Taekwondo Burley

Due to its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is perhaps more suited to the younger person in Burley and is particularly suitable for children as it is great for developing self-discipline and respect for others. It can sometimes be too taxing for older adults unless they are exceptionally fit and active. However those in Burley who take up Taekwondo at a young age, will find that carrying it on into older adulthood is not a problem. If you consider yourself among the less agile, you could try something like Tai Chi which is much softer.

With its root beginnings in 1940's Korea, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently established of the martial arts and consists of mainly kicking moves such as head-height kicks, jumping/turning kicks and fast kicking methods. It started when schools called "kwans" were established by a group of Korean martial artists in Seoul, South Korea.

With over sixty million people taking part in Taekwondo classes all over the world, this has certainly become an extremely popular activity, and if you become really expert at the martial art you might possibly one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

For a lot of folks in Burley, it's the self-defence element of Taekwondo that has the most appeal. And in these days of increasing violence, especially in city and town centres, it is no surprise that this aspect features high up on people's list of priorities. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your ability to defend yourself while at the same time learning to respect others and learn self-restraint.

Such self-defence techniques may at some point prove to be useful in your everyday life, though it is much more likely that you will only be testing them within a regulated class setting. However it is a nice feeling knowing that you can always defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Burley Taekwondo Lesson

If you decide to register for a Taekwondo class in Burley, the first thing you will want to know is what is going to happen on the very first lesson and precisely what will the coach be expecting of you. Different Taekwondo masters in the Burley area will devise differing routines for this initial lesson but you can count on performing a 15 minute warm-up to get the blood pumping and loosen your muscles, learn a couple of Poomse (forms, cover some practical training (stances, kicks, blocking techniques and hand attacks), do some sparring, and finally, a warm-down.

Any person who joins a Taekwondo class in Burley must also register with British Taekwondo which is the governing body of the sport in the UK. You'll be able to find out about safeguarding and equality, health and safety, coaching courses, clubs and members, news, launching a new Taekwondo club, referees and coaching, events, first aid, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, and get the latest Taekwondo news reports on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

In Taekwondo there is really no uniformity with regards to grades and belts. It is all dependent on which style you are looking at, as there are so many different Taekwondo styles. They are however, usually split into a couple of groups "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour rankings consist of white to red, with from eight to twelve rankings, whilst the black/senior belts typically have nine ranks.

In the UK there are a set of ranks in Taekwondo that are known as "Kup". The lowest rank is Tenth Kup and the highest rank is First Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, similar to most of the martial arts is denoted by a number of colours, these colours are 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. The White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo newbies in Burley will commence with, they'll then proceed through the different coloured belts, finally reaching the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which will probably take approximately 3-4 years of dedication.

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Burley are considered to be "black belt candidates" which entails them proceeding through another 9 ranks (Dans) until they eventually achieve the accolade of "Black Belt". Hence, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into 3 divisions; Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior division comprise; 6th (Green), 5th (Green With Blue Stripe), 4th (Blue), 3rd ( Blue With Red Stripe), 2nd (Red), and 1st (Red With Black Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Black group go from 1st to 9th Dan, a qualification process that will take a considerable number of years.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Newcomers just starting their journey in Taekwondo do not need to worry excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, however they will have to familiarise themselves with some basic ones to begin with and move forward to more intricate forms as they move through the various belts (grades/dans). A "form" is signified by certain elements of Taekwondo including direction, technique and stance. Getting to grips with these techniques is a key part of mastering Taekwondo.