Taekwondo Larbert

It should be asserted that Taekwondo can be pretty physically challenging, which might put off the less agile and more elderly people in Larbert from becoming involved. To be completely honest, the most common participants of Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but obviously older people who are in good physical condition can easily get involved and get benefits from this activity.

With its root beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts and involves mostly high-kicking movements such as head-height kicks, fast kicking techniques and spinning/jumping kicks. It started when schools known as "kwans" were founded by a bunch of Korean martial artists in Seoul, South Korea.

Popular throughout the world Taekwondo now has over sixty million practitioners. If you would like to get involved in this activity, which is now an Olympic sport, joining a Taekwondo class or club in Larbert is a great place to start. Whilst noone would seriously expect you to get to Olympic standard, you could certainly be one of the best Taekwondo exponents in Larbert.

For the people of Larbert who are keen on the idea of learning a martial art, a big priority is the element of self-defence. Considering that this is an important principle of Taekwondo, it is easy to see the appeal of this particular sport. With the additional bonus of developing self-restraint and having a degree of respect for others, getting involved in a local Larbert Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

There is a fairly good chance that your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will never have to be used in your day to day life, but it will undoubtedly give you a secure feeling knowing that they are sitting in the background should you need them.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you have never done Taekwondo before, you might be somewhat apprehensive as to what you can expect on your very first class. This may vary from club to club but will normally consist of some or all of the following. A 15-20 minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase your heart rate, some practical training including learning some kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocks, discovering a few forms (or Poomse), an introduction to sparring including attack timing, timing and movement, and finally a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

Anybody who joins a Taekwondo club in Larbert must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official governing body of the sport in the British Isles. You can find a lot of details on beginning a new club, news, referees and coaching, safeguarding and equality, health and safety, first aid, members and clubs, coaching courses, events, and more, by popping along to the official British Taekwondo website.

Beginners Taekwondo Larbert

As with any activity or sport we need to begin somewhere, and Taekwondo's just the same. Even the the most brilliant Larbert Taekwondo masters were total beginners at one point. So, exactly what can you expect as a complete novice at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its enrollees sufficient instruction to give them the fundamentals and enable them to build self-confidence as they move forward. The perfect beginners class must be enjoyable as well as educational, when students are having fun they are far more invested and are going to learn faster.

Safety Equipment

British Taekwondo competitions call for specific safety gear to be worn to protect contenders from getting injured as a result of the potent kicks that are used. This safety gear includes: a gum shield, shin pads, a groin guard, red or blue body armour (hogu), a blue/red head protector, forearm protectors and hand guards.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

Because there are various styles of Taekwondo there's never really been any recognised system for assigning belts (levels). What exists however is quite similar and consists of 2 belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groupings is split into ranks, eight to twelve colours for juniors and 9 "blacks" for the seniors.

In the UK there are a set of ranks in Taekwondo which are known as "Kup". The lowest rank is Tenth Kup and the highest rank is First Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, much like most of the martial arts is denoted by a range of different colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, namely 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. The 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo novices in Larbert will commence with, they will then progress through the different coloured belts, eventually achieving the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), after approximately three to four years of training and lessons.

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Larbert are known as "black belt candidates" which involves them proceeding through a further 9 ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". Therefore, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into three groupings; Junior, Senior and Black Belts. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts are; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior division of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and will involve many years of dedication. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Rankings Larbert, Taekwondo Belts Larbert, Belt Order Taekwondo).

To Summarize

We can pretty confidently guarantee that if you participate in Taekwondo you'll make new friends, improve your fitness and gain self-confidence. If that's all you get out of it, then that is amazing, you can call it a success! We're not all vying to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you that are, still need to start with that initial step. Good luck on your adventure! 👊