Teul

Teul
Demonstration of Dan-Gun in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Korean name
Hangul
틀
Lit.Pattern
RRteul
MRt'ŭl

A teul or tul (Korean: 틀; lit. 'pattern', Korean pronunciation: [tʰɯl]) is a detailed choreographed pattern of Taekwon-Do movements, defined by the International Taekwon-Do Federation. Teul resemble combat, but are essentially non-combative in nature and serve to practice techniques and stances. There are 24 teul, three beginners exercises, and two former teul.

Each pattern has a fixed set of movements and is associated with a geup or dan degree, at which Taekwon-Do student are first introduced to the pattern. Teul are part of examinations for higher degrees and tournaments.

Performance

Demonstration of group teul in public.
Demonstration of group teul in public

Each pattern has a pre-determined set of movements, as well as a ready stance. This ready stance is the begin and end position of the pattern. When performing a pattern, the student stands in the ready stance and waits for instructions from their teacher to start the performance. Upon receiving these, the student starts performing each movement in the pre-determined order, using sine wave and accentuated breathing. At the end of the performance, the students says the pattern's name out loud and returns to the ready stance upon receiving instructions to do so.

Each movement in a teul has a stance, weapon, type of technique, height, and motion, as well as optional specifications. These are all described in Taekwon-Do manuals and practiced in the same way worldwide.

History

Teul have all been designed by general Choi Hong-hi, the founder of Taekwon-Do, in cooperation with various Taekwon-Do pioneers. The patterns are based on kata from karate and were first created in four different eras.

Each pattern was created based on a set of principles set out by general Choi Hong-hi. These include that every technique was designed to produce maximum power, that the purpose of each technique is clear, that the pattern can be learned by anyone, and that each movement in a pattern expresses the personality of he person it is named after.

List of teul

There are 24 teul that are included in the curriculum of the International Taekwon-Do Federation. Besides these 24 patterns, there are two patterns that were previously practiced, but –to various degrees– do not form part of ITF Taekwon-Do anymore.

Nr. Name (RR) Name (Hangul) Degree Created Movements Meaning
1 Chon-Ji 천지 9th geup 1962–1964 19 Heaven and earth
2 Dan-Gun 단군 8th geup 1962–1964 21 Dangun
3 Do-San 도산 7th geup 1962–1964 24 Ahn Changho
4 Won-Hyo 원효 6th geup 1962–1964 28 Wonhyo
5 Yul-Gok 율곡 5th geup 1962–1964 38 Yi I
6 Joong-Gun 중근 4th geup 1962–1964 32 An Junggeun
7 Toi-Gye 퇴계 3rd geup 1962–1964 37 Yi Hwang
8 Hwa-Rang 화랑 2nd geup 1955 29 Hwarang
9 Choong-Moo 충무 1st geup 1955 30 Yi Sunsin
10 Kwang-Gae 광개 1st dan 1962–1964 39 Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo
11 Po-Eun 포은 1st dan 1962–1964 36 Jeong Mongju
12 Ge-Baek 계백 1st dan 1961 44 Gyebaek
13 Eui-Am 의암 2nd dan 1968 45 Son Byeonghui
14 Choong-Jang 충장 2nd dan 1962–1964 52 Kim Deokryeong
15 Juche 주체 2nd dan 1981–1983 45 Juche
16 Sam-Il 삼일 3rd dan 1955–1959 33 March First Movement
17 Yoo-Sin 유신 3rd dan 1962–1964 68 Kim Yusin
18 Choi-Yong 최영 3rd dan 1962–1964 46 Choe Yeong
19 Yon-Gae 연개 4th dan 1968 49 Yeon Gaesomun
20 Ul-Ji 을지 4th dan 1957 42 Eulji Mundeok
21 Moon-Moo 문무 4th dan 1968 61 Munmu of Silla
22 So-San 서산 5th dan 1968 72 Hyujeong
23 Se-Jong 세종 5th dan 1962–1964 24 Sejong of Joseon
24 Tong-Il 창헌 6th dan 1962–1964 56 Korean reunification
- Ko-Dang 고당 - 1962–1964 39 Jo Mansik
- U-Nam 우남 - 1955 42 Syngman Rhee

Periods

Each pattern is named after a person, concept, or event relevant to Korean history, ranging from before the Three Kingdoms of Korea to the post-Korean War era. Together, the set of 24 patterns is meant to represent the entirety of Korean history and explain some of the most important events.

