Taekwondo Staplehurst

Taekwondo is an ideal sport for children in Staplehurst, because it teaches self-discipline and a respect for others. Its more physical aspects make it more suited to younger people. Older adults who are not all that fit and active might find it a tad too taxing. Quite a few of the older adults who do Taekwondo in Staplehurst, started when they were younger. If you consider yourself among the less agile, you could try something like Tai Chi which is much softer.

Based largely around kicking manoeuvres like head kicks, spinning/jumping kicks and fast kicking styles, Taekwondo was formulated from the techniques of various diverse martial arts, by a group of Seoul martial arts specialists in new schools called "Kwans" in the 1940's and 1950's. These "Kwans" were given the names Jido Kwan, Changmu Kwan, Mooduk Kwan, Songmu Kwan and Chungdo Kwan.

With more than 60 million enthusiasts worldwide and a fair few in Staplehurst, Taekwondo has become really popular. Heading along to your local Staplehurst Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the 2000 Sydney Games. There isn't any reason why you can't become a master of this fascinating martial art, even if you do not aspire to Olympic competition.

It would seem that the most interesting aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. And when you consider the increased levels of violence in town and city centres nowadays, this is hardly surprising. Learning to defend yourself while at the same time respecting others and exercising self-restraint is a key principle of Taekwondo.

Such self-defence techniques may sooner or later prove to be useful in the outside world, although it is much more likely you'll only be putting them to the test within a controlled class setting. Nevertheless it is a wonderful feeling knowing that you can always successfully defend yourself if you need to.

Your First Class

Different Taekwondo clubs in and around Staplehurst will have different thoughts on what pupils should cover on their initial class, however to give you a perception of what to expect most first Taekwondo classes will incorporate a warm-up, some sparring, learning basic patterns (Poomse), a brief introduction to blocks, hand attacks, kicks and stances (technical training) and a final warm-down to relax weary muscles and return the body to a state of equilibrium.

Taekwondo also of course has its own regulating body, and in Great Britain it is British Taekwondo. Every person wishing to join a Taekwondo club in Staplehurst have to become registered members of this organisation. You'll be able to read about equality and safeguarding, clubs and members, health and safety, events, first aid, starting a new Taekwondo club, coaching courses, referees and coaching, news, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and find the latest Taekwondo news stories on their Facebook or Twitter page.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the best known Taekwondo kicks you will learn initially include: Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi). Blocks: To stop and deflect an inbound Taekwondo attack, blocks (called Makgi) are employed. Held in diverse positions, they employ the hand and sections of the arm. Each and every block can be coupled with a kick or punch to produce a counter-attacking movement, and each is suitable for a particular attack. The primary Taekwondo blocks include: Single Forearm Block, Rising Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Nine Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block and Upper Block.

Beginners Classes

Learners setting out on their Taekwondo experience in Staplehurst will initially register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are fantastic, since there are no serious demands and everything is done at a slow, casual pace. Having fun whilst learning is the key objective initially and students who are enjoying themselves have a tendency to learn much quicker and digest more of what they're being shown. Even Taekwondo masters started out as naive novices, so take that initial step and you never know where you will finish up!

Competitions and Tournaments

A regular Taekwondo competition features sparring, patterns (forms) and breaking, as far as the Olympics is concerned only sparring is involved. That said there can also be some extraordinary categories in specific tournaments such as team demonstrations and self-defence. WT tournaments are purely soft-contact affairs, whilst ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) contests permit some hand attacks to be aimed at the head. There are in addition some multi-discipline contests.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

The belt and ranking structure can get somewhat bewildering in Taekwondo as there's no standard system across the different Taekwondo disciplines. Similarities can be found however, and typically there are two distinct belt groupings, signified as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of levels in the junior group varies across the styles but is commonly somewhere between eight and twelve belts, while the senior's section commonly has nine dans or belts.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks that are known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a range of different colours, so that the ranks are easily identified. 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 Staplehurst will start out with the White Belt (10th Kup), and progress through the colours until they reach the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

Taekwondo trainees in Staplehurst are considered as "black belt candidates" once they have worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then be faced with progressing through a further nine ranks (called Dans) if they want to achieve the consummate distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. So, putting it simply, there are 3 principal divisions in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. 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 number of years to progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Ranks Staplehurst, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Staplehurst).

Conclusion

So, what are you hoping to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's a good question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. The majority of participants will just wish to gain more self-confidence, improve their levels of fitness and meet new people. We're certainly not all going to scale the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, who knows? 👊