Taekwondo Aylesford

On account of its rather more physical attributes, Taekwondo is possibly more appropriate for the younger generation in Aylesford and is especially suitable for kids as it is excellent for developing self-discipline and respect for other people. More elderly people may find it a bit too demanding unless they are particularly fit and active. However, those who take up Taekwondo in Aylesford from a young age will discover they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less agile of you might consider participating in something softer like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily consists of high-kicking manoeuvres and moves, in particular head kicks, jumping/spinning kicks and rapid kicking styles. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts founded schools known as "kwans", which combined various martial arts practices.

The total number of Taekwondo practitioners worldwide, now exceeds sixty million. Joining a local Taekwondo club or class in Aylesford is a good way to get involved with this activity which is now an Olympic sport. Whilst the likelihood of you getting to Olympic standard are pretty slim, there's no reason at all why you can't master this exciting martial art.

A key element of Taekwondo is self-defence, and of course this is one of the principal reasons that folks in Aylesford sign up to classes and engage with the sport. There's been a disturbing escalation of violent conduct in recent times and this is particularly common in city and town centres around Kent and the British Isles as a whole. The fantastic thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also promotes self-discipline and respect for other people, not such widespread characteristics in Aylesford nowadays.

While it will instill you with self-confidence being aware that you have these self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the chances are that you will never have to use them outside of an organized Taekwondo class.

Your First Lesson

If you have booked your first class but have never done Taekwondo before, you may be wondering what to expect. Most Taekwondo schools in Aylesford follow a similar pattern, but there may be variations to the following. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase your heart rate and reduce stiffness in the muscles, a little technical training which will involve learning some stances, hand attacks, blocking techniques and kicks, an introduction to some forms, a look at sparring including timing, movement and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping.

Everybody who is a member of a Taekwondo class in Aylesford or anywhere else in the UK, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the governing body of the sport. You will be able to get lots of facts about first aid, events, health and safety, members and clubs, launching a new Taekwondo club, referees and coaching, equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, news, and more, by viewing British Taekwondo's official website.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

There are of course, quite a few benefits to be gained from taking part in Taekwondo, and the following are just a few which might be of interest to you: Improve your self-esteem by heightening both physical and mental health, Reduces anxiety and stress using advanced breath control, Augment stamina, flexibility and agility by way of intensive cardiovascular effort, Greater self-discipline by extensively training your body and mind in the principles and techniques of Taekwondo, Beef up confidence by encouraging you to seize control of your life and succeed, Help with self-defence by helping you identify scenarios in which self-defence may be required, and enabling you to turn such situations in your favour, Toughen up your mind and body by accelerated mental discipline and physical co-ordination.

The Popular Taekwondo Kicks

One of the main elements of Taekwondo is kicking, listed here is a selection of the essential kicks: Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to fend off the various attacks, are known as Makgi. They are held in specific positions and engage the hand with different parts of the arm. Each kind of attack necessitates a particular kind of block, counter-attacks can be created by integrating a block with a retaliatory kick or punch. The primary Taekwondo blocks include: Double Knife Hand Block, Double Forearm Block, Low Block, Rising Block, Nine Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Upper Block and Palm Block.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

In the art of taekwondo there's really no form of standardisation with regards to ranking and belts. It's all depending on which style you are reviewing, because there are so many different Taekwondo styles and rules. They are however, commonly separated into 2 groups "junior (colour) belts and "senior" (black) belts. The colour/junior rankings consist of white to red, with from eight to twelve grades, while the black/senior belts normally have 9 grades.

In the UK there are a set of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo which are generally known as "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, much like many of the martial arts is indicated by a number of different colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, specifically white with a yellow stripe, yellow with a green stripe, green with a blue stripe, blue with a red stripe and red with a black stripe. Students in Aylesford getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and advance through the colours until they earn the 1st Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe).

After this has been completed, Taekwondo students in Aylesford are considered to be "black belt candidates" which entails them moving through another 9 ranks (Dans) until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". So, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the three primary classifications in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; Green (6th), Green With Blue Stripe (5th), Blue (4th), Blue With Red Stripe (3rd), Red (2nd) and Red With Black Stripe (1st). The Black Taekwondo Belts go from 1st to 9th Dan which can take a number of years to progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Aylesford, Taekwondo Rankings Aylesford, Taekwondo Black Belts).

Taekwondo for Beginners

It matters not what you're ranking is or who you are in Taekwondo, at some point you were a complete novice, fearing failure and knowing absolutely nothing. We've all started out at that point and are only able to learn and improve with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Aylesford are the place get started on that learning process and to acquire the basics so that you can build confidence and proceed with your exciting Taekwondo experience. Nearly all beginner classes are set up to be friendly and fun, offering a gradual introduction to the basic Taekwondo principles and building a solid foundation for the future.

Competitions and Tournaments

There are an array of competitions in Taekwondo associated with all the different styles. They mostly consist of breaking, patterns and sparring with little or no hard contact. ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) competitions don't allow substantial contact but do permit hand attacks to be aimed at the head. World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic contests only allow sparring. Multi-style competitions also take place.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

Safety equipment like a groin guard, blue/red trunk armour, forearm guards, a red/blue head protector, shin protectors, a mouth guard and hand protectors must be worn in all matches overseen by British Taekwondo. Protection from injuries is important on account of the vigorous kicking which is part and parcel of this sport.