Almost since its inception and especially since the art high-kicked its way into the 1988 Olympics, taekwondo has been renowned for its dynamic moves and its practitioners lauded for their explosiveness.

Those qualities may have been engineered for success in competition, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work in self-defense — provided you get guidance from someone who knows of what he speaks.

To deal with that last point, I sought out a true expert: G.K. Lee, ninth-degree black belt and grandmaster in the American Taekwondo Association. A member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame, Lee is a big believer in using first strikes to gain the advantage in competition.

He also believes that when the circumstances call for it — for example, when a threat to life and limb is tangible and imminent — a first strike can solve all sorts of problems on the street.

In either situation, the hands are often the preferred weapons because of their proximity to the opponent’s command-and-control center, aka the head, which happens to be the body part that offers the fastest way to end aggression.

Sure, a quick kick can achieve the same result, but launching a forceful one to head height without telegraphing is challenging for many martial artists, especially when wearing shoes and street clothes.

The following is Lee’s concise guide to delivering shock and awe via what I’m calling the taekwondo forward-moving reverse punch.

READY

“This technique was developed in Korea in the late 1970s,” Lee said. “Everybody engaged in full-contact competition back then, and we had to hit as hard as possible to win. When people started using this punch successfully in full contact, we knew it was a powerful technique that would work for self-defense, too.”

You start in an upright fighting stance that has your lead hand held away from your body for attack or defense, as the case may be, and your rear hand held near your face, Lee said. “The hand that’s close to your chin to protect your head is also in the perfect position for this punch.”

SET

The key to making the forward-moving reverse punch work is staying loose, even as you build potential energy in your fist, Lee explained. “Keep your body relaxed, especially your punching arm. Make sure you don’t pull back your fist as you begin to move. That might allow you to generate more power, but it will also slow you down and telegraph your intentions to your opponent. It’s best to just punch from the position your fist is already in near your chin.”

Continue moving forward, driving off your rear leg. Don’t wait until you complete that forward motion; execute the strike before that happens, while your body is still in motion. That way, the technique will derive power from your body’s forward momentum, as well as from your arm and shoulder.

Your goal should be to dart forward in a straight line oriented toward the opponent, Lee said. Even a minor course correction can sabotage the punch’s effectiveness.

GO

While you’re exploding forward at maximum velocity, drive your fist into the target. Be sure to twist your torso so your punching arm thrusts out your fist as far and as fast as possible, Lee said.

Afterward, don’t attempt to retract your arm. Instead, let the extended limb naturally swing downward after you make contact.

“You can use this hand strike on a stationary opponent, as well as one who is about to move toward you,” Lee said. “Either way, the target is always the face.”

Further proof of its versatility comes from noting the punch’s utility as a follow-up to your own round kick, he said. “You can execute the strike using the same side of your body as you just used to kick. In other words, if you kick with your right leg, do this punch with your right arm.”

Here’s how you’d make that happen: While you’re still moving forward immediately after a forward-moving round kick — this is not a round kick in which you snap your leg out and then snap it back so you can put your foot back right where it was — execute the punch. Aim to land it before your kicking foot returns to the floor near your opponent.

“This version of the punch is useful against an opponent who moves back to avoid your kick,” Lee said. “You move forward and kick, and he moves back to avoid it — and you immediately do the punch while still moving forward.”

You’ll steamroll him before he’s able to take another step backward, Lee added.

If you have any doubts about the effectiveness of the basic version of the taekwondo forward-moving reverse punch described here, know that a more advanced version entails executing the technique while jumping; MMA fans call it the superman punch.

“This technique has become popular in MMA because it’s a natural way to create a powerful and fast strike,” Lee said.

The website for G.K. Lee and the American Taekwondo Association is ataonline.com.

Photography by Peter Lueders

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