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Companion Guide · Taekwondo

Punch-Kick Chain Playbook

Mat Manual companion guide to "The Punch Is Part of the Kick." Print it. The article explains how the punch occupies the covering arm and why the ruleset changes what the chain is worth. This book builds that one chain…

Key Facts
ArtTaekwondo
FamilyKorean Arts
Levelintermediate
Formatplaybook
Topicsstrikes, kicks, sparring, competition, rules, safety
PreviewThe opening of the guide

Mat Manual companion guide to "The Punch Is Part of the Kick." Print it. The article explains how the punch occupies the covering arm and why the ruleset changes what the chain is worth. This book builds that one chain — momtong jireugi (middle-section punch) into rear dollyo chagi (turning/roundhouse kick) on one beat — with the WT and ITF notes printed on every card, then runs it through a four-week build to free rounds where the two rulesets are scored separately.

Name: ______________________________ School: ______________________________ Grade: ______________ Start date: ______________ Lead side (circle): Left / Right Ruleset you compete under (circle): WT / ITF / School / Both 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 work in this book. The punch targets the hogu's center. The kick targets the hogu's body line. No technique in this book is thrown at a partner's head. ☐ Punch contact is agreed separately from kick contact. A punch thrown at kick-level force is a fault. In WT-based schools, note the ruleset line honestly: punches that land with excessive force, or to the head, draw penalties in competition — train the punch as a clean, controlled, scoring punch, not a brawl starter. ☐ Jam drills (Part 7, Card R5, and Part 14) put a partner inside your punching and chambering space 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. ☐ Gloves or hand protection follow your school's rules for sparring work. If your school requires them for punch work, they are on for every partner card in this book, no exceptions for "light" sets. ☐ 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 beat, two hits. If there is a reset between the punch and the kick, it was two techniques, not a chain.

Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
TechniqueJob in this chainBody actionWhat success looks like
Momtong jireugi (middle-section punch)Occupy the guard in the middle; confirm the range; score if ignoredStraight punch to the hogu's center on a short step in, full retractionThe covering arm comes to the middle or the partner steps in; the punch touches the hogu or is covered
Rear dollyo chagi (turning/roundhouse kick)Score through the side the occupied guard leftChamber starts on the punch's retraction; one hip turn serves bothIt lands on the body line at controlled contact while the guard is still in the middle

Chain law: the kick answers the punch's result. The five honest results:

Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
Punch resultGuard behaviorKick answer
Covered in the middleCovering arm came to center and stays a beatDollyo chagi to the body, on the retraction beat
Partner steps in on the punchGuard compressed; range closed by themDollyo chagi short and hard to the body, no extra step
Punch scores cleanPartner reacting, guard unsettledKick only if already chambering; otherwise take the punch score and exit
Punch jammed, partner crowds inThe chamber's pocket is takenNo kick. Cover, angle out (Cards R5, Part 9 Pattern 3)
Punch waved and ignoredGuard never movedNo kick into a set guard. Reset; punch honestly next time
The Companion Guide

Punch-Kick Chain Playbook

Mat Manual companion guide to "The Punch Is Part of the Kick." Print it. The article explains how the punch occupies the covering arm and why the ruleset changes what the chain is worth. This book builds that one chain — momtong jireugi (middle-section punch) into rear dollyo chagi (turning/roundhouse kick) on one beat — with the WT and ITF notes printed on every card, then runs it through a four-week build to free rounds where the two rulesets are scored separately.

Taekwondointermediateplaybookstrikes, kicks, sparring, competition, rules, safety

What's Inside

  • Part 1: The Chain at a Glance
  • Part 2: How a Rep Counts
  • Part 3: The Ruleset Notes (Printed on Every Card)
  • Part 4: Punch Quality Cards: The Honest Punch
  • Part 5: Distance Cards: Punch Range Is the Door
  • Part 6: Core Chain Cards
  • …and 22 more sections
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