Taekwondo Billinge

It has to be said that Taekwondo can be fairly challenging physically, which can intimidate the less nimble and more elderly people in Billinge from becoming involved. To be truthful, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are children and younger people, but unquestionably older people who're in good physical condition can easily participate and benefit from this sport.

The name Taekwondo has only been used since the 1950's, although the discipline began life in Korea in 1945. In Seoul, a group of Korean martial arts devotees set up some new schools which they called "kwans", practicing a blend of martial arts techniques. The emphasis of Taekwondo, as it ultimately became known, is on kicking manoeuvres, in particular head kicks, fast kicking methods and turning/jumping kicks. Today Billinge Taekwondo classes observe this tradition.

At present an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than 60 million followers worldwide, and even though you might not aspire to be an Olympic Games medalist, you're still able to sign up for a Taekwondo class or club to master what will undoubtedly prove to be a rewarding and interesting activity.

For the men, women and children of Billinge who are keen on the idea of learning a martial art, a top priority is the element of self-defence. Because this is a key concept of Taekwondo, it is easy to appreciate the attraction of this specific sport. With the additional reward of learning self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for those around you, enrolling in a local Billinge Taekwondo class would seem to be a no brainer.

Though you'll take a lot of trouble mastering these vital self-defence techniques, hopefully you won't ever need to implement them except within your local Taekwondo club environment.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you have never tried Taekwondo previously, you may be a bit concerned as to what can be expected on your first lesson. This may vary from club to club but will typically consist of some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase heart rate, a little technical training including learning some hand attacks, stances, blocking techniques and kicks, learning some forms (or Poomse), an overview of sparring including timing, the timing of attacks and movement, and lastly a warm down to stretch and relax weary muscles.

Anyone who joins a Taekwondo club in Billinge must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official governing body of the sport in Britain. You'll be able to learn about coaches and referees, establishing a new Taekwondo club, coaching courses, members and clubs, news, events, safeguarding and equality, safe practices, first aid, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, or find the latest news stories on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Benefits to be Gained From Taekwondo

You will no doubt be interested to understand exactly what kind of benefits may be achieved by taking part in Billinge Taekwondo lessons and engaging fully in its activities. You can expect that you will: Strengthen your mind and body thru enhanced physical coordination and mental discipline, Increase self-esteem by elevating both mental and physical fitness, Lower stress using advanced breath control, Augment agility, stamina and flexibility by means of intense cardiovascular effort, Build your confidence by pushing you to take control of your life and succeed, Greater discipline by exhaustively educating your mind and body in the strategies and concepts of Taekwondo, Learn self-defence techniques by coaching you to understand occasions in which self-defence could be required, and allowing you to manipulate these types of circumstances in your favour.

Taekwondo Belts

In terms of ranking, promotion and belts there is not actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, because there are various styles of Taekwondo which each have their own system in place. There are however parallels and they normally comprise 2 groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" symbolized by black and coloured belts respectively. The senior levels generally have 9 grades and the junior, eight to twelve levels.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks that are referred to as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). If you're eager to know the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is indicated by a range of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, 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. The 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo rookies in Billinge will start off with, they can then proceed through the different coloured belts, finally attaining the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will probably take approximately 3-4 years of lessons and training.

Taekwondo students in Billinge become "black belt candidates" once they have successfully completed this process, and they'll then be faced with proceeding through an additional 9 ranks (or Dans) if they plan to achieve the supreme distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, Junior, Senior and Black Belts are the three main groupings in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. 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 will take many years to progress through.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

In all events, competitions and matches being held under the patronage of British Taekwondo, safety equipment like a red or blue body guard (hogu), forearm protectors, shin pads, hand protectors, a red/blue head guard, a groin protector and a mouth protector is obligatory. The kicking techniques employed in Taekwondo could potentially cause harm and this precaution helps make this activity less dangerous for its competitors.

Taekwondo for Beginners

Even the best exponents of Taekwondo in Billinge set out as novices, so it is no disgrace to be a complete beginner at Tae kwon do, or any other activity for that matter. The goal of a Taekwondo beginners class is to provide just a few basics, boost confidence and build a firm base for the future. Most importantly of all is that it must be enjoyable, trainees having a good time are going to learn faster and be more invested.