Head-Kick Defence Playbook
Mat Manual companion guide to "Defending the Head Kick." Print it. The article teaches the read, the ranges, and the two honest answers. This book turns them into training: read-and-answer cards keyed to the chamber, co…
| Art | Taekwondo |
|---|---|
| Family | Korean Arts |
| Level | intermediate |
| Format | playbook |
| Topics | kicks, sparring, safety, training-plans |
Mat Manual companion guide to "Defending the Head Kick." Print it. The article teaches the read, the ranges, and the two honest answers. This book turns them into training: read-and-answer cards keyed to the chamber, cover-step progressions, counter-cut timing drills fed at three speeds, and sparring games where the defender's score is the round's point.
Name: ______________________________ School: ______________________________ Belt: ______________ Coach: ______________________________
BEFORE ANYTHING: THE RULES THIS BOOK DOES NOT BEND ☐ Head-height drilling runs at controlled power, always. Fed kicks to the head line are pulled or land on the guard and protector only, at the speed and contact level the coach sets for the drill. A fed kick thrown at full power in a defence drill ends the drill and the feeder's turn. ☐ Full protective gear for every live drill and game in this book: trunk protector, head protector where your school's rules require it, mouthguard, and shin and forearm protection per your school's standard. No gear, no live rounds. ☐ Any strike that lands clean on the head stops the exchange. Any dizziness, headache, blurred vision, or feeling of being foggy ends the student's session, is reported to the coach the same day, and is treated as an injury, not as toughness. ☐ The stop word and a raised hand end any drill at once, from either partner, for any reason. Drills restart only when the coach says so. ☐ Partners feed the picture the card names, at the speed the card names. Feeding harder, faster, or with a different kick than the card calls for is a failed rep for the feeder, not a test for the defender. ☐ Defence is trained fresh. No head-height live games in the last, exhausted part of a session, because tired defenders duck and turn, and this book exists to remove those habits, not rehearse them.
Part 1: The Defence Standard
Every drill in this book is measured against this page. Your coach's standard governs where it differs; the structure does not change.
| Element | The standard |
|---|---|
| The read | Height is called from the chamber, the hip, and the range the attacker buys, before the kick extends |
| Guard address | Hands live higher as range closes. At head-kick range the lead forearm sits beside the head, elbow down, hand above the hairline line |
| Close answer | Cover and step together, on one beat. The step changes the range; the cover insures the step |
| Long answer | Stay fully out, let the kick spend itself on air, answer as the leg returns |
| Middle range | A decision, not a defence. In or out, taken on the chamber |
| Counter-cut | Fired at the chamber, only on a confirmed picture: hip rolled, support foot turned, range bought |
| Eyes | Open, on the opponent, through every answer. Ducking, closing the eyes, and turning away are faults at every level of this book |
The one-sentence version. Read the chamber, move the guard's address up as the range closes, and answer from close or from long, never from the middle.
Head-Kick Defence Playbook
Mat Manual companion guide to "Defending the Head Kick." Print it. The article teaches the read, the ranges, and the two honest answers. This book turns them into training: read-and-answer cards keyed to the chamber, cover-step progressions, counter-cut timing drills fed at three speeds, and sparring games where the defender's score is the round's point.
What's Inside
- Part 1: The Defence Standard
- Part 2: The Baseline Test, Run This First
- Part 3: The Read, Chamber Pictures
- Part 4: Guard Address by Range
- Part 5: Cover Mechanics, The Structure Alone
- Part 6: Cover-Step Progression One, The Fed Chamber
- …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: Defending the Head Kick — the full article, free in full.
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