Hapkido uses many of the same kicks and punches as Taekwondo, and students break boards during belt tests. However, in Hapkido, most strikes are used to momentarily distract or stun an attacker before executing other techniques, rather than relying on the strikes themselves to totally disable an attacker.

Kicks are often used in combination with throws to thwart multiple attackers. The woman in the middle defends against two attackers. She first kicks the larger opponent (in a realistic situation she would break his knee by kicking it, but for practice safety, she kicks his hip to collapse his balance). After throwing the second attacker, she turns to face the first opponent again.