Taekwondo Dorking

Since Taekwondo has fairly high physical demands, it is perhaps more suitable for the younger people of Dorking. That isn't to say that older individuals can't be involved in this activity, but simply that there may be alternative martial arts that are more suitable for the less nimble of us. Tai Chi is the perfect illustration.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly features high-kicking manoeuvres and moves, most notably fast kicking styles, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts specialists established schools called "kwans", which merged various martial arts techniques.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of Dorking and with over 60 million others worldwide. Joining a local Dorking Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. There is no reason why you cannot reach a high standard in this thrilling sport, even if you have no desire to compete in the Olympics.

The thing about Taekwondo that seems to most appeal to people in Dorking is the self-defence aspect of it. And when you consider the high levels of violence in city and town centres nowadays, this is not surprising. It's a key factor of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your ability to defend yourself yet respect others and exercise self-restraint.

There is a fairly decent chance that your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will never need to be proved in the outside world, but it will unquestionably give you a secure feeling knowing that they are sitting in the background should you ever be in need of them.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you've just booked your very first Taekwondo lesson, you'll be wondering what to expect. The following will give you an idea, but this could vary from school to school. A 15 to 20 minute warm up, a little technical training comprising some hand attacks, stances, blocks and kicks, a look at forms or patterns, a few ideas on sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and to round off a warm down to prevent cramping and muscle spasms.

If you want to sign up to a Taekwondo class in Dorking, you will also have to register with the sport's governing body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to find a lot of information on coaches and referees, equality and safeguarding, starting a new Taekwondo club, news, health and safety, coaching courses, events, first aid, clubs and members, and more, by dropping by at British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Forms

Forms are a key part of Taekwondo and are crucial to learn if you're to excel at this captivating activity. Several basic "forms" must be learned from the outset and more complicated forms must be mastered in order to advance through the various ranks. A Taekwondo form is categorized by various facets such as stance, direction and technique.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

With there being various styles of Taekwondo there's never been any uniform arrangement for assigning belts (grades). What exists is however quite similar and is made up of 2 belt groups "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each one of these groupings is split into levels, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and nine "blacks" for seniors.

Competitions and Tournaments

Taekwondo competitions and tournaments are staged across the globe in all of the various styles. There is generally not a lot of hard contact but breaking, sparring and patterns (forms). Olympic and World Taekwondo contests only consist of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation competitions specified hand attacks are permitted to the head. Various other organisations hold multi-discipline contests.

Beginners Taekwondo Dorking

It doesn't matter what you're capable of or who you are in the world of Taekwondo, at some point you were a total novice, knowing nothing and fearing failure. We have all started out like this and are only able to learn and improve with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Dorking are the place get started on that learning process and to acquire the fundamentals so you can gain confidence and proceed with your Taekwondo quest. Nearly all beginner classes are set up to be fun and friendly, offering a gradual introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo principles and developing a solid base moving forward.

Conclusion

So, what do you want from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's an excellent question, and the answer to that will be different for individual people. The majority of participants will simply wish to meet new people, improve their levels of fitness and gain more self-confidence. We are definitely not all going to scale the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, you never know? 👊