Taekwondo Cadishead

Taekwondo is generally a lot more demanding physically than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and agile you may prefer to find something a little bit gentler to boost your fitness in Cadishead. Children and younger people are certainly an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Cadishead, with a lot of fast movements going on and a great deal of high kicking.

With its beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts and consists of mostly kicking movements such as head-height kicks, jumping/spinning kicks and fast kicking methods. It began when schools known as "kwans" were established by a group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

At present an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million practitioners all over the world, and though you may not have any aspirations to be an Olympic Games athlete, you are still able to register for a Taekwondo club or class to master what will no doubt turn out to be a fulfilling and fascinating activity.

It seems to be the case that the most attractive aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. And its not surprising that this is on people's list of priorities when you consider the rising amounts of violence seen these days in town and city centres throughout Britain. Being capable of defending yourself is a key principle of Taekwondo, but this is balanced by exercising self-restraint and respecting others.

Though you will spend a lot of time learning these essential self-defence techniques, with a bit of luck you'll never need to implement them except within your local Taekwondo club environment.

Your First Cadishead Taekwondo Lesson

If you have never tried Taekwondo previously, you may be a bit anxious as to what to expect on your very first lesson. This will be different from club to club but will typically comprise some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase heart rate, a little practical training including learning some hand attacks, stances, kicks and blocks, learning some Poomse (forms), an introduction to sparring which will include timing, the timing of attacks and movement, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch tired muscles.

Any person wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Cadishead must also register with British Taekwondo which is the official regulating body of the sport in Britain. You will be able to find loads of information regarding events, coaches and competition referees, first aid, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, members and clubs, launching a new Taekwondo club, news, health and safety, and more, by dropping by at British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is recognized for its impressive kicks, here are the important ones: Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi). Blocks: To stop and deflect an incoming attack, blocks (known as Makgi) are used. They're held in specific positions and enlist the hands with different parts of the arm. