Korean Terms for Hapkido Moves

Speaking the Language of Hapkido: Korean Terms Every Student Should Know

Walk into a Hapkido class for the first time and you’ll notice something right away: the instructor isn’t just teaching techniques, they’re teaching a vocabulary. Commands are called out in Korean, techniques are grouped by Korean category names, and even the bow at the start of class has its own term. That’s not tradition for tradition’s sake – learning the language of Hapkido helps you understand why a technique works, not just how to do it.

At Evoke Martial Arts in Toronto, we’ve put together a video series breaking down the English names, Korean pronunciations, and Hangul (한글, the Korean writing system) for the moves and terms our students learn on the mats. This post pulls that vocabulary together in one place, so you’ve got a reference to study alongside the videos.

(Video reference: this post is designed to be paired with our Hapkido terminology video series on YouTube and Instagram — check the embeds throughout for the technique breakdowns.)

Why Use Korean Terminology when learning Hapkido

Hapkido (합기도) is a Korean martial art, and like Taekwondo, Judo, and other Asian martial arts, it keeps its technique names in the original language. There are a few practical reasons for this:

• Precision: Korean terms often describe the mechanics of a technique directly, so the name itself is a memory aid.
• Consistency across schools: a wrist lock might get translated differently by different English-speaking instructors, but the Korean term stays the same wherever you train.
• Respect for the art’s origin: Hapkido was developed in Korea, and using its original terminology connects students to that lineage.
• Testing and rank requirements: most Hapkido federations require knowledge of core Korean terms as part of belt promotion.

Below, we’ve broken the vocabulary into the categories you’ll actually encounter in class: the name of the art itself, classroom commands, general/etiquette terms, technique-category terms, and counting.

Classroom Commands & Etiquette

These are the terms you’ll hear called out at the start and end of every class, and during drills:

English	Korean (Romanized)	Hangul
Training hall / academy	Dojang	도장
Uniform	Dobok	도복
Instructor	Sabeomnim	사범님
Attention	Charyeot	차렷
Bow	Gyeongnye (Kyung-ye)	경례
Ready position	Junbi (Choonbi)	준비
Begin	Sijak	시작
Stop (temporarily)	Kalyeo	갈려
Stop (finish)	Geuman	그만
At ease / relax	Swieo	쉬어
Spirit yell (kiai equivalent)	Gihap	기합

These are the words that structure every class — before you ever learn a technique, you learn to move through class in Korean.

Technique Categories: The Building Blocks of Hapkido

Rather than memorizing hundreds of unrelated technique names, it helps to understand the category words Hapkido uses. Almost every technique name is built by combining a body part or grab/attack with one of these root terms:

English	Korean (Romanized)	Hangul	What it covers
Technique	Sool / Sul	술	General term for “technique,” used as a suffix (e.g., ho-shin-sool)
Self-defense technique	Hoshinsul (Ho-shin-sool)	호신술	Defensive technique sets against grabs, chokes, and strikes
Kick	Chagi	차기	All kicking techniques
Strike	Chigi	치기	Hand strikes, palm strikes, elbow strikes
Joint lock / joint break	Kkeokgi	꺾기	Wrist, elbow, and shoulder manipulation
Joint technique (general)	Gwanjeolgi	관절기	Umbrella term for joint-lock techniques
Throw	Metchigi	메치기	Hip throws, shoulder throws, sweeps
Breakfall	Nakbeop	낙법	The art of falling safely — front, back, and side breakfalls
Choke	Joreugi	조르기	Choking or strangulation techniques
Pin / control	Nureugi	누르기	Ground control and pinning techniques

This is the real key to decoding Hapkido terminology: once you know that kkeokgi (꺾기) means “joint lock” and sonmok (손목) means “wrist,” you can recognize

Kicking Techniques (차기 — Chagi)

These are the kicks covered in our video series, from basic front and side kicks to more advanced spinning and hooking variations:

