Front-Leg Chain Playbook
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Front Leg Asks, the Back Leg Answers." Print it. The article explains what the cut kick buys and why the rear kick leaves off its set-down. This book builds that one chain — lead-leg c…
| Art | Taekwondo |
|---|---|
| Family | Korean Arts |
| Level | intermediate |
| Format | playbook |
| Topics | kicks, sparring, competition, safety, training-plans |
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Front Leg Asks, the Back Leg Answers." Print it. The article explains what the cut kick buys and why the rear kick leaves off its set-down. This book builds that one chain — lead-leg cut kick into rear-leg dollyo chagi (turning/roundhouse kick) — by the cut kick's result, then runs it through a four-week build from shadow work to free rounds where the chain is the only way to score.
Name: ______________________________ School: ______________________________ Grade: ______________ Start date: ______________ Lead side (circle): Left / Right Ruleset (circle): WT / ITF / School Current week (Part 11): ______________
BEFORE ANYTHING: PARTNER SAFETY AND AGREEMENTS ☐ All partner work in this book runs at agreed speed and agreed contact, stated out loud before each drill. Either partner can lower the speed or the contact at any time with one word, and the drill obeys instantly. ☐ Hogu (chest protector) is worn for all partner kicking work in this book. Kicks to the body land on the hogu at the agreed contact. A kick that cannot be controlled to the hogu does not count as a rep, however well it landed. ☐ Head-height rear kicks run only where your ruleset allows head kicks, your school teaches them at your grade, and both partners have agreed to head-height work that session. When any of those is missing, the high line in every card means the upper hogu line, and no kick goes to a partner's head. ☐ The clinch-step drills (Part 7, Card R5, and Part 14) put a partner inside kicking range on purpose. They run at half speed until both partners have passed the card at that speed. Nobody jams at full speed in the first cycle of this book. ☐ Cut kicks drive in low to mid height. Contact with the lead knee, the hip joint, or below the hogu's lower edge is a fault, named kindly, and the set restarts at a slower speed. ☐ Stop on any pain, dizziness, or loss of control, from either partner, with no argument and no finishing the set first. Log what happened in the session log (Part 16).
Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
One chain, two jobs. If a rep does not show both jobs, it was two kicks, not a chain.
| Kick | Job in this chain | Body action | What success looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead-leg cut kick | Ask: take space, move the hands, set the feet | Short slide in, tight chamber, drive in low to mid height, forward set-down | It lands on the hogu or is covered; the partner's hands move or they give a half-step; your front foot lands forward, loaded |
| Rear dollyo chagi (turning/roundhouse kick) | Answer: score through what the reply opened | Full chamber and hip turn, launched while the front foot is still settling | It lands on the body or the open high line at controlled contact while their reply is still happening |
Chain law: the second kick answers the first kick's result. The five honest results, and their answers, are the whole read in this book (Part 7 drills them one at a time):
| Cut kick result | Rear kick answer |
|---|---|
| Blocked down by the lead arm | Dollyo chagi high to the open side, as the arm is still down (upper hogu line if head work is not agreed) |
| Covered across and braced | Dollyo chagi to the body, hard, before the cover loosens |
| Half-step retreat | Dollyo chagi off the forward set-down, body or high line by their dipped guard |
| Cut kick scores clean | Rear kick only if already traveling; otherwise take the score and exit |
| Cut kick jammed | No rear kick. Clinch-step answer or angle out, rebuild guard, reset |
Front-Leg Chain Playbook
Mat Manual companion guide to "The Front Leg Asks, the Back Leg Answers." Print it. The article explains what the cut kick buys and why the rear kick leaves off its set-down. This book builds that one chain — lead-leg cut kick into rear-leg dollyo chagi (turning/roundhouse kick) — by the cut kick's result, then runs it through a four-week build from shadow work to free rounds where the chain is the only way to score.
What's Inside
- Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
- Part 2: How a Rep Counts
- Part 3: The Three Distances
- Part 4: Distance Drill Cards
- Part 5: Cut Kick Quality Cards: The Honest Ask
- Part 6: Core Chain Cards by Distance
- …and 22 more sections
The full guide is a paid Mat Manual product. Checkout is not connected yet — no payment is taken on this page.
Free companion article: The Front Leg Asks, the Back Leg Answers — the full article, free in full.
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