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There are a gazillion different ways to cut up a chicken, and ultimately, whatever gets the job done is just dandy, so don't stress too much about making your cuts in exactly the "right" place, in exactly the "right" way. Basically, all you're doing is making cuts at the points where the connections are easiest to break through: the joints. You can often see and feel out the joints pretty easily; obviously, the chopping is easier if you manage to get the blade at exactly the right point, but should you find you're a little bit off on your cut and the blade hits some bone, no worries. Make your cuts confidently and firmly and you should still get a clean break.

1 Sit the chicken flat on a cutting board. With the breast side (that would be the rounded side, for those who need a quick anatomy lesson) facing up, tug on one of the wings and pull it away from the body. Use a sharp knife to cut the wing away from the breast. The easiest way to do this is just to slice through the breast close to where you suspect the wing joint to be nestled. Do this to the other wing as well. At this point, you can either set the wings aside, or go to the extra trouble of snipping away the wing tip at the joint. Wing tips don't have much meat on them, but are great for stock.

2 Now pull one of the legs up and away from the body. Take a pair of kitchen shears and cut through the loose skin connecting the leg to the body (you can use your knife if you don't have good kitchen scissors). Now make a cut where the thigh meets the body (I find once I've made the cut half way through, I can pretty much pop the thigh joint loose, and then finish the cut).  At this point, you can further divide up the leg by cutting at the joint connecting the thigh to the drumstick. I like to use my scissors for this, but if yours aren't that sturdy, you might find the knife works better.  The drumstick might also have an extra bony tip attached; cut it away with either knife or scissors. Repeat step 2 for the other leg. skedaddle this way...

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