Taekwondo Baildon

It has to be said that Taekwondo can be pretty demanding physically, which might intimidate the less agile and more elderly folks in Baildon from taking this up. To be fair, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are kids and the younger generation, but unquestionably older individuals who're in excellent physical condition can easily get involved and benefit considerably from this activity.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily involves kicking moves and manoeuvres, in particular fast kicking styles, turning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts established schools known as "kwans", which mixed together various martial arts techniques.

Popular across the world Taekwondo now has more than 60 million students. Ever since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to have a go, heading along to your local Baildon Taekwondo club or class is the best way to get involved. While the chances of you getting to Olympic standard are fairly slim, there isn't any reason at all why you cannot master this exciting martial art.

For many people in Baildon, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that has the most appeal. And its not surprising that this is on people's list of priorities when you consider the rising levels of violence seen these days in town and city centres throught 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 learn to respect others and learn self-restraint.

Although it will instill you with confidence knowing that you have these self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the odds are you'll never be required to test them outside the controlled atmosphere of an organized Taekwondo class.

What to Expect From Your First Class

For those of you who have never attempted Taekwondo before, you will no doubt be intrigued to know just what to expect from your first class. This will vary from class to class but will normally entail all or most of the following. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase heart rate and loosen stiff muscles, a little technical training involving learning some hand attacks, blocking techniques, stances and kicks, some work on patterns or forms (Poomse in Korean), a few ideas on sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and finally a warm down to stretch muscles and loosen up.

Everyone who's a member of a Taekwondo class in Baildon or anywhere else in the United Kingdom, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the governing body of the sport. You can learn about first aid, coaches and competition referees, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, members and clubs, launching a new club, news, health and safety, events, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, and find the latest Taekwondo news stories on their Twitter or Facebook page.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

When you are enrolling in Taekwondo classes in Baildon you will be expecting to get some benefits to make the whole thing worthwhile. Therefore let us look at a few of the many benefits that you could get through learning and doing Taekwondo. Increase self-esteem and concentration by sharpening your mental and physical fitness, Strengthen your body and mind through accelerated physical coordination and mental discipline, Help with self-defence techniques by helping you to understand scenarios in which self-defence may be needed, and empowering you to manipulate these types of circumstances in your favour, Greater discipline and willpower by exhaustively educating your body and mind in the principles and tactics of Taekwondo, Supercharge stamina, agility and flexibility through intensive cardiovascular effort, Reduced anxiety by doing deep breathing exercises, Build up confidence by helping you to seize control of your life and succeed.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the basic Taekwondo kicking movements you will learn early on include: Front Kick, Crescent Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Push Kick, Back Kick, Axe Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Side Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To defend against the many kicks and hand attacks there are a similarly diverse range of "blocks". Held in specific positions, they use the hand and sections of the arm. Each and every "block" can be merged with a punch or kick to establish a counter-attack, and each is suitable for a particular attack. The most important blocks (makgi) include: Rising Block, Low Block, Upper Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block, Palm Block, Knife Hand Block, Double Forearm Block and Double Knife Hand Block.

Taekwondo Forms

Taekwondo forms (also referred to as patterns or Poomse) are distinguished by particular facets like stance, technique and direction. From the outset you will get to grips with a few of the basic forms, and so as to advance through the various grades (belts) you'll have to master some more complicated ones.

Taekwondo Belts

In regards to promotion, ranking and belts there is not actually any real standardisation in Taekwondo, as there are many different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own arrangement in place. There are however analogies and they usually comprise 2 groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" symbolized by black and coloured belts respectively, . The senior rankings normally have nine levels and the junior, 8 to 12 levels.

Beginners Classes

With any activity or sport we need to start somewhere, and Taekwondo's no different. Even the highest ranking Baildon Taekwondo exponents were total newbies at one time. So, exactly what can you expect as a complete beginner at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its pupils sufficient instruction to give them the fundamentals and allow them to gain self-confidence as they move forward. A perfect beginners class needs to be fun as well as educational, when people are enjoying themselves they're far more invested and are going to learn quicker.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Safety gear like a blue/red body protector (hogu), a gum shield, hand guards, a red/blue head guard, shin guards, forearm guards and a groin protector have to be used in all contests regulated by British Taekwondo. Protection from injury is paramount due to the vigorous kicking which is part and parcel of this activity.