Valor TKD 101: Master Your Basics. Every Day

One truly defining aspect of a master that separates them from their students is their mastery of the basics. It matters not what kind of fancy, secret techniques is out there that seems to work for some people. Those are defined as special cases in which they are not for everybody. However, the one thing that is universal and consistent throughout all of Taekwondo that anyone can use to be successful is the basics.

The basics are the foundation of anyone’s Taekwondo journey and serve as the base of their style. One cannot develop their own style without first mastering these basics. Just as one cannot kick without learning the basics, one cannot hope to perform well in sport Taekwondo (Sport Poomsae/Sparring) without them.

This is why it is very important for new students to be taught the basics the correct way the first time so that it easily becomes second nature to them. It is much more difficult for students to relearn their basics if they were taught them in a different way.

What are the basics you might ask? Well, it depends, but the most commonly accepted basics are as follows: Front kick, roundhouse kick, side kick, axe kick, back kick, punch, slide forward, slide back, and sidestep. These kicks combined with the movements mentioned serve as the foundation to any Taekwondo athlete and can be reliably used at any time.

Of course, training the basics constantly can become stale very quickly so it is important to change up one’s training by practicing the basics in different ways. Of course, it is not taboo to practice the other advanced tricks and techniques that are out there. What’s most important is that these sort of techniques should take the backseat in training with the basics always being the crux of one’s repertoire.

As Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”.