In Search of………….KAPOW!


The Perfect Stance

How many times have we heard it….back leg locked, front leg bent, shoulders straight, counter hand…a hundred? Maybe a thousand. Yet it is something we all strive for. Why??

Tae Kwon Do uses large muscles which produce power to transmit to the smallest areas of the body, that is where Tae Kwon Do gets its awesome power, it’s how we break bricks and boards. It’s the power we can use to protect our families and ourselves.

Let me explain…..As you step forward into a front stance the largest muscles around the hips and upper legs engage, when you lock into a front stance that power is sent or transmitted up to the torso and is added to the muscle power of the chest, by locking the shoulders the power then races out the arm, counter motion takes place, gets added to the muscles there and the accumulation of all the power from the hips, legs, torso, arms is focused on two knuckles of a fist and wham….super power!

Lets say the hips and legs have a value of 100 KP (knuckle power), the torso adds 75 KP and the arm/shoulders add another 25 KP, giving us a total of 200 KP that transmits to an area of 2 square inches, the knuckles, hitting something…BAM!

Now if your back leg isn’t locked that 100 KP is cut in half, half up, half down to the floor…so you only have 50 KP left moving up to the torso, if the shoulders aren’t locked that additional power is cut in half as well so you now have 87.5 KP. If your arm doesn’t start from a ready position and counter motion not employed then that power is also cut in half giving you a total of 100 KP. Overall your power is cut in half and your POW goes to MEAOW.

So to accomplish full power of your techniques think about your stance, practice it, enjoy it because everyone wants to end up with a KAPOW!

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