Taegeuk (taekwondo)
In taekwondo, taegeuk is a set of Pumsae, or defined pattern of defense-and-attack forms used to teach taekwondo.
Between 1967 and 1971, Kukkiwon-style taekwondo made use of an older set of forms called the palgwae forms developed by the Korea Taekwondo Association with input from some of the original nine kwans of taekwondo. By 1970, additional kwans had joined the KTA so the newer set of taegeuk forms was developed to better represent inputs from all the participating kwans. By 1971, the palgwae forms were considered to be deprecated in favor of the newer taegeuk forms, though some schools still teach palgwae forms as well. All World Taekwondo Federation Pumsae competitions use the taegeuk pumsae, along with 8 of the black belt Pumsae.
To gain a black belt, a student generally must know all eight Taegeuk Poomsae and also be able to perform all of them consecutively with no breaks in between.
Each Taegeuk form symbolizes a specific state thought to be indicative of the belt the student currently holds, and is represented in WTF Taekwondo by trigrams similar to those found in the four corners of the South Korean flag.
Taegeuk Poomsae
Many schools require that form practice begin with a bow to the flag and/or instructor, but the motions of the forms themselves do not require the bow, nor is it necessary in personal practice.| Belt level | Name | Symbol | Techniques introduced |
| 8th Gup | 태극 1장 | ☰, "天", "건", "Heaven, Light" | |
| 7th Gup | 태극 2장 | ☱, "澤", "태", "Lake" | |
| 6th Gup | 태극 3장 | ☲, "火", "이", "Fire" | |
| 5th Gup | 태극 4장 | ☳, "雷", "진", "Thunder" | |
| 4th Gup | 태극 5장 | ☴, "風", "손", "Wind" | |
| 3rd Gup | 태극 6장 | ☵, "水", "감", "Water" | |
| 2nd Gup | 태극 7장 | ☶, "山", "간", "Mountain" | |
| 1st Gup | 태극 8장 '' | ☷, "地", "곤", "Earth" |