Dan-gun

단군

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Revised Romanisation: Dan-gun

McCune-Reischauer Romanisation: Tan-gun

Sometimes written: Dan Gun, Tan Gun

Floor Diagram for Dan-gun

Dan-gun Floor Diagram

Movements of Dan-gun

There are 21 movements in Dan-gun.

Form a parallel ready stance towards A.

  1. Turn to the left and step towards E with the left foot, forming a right ‘l’ stance towards E. Perform a guarding block to the mid section with the knife-hand.
  2. Step towards E with the right foot, forming a right walking stance towards E. Punch to the high section with the right fore-fist.
  3. Turn to the right and step towards C with the right foot, forming a left ‘l’ stance towards C. Perform a guarding block to the mid section with the knife-hand.
  4. Step towards C with the left foot, forming a left walking stance towards C. Punch to the high section with the left fore-fist.
  5. Turn to the left and step towards A with the left foot, forming a left walking stance towards A. Block to the low section with the left outer-forearm.
  6. Step towards A with the right foot, forming a right walking stance towards A. Punch to the high section with the right fore-fist.
  7. Step towards A with the left foot, forming a left walking stance towards A. Punch to the high section with the left fore-fist.
  8. Step towards A with the right foot, forming a right walking stance towards A. Punch to the high section with the right fore-fist.
  9. Turn to the left and step towards B with the left foot, forming a right ‘l’ stance towards B. Perform a twin forearm block.
  10. Step towards B with the right foot, forming a right walking stance towards B. Punch to the high section with the right fore-fist.
  11. Turn to the right and step towards F with the right foot, forming a left ‘l’ stance towards F. Perform a twin forearm block.
  12. Step towards F with the left foot, forming a left walking stance towards F. Punch to the high section with the left fore-fist.
  13. Turn to the left and step towards D with the left foot, forming a left walking stance towards D. Block to the low section with the left outer-forearm.
  14. Without changing stance, perform a rising block to the high section with the left outer-forearm. Perform movements 13 and 14 in quick succession.
  15. Step towards D with the right foot, forming a right walking stance towards D. Perform a rising block to the high section with the right outer-forearm.
  16. Step towards D with the left foot, forming a left walking stance towards D. Perform a rising block to the high section with the left outer-forearm.
  17. Step towards D with the right foot, forming a right walking stance towards D. Perform a rising block to the high section with the right outer-forearm.
  18. Turn to the left and step towards E with the left foot, forming a right ‘l’ stance towards E. Strike to the neck with the left knife-hand.
  19. Step towards E with the right foot, forming a right walking stance towards E. Punch to the high section with the right fore-fist.
  20. Turn to the right and step towards C with the right foot, forming a left ‘l’ stance towards C. Strike to the neck with the right knife-hand.
  21. Step towards C with the left foot, forming a left walking stance towards C. Punch to the high section with the left fore-fist.

Turn to the left, moving the left foot to the right foot, and form a parallel ready stance towards A.

Learning Dan-gun

  • All of the punches in this form are to the high section.
  • The form is symmetric – movements performed to the left of the central line are also performed to the right.

Korean terminology relevant to Dan-gun

English Korean
knife-hand 손칼 sonkal
guarding block 대비 막기 daebi makki
low section 나즌데 najunde
mid section 가운데 kaunde
high section 높은데 nopunde
twin forearm block 쌍 팔목 막기 ssang palmok makki
rising block 추켜 막기 chukyo makki
strike 때리기 ttaerigi
knife-hand strike 손칼 때리기 sonkal ttaerigi

More information

Changheon-yu Taekwondo: Foundation Syllabus

You can find more information on this topic in the book Changheon-yu Taekwondo: Foundation Syllabus, which is a handbook for colour belt students who are training in Changheon-yu Taekwondo (ITF Taekwondo). It contains movement descriptions, floor diagrams, and relevant Korean terminology for all of the colour belt patterns.

Why not buy a Dan-gun poster?

Dan-gun Info Poster

Make learning the meanings of the patterns more fun with this poster about the historical figure of Dan-gun.

If you're a Taekwondo instructor, this would be an excellent poster to put up on the wall of your dojang to help students learn the meaning of the patterns. Or you could just put it on your wall at home!

Buy here