Since the only physical defense of the Taekwondo and Hapkido artist is his or she own body, considerably attention is give to developing the hard areas of the body into personal weapons. Any hard area could theoretically be used for this, but we will focus on the hands, feet, elbows and knees, because strength to these areas can most readily be concentrated for greatest effect. For training purposes, we will refer to the techniques of the upper body (above the waist) that we use for personal weapons as the STRIKING TECHNIQUES.

No matter how pretty and "gravity-defying" one's techniques appear to be... the true value can hardly be expected if the technique lacks force and penetrating shock. You as a martial artist must have the ability to impart pain and "trembling shock" to the internal organs of the opponent, which in turns signifies a good technique. When one must strike, then that strike or technique must be firm determined and developed from within with the speed, power and focus necessary to provide the punishment and shock to gain control of the situation. Knowledge of vital areas, pressure points and timing is utmost important for successful "counter-attachment".

The instrument use to deliver your power to your opponent is called the STRIKING TOOL.

The surface part of your technique, through which the shock is transmitted to the opponent's body, is referred to as the STRIKING POINT.

The place where your striking point makes contact with your opponent is called the STRIKING AREA.

This Striking Point must contain a concentration of strength and power. At the House of Discipline we develop 17 primary striking tools as offensive and defensive weapons. These 17 parts can be toughen or hardened into desired implements, but remember, unlike other weapons that can be brought ready-made, our natural weapons must be developed according to the skill level that we want to achieve. Nine (9) tools are located on the arm and hand. As with many other great masters, I have highly developed these areas into offensive and defense weapons that are very forceful and can inflict serious injury, because of this very fact, I choose to use these techniques only on occasions when evading and blocking techniques are insufficient to discourage the attack of a strong opponent.

Punching, Thrusting and Striking are the three (3) sub-divisions used to differentiate between the methods of attacks.

PUNCH. Is the technique of making contact with the fore-knuckles of the closed fist, as it moves in a straight line from the chamber to the striking area?

THRUST. Is similar to the punch in that it travels from the chamber to the striking area in a straight line, however the striking point will be with the hand in the open position (knife hand, palm heel, etc.).

STRIKE. The technique by which the force is transmitted from the chamber to the striking area in a curving or arcing direction.

All three methods stated above utilize the power generated from the torque of the hips.