PALGWE translates to “law” or “command”. It also can mean Supplementary Training. The thought of Palgwe, another concept of the ancient Oriental Philosophy, implies symbolically all the phenomena of man and universe. The Palgwe poomses are older in origin than the Taeguek poomses. They emphasize the strong, deep, traditional forward stances and back stances.

TAE GEUK is the name of the red/blue circle in the middle of the Korean flag (‘Taegukki’). The upper red section represents YANG (Heaven/Male), and the lower blue section represents UM (Earth/Female). The Tae Geuk circle expresses the idea that the universe is in a delicately balanced state of harmony.

Tae Geuk represents the most profound oriental philosophy from which philosophical views on the world, cosmos and life are derived. The Tae Geuk Poomse consists of different movements in sequence. The vital points of this Poomse are to make exact the speed of breath and action and move the body weight properly while executing speedy actions. Thus we can fully realize the main thought of Tae Geuk.

Derived from the Taegeuk are eight major philosophical concepts, each represented by a trigram call “Palgwe.” These Palgwe are arranged around the Taegeuk with its complimentary across from it.