In some cases, persons after whom a pattern was named knew each other, such as Yi I and Yi Hwang, or Ahn Chang Ho and An Jung Geun.

Saju

Next to the 24 teul, there are three saju (Korean: 사주; lit. 'four-way'), beginners exercises to prepare Taekwon-Do students for teul. These exercises consist of four repetitions of one or two techniques in all four cardinal directions, performed clockwise and counter-clockwise. While in theory, saju can be created based on any combination of techniques, but only three saju have been created by general Choi Honghi, which are still practised by ITF Taekwon-Do students. The saju are named after their main or only technique.

Name (RR) Name (Hangul) Degree Movements Meaning
Saju jirugi 사주지르기 10th geup 14 Four-way punch
Saju makgi 사주막기 10th geup 16 Four-way block
Saju tulgi 사주뚫기 2nd geup 8 Four-way thrust

Competition

Teul are part of Taekwon-Do tournaments, in which either two individuals or two groups of five individuals each demonstrate the same pattern simultaneously. After demonstrating the pattern, referees award points to each competitor based on technical precision, power, balance, breath control, and rhythm. The winner advances to the next round in a knock-out system. The performance of a pattern in a tournament includes pre-determined greeting procedures.

Practice instructions

In the Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do (1999), General Choi Hong-hi phrased nine points that should be taken into account by all Taekwon-Do students when performing teul.

  1. Pattern should begin and end at exactly the same spot. This will indicate the performer's accuracy.
  2. Correct posture and facing must be maintained at all times.
  3. Muscles of the body should be either tensed or relaxed at the proper critical moments in the exercise.
  4. The exercise should be performed in a rhythmic movement with an absence of stiffness.
  5. Movements should be accelerated or decelerated according to the instructions in this book.
  6. Each pattern should be perfected before moving to the next.
  7. Students should know the purpose of each movement.
  8. Students should perform each movement with realism.
  9. Attack and defense techniques should be equally distributed among right and left hands and feet.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Choi, Hong Hi (1999). ITF Taekwon-Do Condensed Encyclopedia (5th ed.). International Taekwon-Do Federation. pp. 524–597.
  2. ↑ Choi, Hong-hi (1999). Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do. Vol. 1. p. 155.
  3. 1 2 Choi, Hong-hi (1999). Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do. Vol. 1. pp. 154–155.
  4. ↑ Mönig, Udo. Moenig, Udo. "The Incomplete Transformation of Taekwondo from a ‘Martial Art’ to a ‘Martial Sport' (PDF) (Thesis thesis). Keimyung University. pp. 65–68. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  5. ↑ Moenig, Udo; Kim, Minho (2019). "The Origins of World Taekwondo (WT) Forms or P'umsae". Ido Movement for Culture. Journal of Martial arts Anthropology (19): 1–10. doi:10.14589/ido.19.3.1.
  6. ↑ Vitale, George. "U-Nam Hyung: The Forgotten Taekwondo Form". www.scribd.com. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  7. ↑ Anslow, Stuart (2010). The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do Patterns: The Complete Patterns Resource For Ch'ang Hon, ITF & GTF Students of Taekwon-Do (Vol 1). Checkpoint Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1906628161.
  8. ↑ Anslow, Stuart (2010). The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do Patterns: The Complete Patterns Resource For Ch'ang Hon, ITF & GTF Students of Taekwon-Do (Vol 1). Checkpoint Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-1906628161.
  9. 1 2 Anslow, Stuart (2010). The Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do Patterns: The Complete Patterns Resource For Ch'ang Hon, ITF & GTF Students of Taekwon-Do. Checkpoint Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-1906628161.
  10. ↑ Anslow, Stuart (2013). From Creation To Unification. CheckPoint Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-906628-55-0.
  11. ↑ Choi, Hong-hi (1999). Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do. Vol. 1. pp. 42–43.
  12. ↑ Choi, Hong-hi (1999). Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do. Vol. 1. p. 42.
  13. 1 2 "Patterns". International Taekwon-Do Federation. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  1. ↑ Both teul and tul are used to describe these patterns; the latter is the name used to refer by ITF.
  2. ↑ Go-Dang was replaced by Juche as the 15th teul of ITF Taekwon-Do in the early 1980s. However, some schools still practise Go-Dang due to the controversial background related to Juche.
  3. ↑ U-Nam was included in the earliest Taekwon-Do encyclopedias, but was never made official and disappeared from text books in the 1960s.