Hyeong
형
Korean term for sets of techniques, the counterpart of the Japanese kata. WT taekwondo calls them poomsae, ITF taekwondo teul, older and other arts hyeong.
Quick Facts
Term typeClassification of techniques, arts and schools
LanguageKorean
Formnoun
Pronunciation[hyuhng]
Alternative Namesset, form
Readings and romanizations
Revised Romanizationhyeong / pumsae / teul
McCune–Reischauerhyŏng / p'umsae / t'ŭl
Word breakdown
Definition
Hyeong (형, 型) is the Korean reading of the character that is read kata in Japanese. It denotes a prescribed set of techniques against an imaginary opponent. In older Korean schools and in arts such as tangsudo, hyeong is still used today. Taekwondo introduced its own names. Kukkiwon and WT speak of poomsae (품새), for example the Taegeuk series for student grades and Koryo for the first dan. ITF uses the term teul (틀) and the sets Chon-Ji, Dan-Gun and others, which were compiled by Choi Hong Hi. In WT taekwondo, poomsae is also competed in separately.