Stances (Sogi)

Attention Stance (Charyot Sogi)

This is the stance we take when we are bowing.

• Bring the heels together with the feet about 45 degrees apart.
• Keep the fists naturally at the sides of the body with the elbows slightly bent and wrists straight.
• The fists are clenched slightly
• Eyes face the front slightly above the horizontal line
• When we bow, we only bow the head 15 degrees while still looking forward, and say "Taekwon".

Parallel Stance (Narani Sogi)

• Spread the feet until they are shoulder width apart (measured from the outside of the shoulders to the outside of the feet).
• Keep the toes pointing towards the front.
• Keep both knees straight.

To make Parallel Ready Stance (Narani Junbi Sogi), bring the hands naturally over the abdomen as follows: (See pictures above).

• The distance between the fists is about 5 cm and about 7cm away from the abdomen.
• The distance between the elbows and floating ribs is about 10cm.
• Do not extend the elbow to the side more than necessary.
• Hold the uppper arms forward 30 degrees while bending the forearms 40 degrees upward.

Walking Stance (Gunnun Sogi)

This is a strong stance for front and rear both in attack and defence.

• Move one foot to either front or rear at a distance of one and a half shoulder width between the big toes and a shoulder width from one centre of the instep to the other. (see diagram above). Over one and a half shoulder width in length makes the movement slow and weak against an attack from the front, side, and rear.
• Bend the front leg until the knee cap forms a vertical line with the heel, keeping the back leg fully straight.
• Distribute the body weight evenly on both feet (50/50).
• Keep the toes of the front foot pointing forward, the back foot turned up to 25 degrees outward. Over 25 degrees weakens the leg joint against an attack from the rear.
• Tense the muscles of the feet with the feeling of pulling them toward each other.

When the right leg is bent, the stance is called a right walking stance and vice-versa. It can be either full or half facing both in attack and defence.

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