Blocking

Beat it, Meet it, or Eat it

There's more to boxing than hitting.
There's not getting hit, for instance.
                        -George Foreman

Since Taekwondo is a defensive martial art, it means that usually practitioners must wait until attacked before acting. Taekwondo has a great variety of blocks that permit adequate blocking even if the blocker is weak, has an inadequate range of motion, or has an injury. This also allows blockers to deal with a variety of attacks, including those from armed and unarmed attackers.

Blocks are classified as either hard or soft. Hard blocks are used by "hard" martial art styles, such as Taekwondo and most styles of karate. Soft blocks are used by the "soft" martial art styles, such as kung-fu and some karate styles. Regardless of their primary classification as a "hard" of "soft" style," most styles (including Taekwondo) use a combination of hard and soft blocks.

A hard block may also be considered an attack since it not only stops the attack but may injure the attacking limb. Blocks, especially soft blocks, may also lead into other techniques, such as joint locks and throws. Therefore, do not be confined by the term block; think of blocks as a part of an overall plan of attack.