Pyongwon poomsae: all 21 moves step by step, with meaning and tips

Pyongwon (평원) is the fourth black belt form in Kukkiwon Taekwondo, learned at 4th dan and required for the 5th dan test. Its name means a vast, open plain, and the form tries to capture the calm, broad feeling of standing on flat land that stretches to the horizon. Fittingly, the whole form is performed along one straight line. It begins slowly and peacefully, then builds into some of the most athletic sequences in the black belt forms, including a front kick that turns straight into a side kick.

The shape of the form

Pyongwon’s floor pattern is the character 一, a single horizontal line. You start in the middle, work out to one side, come back through the center and repeat the same sequence on the other side. The player below shows the path in simplified form.

Before you begin

Pyongwon starts from gyeopson junbi (겹손준비), the overlapped-hands ready stance: feet together, the open hands resting one over the other in front of the lower abdomen. Two signature techniques appear twice each. The rising elbow strike (palgup ollyeo chigi) drives the elbow upward as if striking under an opponent’s chin. The double elbow side strike (meonge chigi), often called the yoke strike, drives both elbows out to the side from a cross stance.

Step by step

The numbers follow the Kukkiwon count of 21 movements.

The opening

1. Slide the left foot out into a parallel stance and slowly perform a low knife-hand opening block, both hands moving down and out.
2. Without stepping, slowly bring the hands up and push forward with both palms, as if pushing a heavy object away.
3. Step right with the right foot, turning 90 degrees to the right, into a back stance with a right low knife-hand block.
4. Pivot 180 degrees to face the other way, in a back stance with the left foot forward, and perform a left middle knife-hand block.

The main sequence, working left

5. Slide the left foot forward into a left front stance and perform a right rising elbow strike.
6. Front kick with the right foot, set it down and pivot straight into a left turning side kick, then land in a back stance, right foot forward, with a double knife-hand block.
7. Without stepping, circle the hands up over your head and down into a right low knife-hand block.
8. Turn your head to look right and pivot into a horse-riding stance with a reinforced high side block to the right, the right arm in a single mountain-block position and the left across the chest.
9. Twist the body to the right and lift the right leg, then stamp down into a horse-riding stance with a pulling backfist strike to the jaw, with a gihap. Without stepping, follow with a backfist from the left hand.
10. Still looking right, move the left foot across in front of the right into a cross stance and perform a double elbow side strike.
11. Step the right foot out to the right into a horse-riding stance with an opening mountain block.
12. Lift the right leg into a crane stance with a diamond block, then, still in crane stance, perform a small hinge block.
13. Extend the right leg into a side kick to the right, then set it down and turn into a right front stance with a left rising elbow strike.

The same sequence, working right

14. Front kick with the left foot, set it down and pivot into a right turning side kick, then land in a back stance, left foot forward, with a double knife-hand block.
15. Without stepping, circle the hands up over your head and down into a left low knife-hand block.
16. Look left and pivot into a horse-riding stance with a reinforced high side block to the left.
17. Twist the body left and lift the left leg, then stamp down into a horse-riding stance with a left pulling backfist strike to the jaw, with a gihap. Follow with a backfist from the right hand.
18. Still looking left, move the right foot across in front of the left into a cross stance with a double elbow side strike.
19. Step the left foot out to the left into a horse-riding stance with an opening mountain block.
20. Lift the left leg into a crane stance with a diamond block, then perform a small hinge block from the crane stance.
21. Extend the left leg into a side kick to the left, then set it down into a left front stance with a right elbow strike into the left palm.

On baro, step and turn to face forward, and return to the overlapped-hands ready stance.

What examiners look for

The opening of Pyongwon is slow, and examiners watch it closely for breathing and control. The low opening block and the palm push should be smooth, steady and visibly powerful, not floppy. The front kick into turning side kick is the athletic peak of the form: both kicks should be clean and at proper height, and the landing into back stance should be immediately stable. The stamp and backfist strikes should be sharp, and the crane stances held without wobbling before the side kick.

Common mistakes

Rushing the slow opening is the most common error, along with holding the breath during it. Breathe out slowly as the hands move. In the kick sequence, students often let the turning side kick become a lazy push; turn the hip over fully. The cross stance before the double elbow strike should be tight, with the knees close together. Finally, keep the head turn clear before each sideways movement: looking first is part of the technique.

Where Pyongwon fits

Pyongwon comes after Taebaek and is followed by Sipjin, the form for the 6th dan test. For the full list of black belt forms, see our black belt forms guide, and for the minimum ages and years between degrees, Taekwondo ranks explained.