Taekwondo Bridgnorth

Owing to its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is possibly more suited to the younger generation in Bridgnorth and is particularly suited to kids as it's great for developing respect for others and self-discipline. Older adults may find it somewhat too challenging unless they are especially active and fit. However, those who persue Taekwondo in Bridgnorth from a young age will find that they can easily carry it on when they're older. The less agile of you might consider something softer like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea in 1945. A number of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", merging various martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which it ultimately became known as, mainly involves high-kicking manoeuvres, especially spinning/jumping kicks, rapid kicking techniques and head kicks.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of Bridgnorth and with over sixty million others globally. Ever since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to give it a try, joining a local Bridgnorth Taekwondo class or club is the best way to get involved. While you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you cannot become a master of this fascinating martial art and have some fun in the process.

For many folks in Bridgnorth, it is the self-defence element of Taekwondo that holds the most appeal. And in these days of increased violence, particularly in town and city centres, it really is little surprise that this sits high up on people's list of priorities. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your capability to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect others and practice self-restraint.

There's a pretty decent likelihood that your newly learned Taekwondo skills will never need to be proved in your day to day life, but it will undoubtedly give you reassurance knowing that they are there should you ever be in need of them.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If you've never done Taekwondo before, you might be a bit concerned as to what can be expected on your very first lesson. This will be different from club to club but will generally involve some or all of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen up muscles, some technical training including learning some hand attacks, kicks, blocks and stances, studying some forms, a brief introduction to sparring including attack timing, timing and movement, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch tired muscles.

The UK official governing body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you want to join a Taekwondo club in Bridgnorth, you will also be required to register with this organization. You will be able to find loads of details on members and clubs, events, first aid, equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, establishing a new Taekwondo club, news, health and safety, coaches and competition referees, and more, by exploring British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Tournaments

There are a whole host of competitions and tournaments in Taekwondo involving all the various styles. They primarily include breaking, sparring and patterns with little or no "hard contact". ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) tournaments don't allow too much contact but do allow hand attacks towards the head. World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic tournaments only allow sparring. Multi-style contests are also held.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Learners setting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Bridgnorth will at first enroll in a beginners class. Beginners classes are excellent, because there are no rigid demands and everything's done at a relaxed, slow pace. Having fun whilst learning is the primary aim to start with and students who are having a good time have a tendency to learn a lot quicker and digest considerably more of what they are being taught. Even Taekwondo masters began as naive newbies, so take that very first step and who knows where you will end up!

Taekwondo Belts

Because there are a number of styles of Taekwondo there has never been any recognised system for allocating belts (promotion). What exists is however pretty similar and comprises a couple of belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groupings is divided into grades, eight to twelve colours for juniors and nine for seniors.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks that are referred to as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, much like many of the martial arts is denoted by a number of different colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Bridgnorth will commence with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and progress through the different coloured belts until they reach the First Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt)

Taekwondo trainees in Bridgnorth become "black belt candidates" after they've worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then have to move through a further 9 ranks (or Dans) if they plan to achieve the greatest accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three sections; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior division Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior division of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and will involve many years of dedication and training. (Tags: Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Bridgnorth, Taekwondo Ranks Bridgnorth).

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is probably most recognized for its spectacular kicking manoeuvres, listed here are some of the basic kicks you'll learn as a novice: Front Kick, Push Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Crescent Kick, Back Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Axe Kick, Side Kick. Blocks: To divert and stop an incoming attack, blocks (known as Makgi) are used. Engaging the hands and different areas of the arm, they're held in diverse positions. Specific attacks call for specified blocks, but "blocks" can also be turned into counter-attacking movements by combining retaliatory punches or kicks. The most important "blocks" (makgi) include: Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Low Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Forearm Block, Rising Block, Knife Hand Block, Nine Block and Palm Block.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You will probably be interested to understand exactly what kind of benefits might be gained by attending Bridgnorth Taekwondo classes and engaging fully in its activities. You could expect that you will: Teach you self-defence by showing you how to realize instances in which self-defence may be required, and enabling you to turn such circumstances in your favour, Lower stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Grow in confidence by pushing you to succeed and to take control of your life, Increase self-esteem and concentration by elevating both physical and mental powers, Better self-discipline by methodically schooling your body and mind in the doctrines and techniques of Taekwondo, Increase agility, flexibility and stamina through intensive cardiovascular effort, Empower your body and mind thru increased physical coordination and mental discipline.

Safety Gear

Contests controlled by British Taekwondo policies demand that various pieces of protective gear be worn, these include: a red or blue head protector, forearm protectors, hand guards, a gum shield, a groin protector, red/blue body armour and shin pads. This is vital on account of the potent kicking actions being employed.

Final Thoughts

So, what do you want from Taekwondo? Well, that's an excellent question, and the answer will be different for individual people. The majority of participants will simply look to gain more confidence, improve their levels of fitness and meet new people. We're not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, who knows?