Taekwondo Southchurch

It's got to be asserted that Taekwondo can be fairly physically challenging, which may intimidate the less nimble and more elderly folks in Southchurch from getting involved. To be fair, the most common participants of Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but certainly older people who're in decent physical condition can easily participate and get benefits from this activity.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly comprises high-kicking manoeuvres, most notably rapid kicking styles, head kicks and jumping/spinning kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts specialists founded schools called "kwans", which merged a variety of martial arts techniques.

At present an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has over 60 million enthusiasts all around the world, and although you might not have any aspirations to be an Olympic Games medalist, you're still able to register for a Taekwondo club or class to learn what will undoubtedly turn out to be a fulfilling and interesting activity.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and not surprisingly this is one of the main reasons that people in Southchurch join classes and get involved in the sport. There has been a disturbing escalation of violent behaviour in recent years and this is particularly widespread in city and town centres throughout Essex and the UK as a whole. The beauty of Taekwondo though, is that it also teaches self-discipline and a deep respect for others, not such common qualities in Southchurch nowadays.

These self-defence techniques may at some time prove to be useful in your day to day life, although it is much more likely that you'll solely be testing them within a regulated class environment. Yet it is a reassuring feeling knowing that you can always successfully defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Taekwondo Class

Different Taekwondo schools in Southchurch will have different thoughts on what students should cover on their very first class, but to give you a notion of what you can expect most initial Taekwondo classes will involve a warm-up, some sparring, learning basic patterns (Poomse), an introduction to hand attacks, blocks, kicks and stances (technical training) and a final warm-down to relax tired muscles and return the body to a state of equilibrium.

If you want to sign up to a Taekwondo class in Southchurch, you'll also have to become a member of the sport's governing body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to learn about coaching courses, health and safety, referees and coaching, safeguarding and equality, starting a new club, news, first aid, members and clubs, events, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and find the latest news reports on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Mastering the art of Taekwondo necessitates getting to grips with a number of disciplines and techniques and one of the pivotal parts of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as patterns or Poomse). These are types of stance, technique and direction which need to be memorized in order for participants to progress through the different dans (belts/grades).

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Students starting out on their Taekwondo experience in Southchurch will at first register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are fabulous, because there's no pressure and everything is done at a casual, slow pace. Having fun while learning is the principal goal initially and trainees who are having a great time are inclined to learn a lot faster and absorb significantly more of what they're being shown. Even Taekwondo masters started out as inexperienced newbies, so take that very first step and who knows where you'll wind up!

The Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the best known Taekwondo kicking movements you will learn initially include: Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to fend off the various attacks, are known as Makgi. Using the hand and parts of the arm, they are held in various positions. Certain attacks require specified "blocks", but blocks can also be turned into counter-attacks by linking retaliatory punches or kicks. The most used blocks include: Palm Block, Upper Block, Double Forearm Block, Nine Block, Low Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Rising Block and Knife Hand Block.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You will no doubt be interested to learn about exactly what sort of benefits could be obtained by attending Southchurch Taekwondo sessions and partaking fully in its practices. You could expect that you will: Lower stress and anxiety by doing deep breathing exercises, Better discipline and willpower by exhaustively training your body and mind in the strategies and principles of Taekwondo, Augment agility, flexibility and stamina by means of extreme cardiovascular effort, Strengthen your mind and body through increased physical coordination and mental discipline, Teach self-defence techniques by helping you recognize situations where self-defence may be necessary, and allowing you to manipulate these kinds of scenarios in your favour, Grow in confidence by motivating you to succeed and to take control of your life, Increase self-esteem by raising your mental and physical health.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The belt and ranking system can get very complicated in Taekwondo because there is no uniform structure across the diverse Taekwondo styles. Similarities do exist however, and normally there are two separate belt groupings, represented as "seniors" (black belts) and "juniors" (coloured belts). The number of ranks in the junior section varies across the disciplines but is normally somewhere between 8 and 12 belts, while the senior groupings generally has 9 dans or belts.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks which are known as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is indicated by a number of colours, so that the ranks are easily recognised. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, specifically - 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 Southchurch will commence with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and proceed through the different coloured belts until they reach the First Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt)

As soon as this training regime has been successfully completed, Southchurch Taekwondo students become known as "black belt candidates", and they then have to earn an additional nine ranks or Dans if they're to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade. Therefore, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the three principal groupings in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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 group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of dedication.

Summary

So, what are you looking to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's a great question, and the answer will vary for different people. The majority of participants will just look to improve their fitness, gain more confidence and meet new people. We are certainly not all going to scale the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though maybe you will, you never know?