Taekwondo Romford

As a result of its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is possibly more appropriate for the younger person in Romford and is especially suited to kids because it's great for developing self-discipline and respect for others. More elderly individuals could find it a bit too demanding unless they are especially fit and active. However, those who take up Taekwondo in Romford at a young age will find that they can easily carry it on when they are older. The less agile of you could consider participating in something gentler like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its early beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools which they called "kwans", incorporating various martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which was ultimately called, mainly consists of kicking manoeuvres, particularly fast kicking strategies, head kicks and jumping/spinning kicks.

With more than sixty million fitness enthusiasts participating in Taekwondo sessions all around the globe, this has definitely become an extremely popular pastime, and if you really master this martial art you may even one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it's been a part ever since the 2000 Sydney Games.

For many folks in Romford, it's the self-defence element of Taekwondo which holds the most appeal. And in these days of increased violence, especially in town and city centres, it really is little surprise that this aspect features high up on people's list of priorities. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you are able to gain more confidence in your capability to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect others and learn self-restraint.

Your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will most likely never need to be tried and tested outside of an organised Taekwondo class, however being aware of the fact that you've got them will instill you with self-confidence.

Your First Lesson

For those of you who have never done Taekwondo before, you will no doubt be interested to know what to expect from your first lesson. This may vary depending on which Romford school you go to, but will usually involve the following. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase your heart rate and reduce stiffness in the muscles, some technical training which will involve learning some kicks, stances, blocking techniques and hand attacks, an introduction to some Poomse (or forms), a few ideas on sparring including good timing, precise movement and the accurate targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to prevent cramping and muscle spasms.

Any person wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Romford must also register with British Taekwondo which is the regulating body of the sport in the United Kingdom. You can find lots of facts about establishing a new Taekwondo club, first aid, clubs and members, news, coaching courses, safe practices, events, safeguarding and equality, coaches and referees, and more, by popping along to the British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

In Tae kwon do there's not really any kind of standardization in regards to ranking and belts. It all depends on which style you're looking at, because there are such a lot of Taekwondo styles. They are however, usually split into a couple of groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour rankings consist of white to red, with anything from 8 to 12 ranks, while the black/senior belts typically have nine levels.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are symbolized by what are known as "Kup". The top rank is First Kup and the lowest (beginners) is Tenth Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, similar to many of the martial arts is denoted by a range of 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Romford will commence with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and progress through the different colours until they reach the First Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe)

Taekwondo trainees in Romford become known as "black belt candidates" once they have succeeded with this challenge, and they will then need to move through another 9 ranks (Dans) if they aim to achieve the supreme distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, to put it simply, there are three principal groups in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; Green (6th), Green With Blue Stripe (5th), Blue (4th), Blue With Red Stripe (3rd), Red (2nd) and Red With Black Stripe (1st). The Black Taekwondo Belts go from 1st to 9th Dan which takes a considerable number of years to progress through.

Taekwondo Competitions

Taekwondo tournaments are staged internationally in all of the different styles. There's usually not a lot of hard contact but sparring, patterns and breaking. Olympic and World Taekwondo (WT) competitions only consist of sparring, in ITF competitions certain hand attacks are permitted to the head. Other organizations stage multi-discipline competitions.

Taekwondo for Beginners

As with any activity or sport we have to start someplace, and Taekwondo's not any different. Even the highest ranking Romford Taekwondo exponents were total novices at one point. So, exactly what can you expect as a total novice at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its students ample instruction to teach them the basic principles and enable them to develop self-confidence as they move forward. An ideal beginners class needs to be enjoyable as well as educational, when individuals are having fun they're much more committed and will learn much faster.

Safety Gear

In all matches, tournaments and events being staged under the patronage of British Taekwondo, safety gear like shin guards, a gum shield, a groin protector, hand protectors, a red or blue head guard, red or blue trunk armour (hogu) and forearm guards is compulsory. The kicking moves employed in Taekwondo may cause serious injuries and this helps make the sport less hazardous for its competitors.