Taekwondo West Bromwich

It should be asserted that Taekwondo can be very physically demanding, which might unnerve the older and less nimble folks in West Bromwich from becoming involved. To be fair, the most frequent people participating in Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but of course older individuals who are in good physical condition can easily participate and benefit from this activity.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly involves kicking manoeuvres, in particular head kicks, spinning/jumping kicks and rapid kicking techniques. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a group of martial arts specialists founded schools called "kwans", which blended a number of martial arts practices.

These days an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million practitioners worldwide, and while you may not aspire to be an Olympic Games athlete, you can still register for a Taekwondo club or class to learn what will no doubt prove to be a fascinating and advantageous activity.

Whilst there is much to be gained by practicing Taekwondo, it is the element of self-defence that most West Bromwich people are interested in. And its no surprise that this features highly on people's list of priorities when you consider the rising levels of violence seen nowadays in town centres throughout the United Kingdom. It is a key factor of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your ability to defend yourself and at the same time respect others and exercise self-restraint.

Your newly learned Taekwondo skills will more than likely never have to be tried and tested outside of an actual Taekwondo class, however being aware that you've got them will give you peace of mind.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you have never tried Taekwondo before, you could be a little apprehensive as to what you can expect on your first lesson. This varies from school to school but will generally consist of all or some of these. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen up muscles and increase heart rate, a bit of technical training involving learning some hand attacks, stances, kicks and blocking techniques, studying a few forms, an overview of sparring which will include timing, the timing of attacks and movement, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch tired muscles.

The UK's official regulating body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you would like to join a Taekwondo class in West Bromwich, you'll also be required to become a member of this respected organization. By exploring British Taekwondo's website you can read details of coaches and tournament referees, coaching courses, launching a new Taekwondo club, first aid, news, events, safe practices, safeguarding and equality, clubs and members, and lots more Taekwondo related issues.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are a lot of different Taekwondo kicks, here are just eight of them: Side Kick, Front Kick, Push Kick, Back Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Crescent Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Axe Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to defend against the various attacking movements, are called Makgi. They are held in various positions and employ the hands with different areas of the arm. Specific attacks necessitate particular blocks, but "blocks" can also be turned into counter-attacks by the combination of retaliatory kicks or punches. The key "blocks" (makgi) include: Double Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Palm Block, Nine Block, Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Low Block and Rising Block.

Taekwondo Belts

When it comes to ranking, promotion and belts there is not actually any standardization in Taekwondo, since there are a number of styles of Taekwondo which each have their own system in place. There are however likenesses and they typically consist of a couple of groups of belts "seniors" and "juniors" symbolized by black and coloured belts respectively, . The senior grades usually have nine tiers and the junior, 8 to 12 levels.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

Safety equipment like a blue or red head guard, a mouth guard, hand protectors, a groin protector, red/blue trunk armour, forearm protectors and shin guards have to be worn in all contests regulated by British Taekwondo. Protection from injury is vital due to the formidable kicking which is part and parcel of this activity.