Taekwondo Chatteris

Taekwondo is an ideal sport for children in Chatteris, because it teaches self-discipline and a respect for others. Its more physical aspects make it more suited to younger people. Older adults may find it somewhat too taxing unless they are particularly fit and active. Carrying their Taekwondo experience through into older adulthood should not however be a problem for those who start when they are younger. Something a bit softer like Tai Chi might be more suitable for the less agile of you.

With its origins in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently developed of the martial arts and consists of mostly high-kicking moves such as rapid kicking strategies, jumping/turning kicks and head-height kicks. It began when schools known as "kwans" were set up by a bunch of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Nowadays an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million enthusiasts worldwide, and whilst you might not have any ambitions to be an Olympic Games medalist, you can still join a Taekwondo club or class to learn what will no doubt prove to be a worthwhile and intriguing activity.

It is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that generally has the most appeal to people in Chatteris. This is not surprising when you consider the rising levels of violence seen in town and city centres these days. However, exercising self-restraint and a respect for others goes hand in hand with the self-defence principles of Taekwondo.

While it will give you peace of mind knowing that you have those self-defence skills in your locker, the likelihood is that you'll never need to use them outside of an actual Taekwondo class.

Your First Class

If you have never done Taekwondo before you may be a little concerned as to what to expect on your first lesson. The following will give you an idea, but this may vary from school to school. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase your heart rate and reduce stiffness in the muscles, a bit of technical training such as learning some stances, blocks, hand attacks and kicks, learning your the basic forms or patterns, some ideas on sparring including good movement, timing and attack targeting, and lastly a warm down with muscle stretching and relaxing to prevent spasms and cramping.

Any individual wanting to join a Taekwondo club in Chatteris has to also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the governing body of the sport in the United Kingdom. You can find out about members and clubs, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, news, launching a new Taekwondo club, coaches and tournament referees, events, first aid, safe practices, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, or get the latest news on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Taekwondo forms (also referred to as Poomse or patterns) are distinguished by specific aspects like technique, stance and direction. From the outset you will get to grips with some of the basic forms, and in order to progress through the levels (belts) you will have to master some more technical ones.

Tournaments and Competitions

There are a whole host of competitions in Taekwondo involving all the various styles. They primarily involve patterns (forms), sparring and breaking with almost no "hard contact". ITF tournaments don't permit excessive contact but do allow hand attacks towards the head. World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic competitions allow only sparring. Multi-style tournaments are also held.

Beginners Classes

It does not matter what you're ranking is or who you are in the world of Taekwondo, at some point you were a complete novice, fearing failure and knowing nothing. We have all started like this and can only learn and develop with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Chatteris are the place get started on that learning journey and to pick up the necessary basics so you can build self-confidence and proceed with your Taekwondo quest. The majority of beginner classes are geared up to be fun and friendly, delivering a gradual introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo principles and building a firm base for the future.

Final Thoughts

So, what are you looking to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's a great question, and the answer to that will be different for individual people. Most participants will just wish to gain more confidence, meet new people and improve their levels of fitness. We are certainly not all going to scale the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although maybe you will, who knows?