A fundamental movement is defined as any movement not done in a previous pattern.
Therefore, every movement in the Pattern Chon-Ji (the first pattern in Taekwon-Do) is a fundamental movement. Saju Jirugi (Four direction punch) and Saju Makgi (Four direction block) are only training exercises and therefore are not considered fundamental movements.
When Grading, the set syllabus generally has one fundamental movement/series of movements (usually the most difficult movement/s in the pattern) and this is to be performed four (4) times forwards & backwards, to ascertain the student’s ability to perform that movement.
That said, the examiner can ask for any syllabus from 10th Kup (White belt) up to an including the current belt level. Therefore, they can ask to see any technique, so the student should be proficient in all techniques, also not just in the sequence of the pattern, but practiced individually.
COLOUR BELT PATTERNS
Pattern (Tul) Name | Number of Fundamental Movements |
10th Kup – Saju Jirugi, Saju Makgi | Nil (0) |
9th Kup – Chon-Ji Tul | Three (3) |
8th Kup – Dan-Gun Tul | Five (5) |
7th Kup – Do-San Tul | Nine (9) Including the release movement |
6th Kup – Won-Hyo Tul | Six (6) |
5th Kup – Yul-Gok Tul | Seven (7) |
4th Kup – Joong-Gun Tul | Fourteen (14) including the release movement |
3rd Kup – Toi-Gye Tul | Twelve (12) including both the posture and the grab |
2nd Kup – Hwa-Rang Tul | Eight (8) |
1st Kup – Choong-Moo Tul | Ten (10) |
BLACK BELT PATTERNS
1st Dan | Kwang-Gye Tul
Po-Un Tul Gae-Baek Tul |
2nd Dan | Eui-Am Tul
Choong-Jang Tul Juche Tul |
3rd Dan | Sam-Il Tul
Choi-Yong Tul Yoo-Sin Tul |
4th Dan | Yon-Gye Tul
Ul-Ji Tul Moon-Moo Tul |
5th Dan | So-San Tul
Se-Jeong Tul |
6th Dan | Tong-Il Tul |