Taekwondo Tonypandy

Because Taekwondo has fairly high physical demands, it's possibly more suitable for the younger people of Tonypandy. That's not to say that older people cannot be involved in this popular activity, but merely that there could be alternative martial arts which are more suitable for the less nimble of us. Tai Chi is the perfect illustration.

The sport was developed in Korea in 1945, though it wasn't named Taekwondo until the 1950's. This mix of various martial arts techniques were practiced in some innovative new schools in Seoul called "kwans", founded by a group of Korean martial artists. The main focus of the discipline was on kicking manoeuvres, in particular turning/jumping kicks, fast kicking techniques and head kicks, and it was later given the name; Taekwondo, roughly meaning "the way of the foot and fist". These days Tonypandy Taekwondo classes stick to this tradition.

With over 60 million fitness enthusiasts participating in Taekwondo classes all around the globe, this has definitely become an extremely popular and worthwhile pastime, and if you become really expert at the martial art you might even one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and doubtless this is one of the primary reasons that people in Tonypandy get involved in classes and get involved in the sport. There has been a troubling escalation of violent behaviour in recent years and this is especially prevalent in city and town centres throughout Wales and the UK as a whole. The fantastic thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also encourages self-discipline and a deep respect for other people, not such common attributes in Tonypandy these days.

There is a pretty good chance that your newly learned Taekwondo skills will never have to be used in your day to day life, but it will unquestionably give you a secure feeling knowing that they're there should you ever need them.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you have never done Taekwondo before, you could be a bit anxious as to what you can expect on your very first lesson. This will be different from school to school but will usually involve all or some of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to loosen up muscles and increase the heart rate, some technical training involving learning some kicks, hand attacks, stances and blocking techniques, studying some forms, an overview of sparring including movement, timing and attack timing, and lastly a warm down to relax and stretch weary muscles.

British Taekwondo is the regulating body of the sport within Britain, and membership of this organisation is mandatory if you want to join any Taekwondo club in Tonypandy or nearby. By viewing British Taekwondo's website you can discover facts about first aid, coaching courses, launching a new club, health and safety, coaches and referees, news, clubs and members, events, safeguarding and equality, and many more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all events, matches and competitions taking place under the control of British Taekwondo, safety gear like a mouth guard, hand protectors, a red or blue head guard, red or blue body armour, a groin protector, shin protectors and forearm protectors is obligatory. The fast kicking movements which are part of Taekwondo can easily cause serious injuries and this all helps make this activity safer for its competitors.

Beginners Taekwondo Tonypandy

Students starting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Tonypandy will at first register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are fabulous, since there are no stringent demands and everything's done at a slow and relaxed pace. Learning and having fun are the principal aims to start with and students who are having fun have a tendency to learn a lot quicker and digest significantly more of what they're being told. Even Taekwondo masters began as clueless novices, so take that first step and you never know where you will end up!

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

There are of course, quite a few benefits to be gained from practicing Taekwondo, and here are just some that may be attractive to you: Empower your mind and body thru increased mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Teach you self-defence by coaching you to identify circumstances where self-defence might be needed, and allowing you to control these kinds of situations to your advantage, Augment agility, stamina and flexibility by means of strenuous cardiovascular exertion, Better discipline and willpower by extensively training your body and mind in the strategies and principles of Taekwondo, Build up confidence by pushing you to seize control of your life and succeed, Lower anxiety using advanced breath control, Enhance your self-esteem by raising your mental and physical powers.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The ranking and belt system can get a bit bewildering in Taekwondo since there's no standardized structure across the diverse Taekwondo styles. Parallels can be found though, and generally there are 2 separate belt groups, denoted as "seniors" (black belts) and "juniors" (coloured belts). The number of grades in the junior group varies through the styles but is generally somewhere between 8 and 12 belts, whilst the senior's groupings commonly has nine belts or dans.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what generally known as "Kup". The top rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a number 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, 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. Beginners in Tonypandy getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the White Belt (10th Kup), and progress through the coloured belts until they achieve the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Tonypandy are known as "black belt candidates" which requires them to move through yet another nine ranks (Dans) right up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". Therefore, to put it simply, there are 3 principal groupings in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior division 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 division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of training and dedication.

In Conclusion

What you get out of Taekwondo are going to be directly related to what you invest in it (as is the case with life in general). Most of you will simply wish to improve your fitness, make new friends and meet different people, some might aspire to take part in competitions or tournaments or perhaps even the Olympics. But bear in mind, we can't all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad. 👊