Taekwondo Birchington-on-Sea

Due to its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is maybe more suitable for the younger generation in Birchington-on-Sea and is particularly suitable for children as it's wonderful for developing self-discipline and respect for other people. More elderly people may find it a bit too demanding unless they are especially active and fit. However, those who persue Taekwondo in Birchington-on-Sea at a young age will find they can easily continue with it when they're older. The less nimble of you could consider something gentler like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", combining a number of martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was ultimately called, largely involves high-kicking manoeuvres, particularly turning/jumping kicks, rapid kicking styles and head-height kicks.

With over 60 million practitioners worldwide and quite a few in Birchington-on-Sea, Taekwondo has become very popular. If you want to get involved in this activity, which is now an Olympic sport, joining a Taekwondo club or class in Birchington-on-Sea is a good place to start. There is no reason why you cannot reach a high standard in this thrilling sport, even if you have no desire to compete in the Olympics.

People in Birchington-on-Sea take up Taekwondo for numerous reasons but it is the self-defence aspect that interests most. And when you consider the high levels of violence in city centres these days, this is not surprising. Being able to defend yourself is a key principle of Taekwondo, but this is tempered by learning self-restraint and a respect for others.

Whilst it will instill you with confidence being aware that you have such self-defence skills in your locker, the chances are you'll never have to use them outside the monitored environment of an organised Taekwondo class.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you have not done Taekwondo before, you will be curious to find out exactly what is going to take place on your first lesson. The following will give you an overview, but this may vary from school to school. An initial warm up lasting 15-20 minutes, a little technical training comprising some stances, kicks, hand attacks and blocks, learning the fundamental forms or patterns, a look at sparring including timing, movement and the targeting of attacks, and last but not least a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping,

British Taekwondo is the governing body of the sport within Britain, and membership of this organisation is compulsory if you want to join any Taekwondo class in Birchington-on-Sea or nearby. You can get plenty of information regarding establishing a new Taekwondo club, clubs and members, first aid, coaching courses, news, safe practices, equality and safeguarding, coaches and competition referees, events, and more, by exploring British Taekwondo's website.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Kicks play a significant role in Taekwondo, here are a selection of the more basic ones: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to repulse the different attacking moves, are called Makgi. Employing the hand and different parts of the arm, they are held in diverse positions. Each and every "block" can be combined with a punch or kick to produce a counter-attack, and each is appropriate for a specific attack. The primary "blocks" include: Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Rising Block, Palm Block, Double Forearm Block and Nine Block.

Birchington-on-Sea Taekwondo for Beginners

It matters not what you're standing is or who you are in the world of Taekwondo, at some point you were a complete novice, fearing failure and knowing absolutely nothing. We've all started like this and are only able to learn and develop with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Birchington-on-Sea are the best place to start that learning journey and to acquire the fundamentals so that you can gain confidence and proceed with your exciting Taekwondo experience. Most beginner classes are geared up to be fun and friendly, offering a slow introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo values and developing a firm foundation for the future.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In regards to promotion, ranking and belts there is not actually any real uniformity in Taekwondo, because there are various different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own specific system. There are however similarities and they usually comprise a couple of groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" represented by black and coloured belts respectively. The senior grades generally have nine ranks and the junior, between 8 and 12 grades.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are called "Kup". The highest rank is First Kup and the lowest (beginners) is Tenth Kup. If you're interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it is as follows, and is portrayed by a number of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, 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. Beginners in Birchington-on-Sea getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the White Belt (10th Kup), and advance through the coloured belts until they earn the 1st Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt).

When this training regime has been successfully completed, Birchington-on-Sea Taekwondo students become "black belt candidates", and they must then progress through an additional 9 ranks or Dans if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the ultimate accolade in this sport. So, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the 3 primary groupings in the Taekwondo belt order. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; 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 many years to progress through. (Tags: Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belts Birchington-on-Sea, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Ranks Birchington-on-Sea).

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

Taekwondo tournaments and competitions are held all over the world in all the different styles. There is normally not a whole lot of hard contact but sparring, patterns and breaking. Olympic and WT competitions comprise only sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) competitions specific hand attacks are permitted to the head. Other bodies stage multi-discipline contests.

Conclusion

We can more or less guarantee that if you take up Taekwondo you will improve your levels of fitness, make new friends and gain more confidence. If that's all you take away from it, then that is great, and you can call it an achievement! We aren't all looking to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you that are, have to begin with that very first step. Good luck with your journey!