English	Korean (Romanized)	Hangul
Front Kick	Ap Chagi	앞 차기
Side Kick	Yeup Chagi	옆 차기
Turning Back Kick	Dwi Chagi	뒤 차기
Spinning Heel Kick	Dwi Dora Chagi	뒤 돌아 차기
Roundhouse Kick	Jigeo Chagi	찍어 차기
Hook Kick	Dwikoomchi Cha Doligi	뒤꿈치 차 돌리기
Rising Heel Kick (Stretch Kick)	Dwikoomchi Cha Oligi	뒤꿈치 차 올리기
Heel Scoop Kick	Dwikoomchi Cha Naeki	뒤꿈치 차 내기
Inside Heel Kick	Dwikoomchi Cha Deuriigi	뒤꿈치 차 들이기
Inside Crescent Kick	An Dari Chagi	안다리 차기
Outside Crescent Kick	Bakat Dari Chagi	바깥 다리 차기
Shin Stomp Kick	An Dari Cha Neoki	안다리 차 넣기
Bladed Shin Kick	Jokdo Natke Cha Dollrigi	족도 낮게 차 돌리기
Piercing Spear Kick	Jokgi Jireuki	족기 찌르기
Knee Kick	Moo Reup Chagi	무릎 차기

Joint Lock Techniques (꺾기 — Kkeokgi)

Joint locks are one of Hapkido’s defining features — small, precise manipulations of the wrist, elbow, and fingers that give a smaller defender control over a much larger attacker:

English	Korean (Romanized)	Hangul
Knife-Hand Press	Kal Neoki	칼 넣기
Reverse Wrist Lock	Sonmok Biteulgi	손목 비틀기
Z-Lock / S Wrist Lock	Sonmok Jyeoyigi	손목 조이기
Wrist Twist (Chicken Wing)	Digeut Moyang Kkeokgi	디귿 모양 꺾기
C-Lock / Finger Lock	Songarak Kkeokgi	손가락 꺾기
Straight-Arm Elbow Lock	Palkoomchi Jyeoyigi	팔꿈치 조이기
Hitting Elbow Lock	Palkoomchi Chigi	(hangul to be confirmed)
Figure-4 Lock	Pal Eagoh Kkeokgi	(hangul to be confirmed)

Throwing Techniques (메치기 — Metchigi)

Throws in Hapkido borrow heavily from Judo’s hip- and shoulder-throw family (more on that below), redirecting an opponent’s balance and momentum into the ground:

English	Korean (Romanized)	Hangul
Shoulder Throw	Eop-eo Chigi	업어치기
Reverse Shoulder Throw	Heori Chaegi	허리채기
Hip / Waistline Throw	Heori Kkyeo Chigi	허리껴치기
Reverse Hip Throw	Oe Heori Kkyeo Chigi	(hangul to be confirmed)
Sweeping Hip Throw	Heori Hurigi	(hangul to be confirmed)
Floating Drop Throw	Bit Dangyeo Chigi	빗당겨치기
Outer Leg Reap	Bat Dari Hurigi	밭다리후리기
Fireman Throw	Dwit Eop-eo Deonjigi	(hangul to be confirmed)
Drop Fireman Throw	Dwit Eop-eo Deonjigi	(hangul to be confirmed)

Judo-Derived Throws Also Used in Hapkido

Because Hapkido absorbed a large part of its throwing curriculum from Judo (by way of Choi Yong-Sool’s training in Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, which shares roots with Judo), you’ll notice a lot of overlap between the two arts’ throws. Many Hapkido schools use the Korean equivalents of standard Judo terms interchangeably with — or instead of — their own native terminology:

English	Judo Term (Japanese)	Korean Equivalent	Hangul
Lifting-Pulling Hip Throw	Tsurikomi Goshi	Heori Chaegi	허리 채기
Sweeping Hip Throw	Harai Goshi	Heori Hurigi	허리 후리기
Floating Hip Throw	Uki Goshi	Heori Ttuigi	허리 띄기
Rear Hip Throw	Ushiro Goshi	Dwi Heori Ana Metchigi	뒤허리 안아 메치기
Inner Thigh Throw	Uchi Mata	Heobeokdari Geolgi	허벅다리걸기

Bringing It Together

Once you know the classroom commands, the core technique-category words, and how to count, you already have a solid foundation for following along in Korean during class – and for understanding what your rank requirements are actually asking of you.

This is exactly what our video series is built to reinforce: short, visual breakdowns pairing the English name, the Korean pronunciation, and the Hangul for specific techniques as they’re demonstrated on the mats. Watch along, and use the tables above as your running reference sheet.

Training at Evoke Martial Arts in Toronto? Bookmark this page – we’ll be expanding it with the specific technique names covered in each video as the series grows.