Taekwondo Eastwood

It must be said that Taekwondo can be fairly physically challenging, which can intimidate the older and less nimble folks in Eastwood from becoming involved. To be fair, the most frequent people participating in Taekwondo classes are kids and younger people, but of course older individuals who are in great physical condition can easily get involved and benefit from this activity.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently created of the martial arts, with its early beginnings in Korea in 1945. A number of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul founded some schools which they called "kwans", merging many different martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was eventually called, largely entails high-kicking manoeuvres, especially head kicks, fast kicking styles and turning/jumping kicks.

Nowadays an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has over 60 million enthusiasts all around the world, and though you may not aspire to be an Olympic Games sportsman, you can still join a Taekwondo class or club to master what will no doubt turn out to be a fascinating and worthwhile pastime.

For many folks in Eastwood, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that has the most appeal. And in these days of increased violence, particularly in city and town centres, it really is no surprise that this features high on people's priority lists. It is a key factor of Taekwondo that you are able to become more confident in your capacity to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect other people and learn self-restraint.

There's a pretty good likelihood that your eagerly learned Taekwondo skills will never see the light of day in your everyday life, but it will undoubtedly give you a secure feeling knowing that they are sitting in the background should you ever need them.

Your First Eastwood Taekwondo Lesson

If you've booked your first class but haven't tried Taekwondo before, you might be wondering what to prepare for. The following will give you an idea, but this could vary from school to school. An initial warm up lasting fifteen to twenty minutes, a little technical training which will involve learning some blocking techniques, stances, kicks and hand attacks, learning some Poomse (or forms), some tips on sparring including good timing, precise movement and the accurate targeting of attacks, and to round off a warm down to prevent cramping and muscle spasms.

If you want to join a Taekwondo class in Eastwood, you will also have to register with the sport's official regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to get lots of details on events, first aid, coaching courses, referees and coaching, establishing a new Taekwondo club, news, clubs and members, safeguarding and equality, health and safety, and more, by heading to British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Beginners in Taekwondo don't need to worry excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, but they will get to grips with some basic ones to begin with and move forward to more difficult forms as they move through the various belts (dans/grades). A form is denoted by specific elements of Taekwondo including stance, direction and technique. Learning these sequences is a key part of mastering Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Competitions

Taekwondo tournaments are held around the world in all the different styles. There is generally not much hard contact but sparring, patterns (forms) and breaking. Olympic and WT tournaments only consist of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation tournaments specified hand attacks are allowed to the head. Some other associations hold multi-discipline contests.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all tournaments, events and matches taking place under the authority of British Taekwondo, safety gear like shin pads, a blue/red head protector, a red or blue body protector (hogu), a groin protector, forearm protectors, a mouth protector and hand guards is obligatory. The kicking techniques used in Taekwondo could cause serious injuries and this helps to make the activity less risky for its competitors.

In Summary

We can't all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I guess we wouldn't all want to be. Taekwondo isn't just about National Championships and Olympic medals. The majority of of us are content to improve our levels of fitness, make new friends and meet different people, and that is how it should be. However, as with most matters in life, what you get out of it will depend on what you put into it. Good luck! 👊