop Cha Jirugi
Literally: side piercing kick
Also known as: Side Piercing Kick
An ITF Taekwon-Do side piercing kick that travels to the target on a straight path with hip rotation and lands with the edge of the foot (balkal).
Quick Facts
💡 Key Tip
When kicking, extend the leading arm forward: it protects the body and supports its forward movement.
Katas containing this technique
About
Yop cha jirugi is, in ITF terminology, the side piercing kick, landing with the edge of the foot, balkal. Per Sanka Lewis's analysis (Soo Shim Kwan), the name carries jjireugi, a piercing thrust, which ITF otherwise uses for a fist strike, setting it apart from kicks named with plain chagi. The ITF Encyclopedia, per the same analysis, assigns it the same theory and purpose as a fist strike: a direct, powerful action into the target. The kick travels to the target in a straight line with hip rotation. A karate side kick, by contrast, per Lewis, brings the foot to the target in an arc from below upward. The leading arm often extends forward at the same time, protecting the body and supporting its advance. In the ITF tuls it appears in seven forms, among them in Won-Hyo as the 8th and 26th movement, in Yul-Gok as the 23rd and 26th, in Joong-Gun as the 22nd and 25th, and in Choong-Moo as the 7th, 25th and 26th movement; it also appears in Hwa-Rang, Kwang-Gae and Ge-Baek.