The Best Taekwondo Knockouts

The Korean martial art of taekwondo is the most widely practiced martial art in the world. According to the International Olympic Committee, more students study taekwondo under the auspices of the World Taekwondo Federation than any other IOC-recognized martial arts organizing body in the world. One of the biggest draws of taekwondo is the use of flashy, acrobatic, aerial kicking techniques to knock out a potential opponent. While nearly any technique in the taekwondo arsenal can be used as a knckout strike, there are several that can be labeled best, for various reasons.

Punching Knockouts

The basic reverse punch, executed from any standing fighting stance in taekwondo, is a key knockout blow, according to the legendary taekwondo master Hee Il Cho in his book “The Complete Martial Artist." Using rotational torque of the upper torso, as well as the muscles of the hips, back and shoulders, the ideal reverse punch concentrates all of the energy of the attack into one well-placed punch. Aimed at the nose or chin of an opponent, even a lightweight fighter can knock a much larger opponent out with a well-executed reverse punch.

Basic Kick

The basic sidekick, executed by spinning your side towards the opponent and thrusting the heel of your foot at the target, is common to most Asian striking arts, from taekwondo to Chinese kung-fu and Okinawan karate. Taekwondo fighters take the side kick to a new level though, practicing the technique diligemntly, until they can actually strike an opponent in specific parts of the head with the kick. A well-aimed side kick can actually break the bones of the skull, leading to an easy knockout as the brain is rattled around inside the skull, causing a severe concussion.

Best Exotic Knockout

The man generally recognized as the founder of taekwondo, General Choi Hong Hi, once described an incident during the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II when he knocked out a Japanese soldier with a jump, spinning back kick to the head. Described in the 2006 update of Choi’s 1965 classic “Taekwondo Art of Self Defense,” he leapt into the air, spun his body all the way around, and struck the Japanese soldier in the temple with the back of his heel, instantly knocking him out, where other resistance fighters quickly dispatched the Imperial soldier with knives. The acrobatic kicks of taekwondo are often denigrated among martial artists as unrealistic and not particularly useful, but if the story recounted by Choi was true, he aptly demonstrated that even these unique techniques offered a great deal of knockout power to the trained taekwondo fighter.