Taekwondo Bovey Tracey

Taekwondo is generally a lot more physically demanding than for example Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty fit and agile you might prefer to partake in something a bit gentler to boost your fitness in Bovey Tracey. Children and younger people are certainly an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Bovey Tracey, with lots of fast movements taking place and a great deal of high kicking.

Based primarily around high-kicking manoeuvres like head kicks, rapid kicking styles and spinning/jumping kicks, Taekwondo was formulated from the practices of different martial arts, by a group of Seoul martial arts specialists in new schools known as "Kwans" in the 1940's and 1950's. These "Kwans" were given the names Jido Kwan, Songmu Kwan, Chungdo Kwan, Changmu Kwan and Mooduk Kwan.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of Bovey Tracey and with over 60 million others worldwide. Joining a local Bovey Tracey Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. While reaching Olympic standard may be aiming a bit high, there is no reason why you cannot become a Taekwondo master.

Of all the many benefits of doing this sport, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that the people of Bovey Tracey find most appealing. And in these days of increased violence, especially in town and city centres, it is no surprise that this features high on people's list of priorities. In fact one of the key principles of Taekwondo is learning to defend yourself whilst exercising self-restraint and a respect for others.

While its great to know they're there if you need them, with any luck you'll never need to use your newly acquired Taekwondo skills for defending yourself outside of your local club surroundings.

Your First Lesson

If you've decided to learn Taekwondo and are preparing for your first class, you will be curious about what will happen. This could vary from class to class but will generally include most or all of the following. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase your heart rate and loosen stiff muscles, a little technical training comprising some hand attacks, blocks, stances and kicks, a look at some forms (Poomse), some ideas on sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and finally a warm down to stretch muscles and loosen up.

British Taekwondo is the regulating body of the sport within the United Kingdom, and membership of this organization is compulsory should you wish to sign up with any Taekwondo class in Bovey Tracey or nearby. By heading to British Taekwondo's website you will be able to obtain facts about health and safety, members and clubs, launching a new Taekwondo club, coaching courses, news, safeguarding and equality, coaches and referees, events, first aid, and many more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Kicks

In the world of martial arts, Taekwondo sticks out as the one with the most kicking techniques. These are just some basic ones: Crescent Kick, Side Kick, Back Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Axe Kick, Push Kick, Front Kick. Blocks: To defend against the many hand attacks and kicks there are an equally diverse selection of "blocks". Held in diverse positions, they use the hands and areas of the arm. Each "block" can be coordinated with a punch or kick to establish a counter-attack, and each "block" is suitable for a particular attack. The principal blocks include: Double Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Double Forearm Block, Single Forearm Block, Low Block, Palm Block and Nine Block.

Taekwondo for Beginners

It doesn't matter who you are or what you're capable of in the world of Taekwondo, at one stage you were a complete novice, knowing nothing and fearing failure. We have all started like this and can only learn and improve with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Bovey Tracey are the right place get started on that learning journey and to acquire the necessary basics so you can gain self-confidence and proceed with your exciting Taekwondo adventure. Nearly all beginner classes are created to be fun and friendly, delivering a gradual introduction to the basic Taekwondo principles and building a solid base for the future.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

When it comes to ranking, belts and promotion there is not actually any 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 generally consist of a couple of groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" symbolized by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior ranks typically have nine tiers and the junior, 8 to 12 grades.

In the UK there are a sequence of ranks in Taekwondo that are called "Kup". The lowest rank is Tenth Kup and the highest rank is First Kup. As with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of colours, so that the ranks can be easily recognised. 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. The White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo rookies in Bovey Tracey will start out with, they'll then advance through the coloured belts, finally achieving the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), after around three to four years of dedication.

Taekwondo trainees in Bovey Tracey become known as "black belt candidates" after they've successfully completed this process, and they will then have to proceed through a further nine ranks (Dans) if they plan to achieve the greatest distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, Junior, Senior and Black Belt are the three principal classifications in the Taekwondo belt order. 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 a considerable number of years to successfully progress through.

Final Thoughts

So, what are you hoping to get from Taekwondo? Well, that is an excellent question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. Most participants will simply look to gain more self-confidence, improve their fitness levels and meet new people. We're certainly not all going to scale the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although maybe you will, you never know? 👊