빠사이

Bassai

To penetrate a fortress

Where it usually sits

Often brown or high red

Floor pattern

Angular, many outside blocks

In the set

Form 9 of 14

Bassai (also spelled Bassahee, Passai, or Palgwe in casual speech — not the same as the Kukkiwon Palgwe poomsae) is the first form that feels like a fight rather than a drill. The name is usually read as breaking into a fortress: strong outside blocks, hip shifts, and a posture that meets force instead of stepping away from it. Some schools teach both a greater and a lesser Bassai.

Steps

One common Moo Duk Kwan reading, counted from the first technique. Ready stance comes before step 1. If your instructor splits or joins a count, use theirs. These are Bassai So, the shorter fortress form. Bassai Dae is the same idea at greater length.

1. 1From the Bassai ready posture, step into a cross stance. Two-hand block.
2. 2Left back stance. Left knife hand with a right high block.
3. 3Feet together. Right low block.
4. 4Left back stance again. Left knife hand with a right high block.
5. 5Load both hands near ready. Right knee strike, then a low side punch. Kihap.
6. 6Horse stance. Slow left low block, then a right punch and a left punch.
7. 7Left low block with the right hand covering behind.
8. 8Right low block with the left hand covering behind.
9. 9Right middle knife hand.
10. 10Left middle knife hand.
11. 11Right middle knife hand, then return to a left middle knife hand and a right inside-outside block.
12. 12Both hands rise, fingertips nearly touching. Grab and squeeze.
13. 13Turning side kick to the rear. Turn 180° into a back stance, double block, then a double strike to the ribs.
14. 14Horse stance, right punch. Left backfist. Right punch in a front stance.
15. 15Ready posture, as if catching a knife. Horse stance: grab and strike, three times.
16. 16Left high knife hand toward the back-left corner.
17. 17Turn 180°. Right knife hand to the front-right corner. Kihap.
18. 18Return to ready.

What to watch for

• Outside-inside blocks with the hip, not just the arm
• Close-range covers and reinforced hands
• Changing height without losing the stance

YouTube examples

Performances differ by organization. Use them to remember the shape, then match your instructor’s version.