Taekwondo Long Ashton

As a result of its more physical aspects, Taekwondo is possibly more suitable for the younger person in Long Ashton and is especially suitable for kids as it is great for developing self-discipline and respect for other people. Older adults might find it somewhat too demanding unless they are particularly active and fit. Even so, those who take up Taekwondo in Long Ashton from a young age will discover they can easily continue with it when they are older. The less nimble of you might consider something gentler like Tai Chi.

The discipline was developed in Korea in 1945, though it was not given the name Taekwondo until the 1950's. A group of Korean martial arts fanatics in Seoul established some new schools called "kwans", where they practiced a combination of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mostly involves kicking manoeuvres, especially head-height kicks, rapid kicking strategies and jumping/spinning kicks.

At present an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million enthusiasts all around the world, and although you may not have any aspirations to be an Olympic Games athlete, you're still able to enroll in a Taekwondo club or class to master what will undoubtedly turn out to be a fascinating and fulfilling pastime.

For the men, women and children of Long Ashton who would like to learn a martial art, a major priority is the element of self-defence. Considering that this is an important principle of Taekwondo, it is easy to appreciate the attraction of this unique sport. With the additional reward of learning self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for others, registering for a local Long Ashton Taekwondo class would seem to be a no brainer.

With any luck, outside your local Taekwondo club environment, you won't ever need to try out your newly perfected skills to defend yourself.

What to Expect From Your First Class

If you have never had a go at Taekwondo previously, you may be a little anxious as to what can be expected on your first class. This may vary from club to club but will usually consist of some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, some technical training involving learning some hand attacks, kicks, blocks and stances, discovering a few forms, an introduction to sparring including attack timing, timing and movement, and finally a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

If you wish to join a Taekwondo class in Long Ashton, you will also have to register with the sport's governing body, namely British Taekwondo. You can get loads of information on clubs and members, news, starting a new club, safeguarding and equality, events, first aid, safe practices, coaching courses, referees and coaching, and more, by visiting the British Taekwondo website.

Tournaments

Tournaments and competitions are a significant part of the Taekwondo experience, and all the different styles across the globe stage contests where Taekwondo masters gather together to battle it out. Hard contact is hardly ever permitted in any of these tournaments which primarily comprise breaking, patterns and sparring. Sparring only is permitted in Olympic and WT (World Taekwondo) tournaments, whilst some hand attacks are permitted in International Taekwon-Do Federation events.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Beginners in Taekwondo don't have to stress excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, but they'll have to get to grips with some standard ones for starters and move forward to more challenging forms as they progress through the belts (dans/grades). A "form" is denoted by particular areas of Taekwondo including direction, stance and technique. Learning these techniques is a key part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Beginners Taekwondo Long Ashton

Even the best exponents of Taekwondo in Long Ashton had to start as newbies, therefore there is no shame in being a total beginner at Taekwondo, or for that matter any other activity. The purpose of a Taekwondo beginner class is to teach just a few basics, raise confidence and develop a firm base moving forward. Most importantly of all is that it needs to be fun, trainees having a good time are going to learn faster and be better committed.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

With there being various styles of Taekwondo there's never really been any standardized system for allocating belts (levels). What exists is however quite similar and involves 2 belt groupings "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each one of these groups is divided into levels, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and nine for the seniors.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks (belts) that are generally known as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a number of colours, so the ranks can be easily recognised. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Long Ashton will start out with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and progress through the various coloured belts until they attain the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

When this training has been completed, Long Ashton Taekwondo students are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they then have to earn a further 9 Dans (ranks) if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade. So, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the 3 primary divisions in the Taekwondo belt order. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior group are; 6th (Green), 5th (Green With Blue Stripe), 4th (Blue), 3rd ( Blue With Red Stripe), 2nd (Red), and 1st (Red With Black Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Black group range from 1st to 9th Dan, a qualification process which takes a considerable number of years.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

The benefits which can be acquired by participating in Taekwondo training in Long Ashton are countless, among the most noteworthy are: Improve flexibility, stamina and agility through strenuous cardiovascular effort, Toughen up your mind and body by improved mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Enhance self-esteem by raising your physical and mental powers, Better discipline and willpower by exhaustively educating your mind and body in the tactics and concepts of Taekwondo, Grow in confidence by helping you to succeed and to take control of your life, Lessen stress and anxiety with controlled breathing, Teach you self-defence by training you to recognize circumstances where self-defence could be needed, and enabling you to turn these types of scenarios to your advantage.