TAEKWONDO STANCES

ATTENTION STANCE
A formal stance which expresses respect for another as
well as personal discipline. The attention stance is a
rigid stance with feet together and the hands held flat
against the thighs. The attention stance is also the
position adopted before bowing to a fellow student or
an opponent before the match.
 READY STANCE
While standing in an upright posture with feet
spread shoulder width apart and weight placed
evenly on both feet, bring both fists up before
your lower face, then slowly (over a period of
three seconds) lower them to the level of your
belt, to finally (after pausing for one second in
this position) snap both hands out powerfully to
a distance of about two fists from the front of
your belt with the thumbs no more than two
inches apart.
FORWARD STANCE
Step forward with one foot to a distance of two
shoulder widths. The rear knee is locked straight while
the front leg is bent so that the shin is perpendicular to
the floor. The rear foot is turned to point as directly
forward as possible without the heel raising off the
floor. Weight is distributed with 60 percent on the
forward leg and 40 percent on the rear leg. The feet
must not be any narrower (side to side) than shoulder
width to insure stability. The body is held properly
erect and the hips are turned square to the forward
HORSE RIDING STANCE
It is similar to the ready stance but feet are
placed much wider, about two-foot lengths
apart. Also, the knees are deeply bent. The shins
should kept perpendicular to the floor. This
requires the knees to move outwards away from
the body.

FIGHTING STANCE
Common features across the art include turning the
body to the side to present a smaller target, slightly
bent knees for balance and agility, feet about two
shoulder widths apart, and hands up, protecting the
head.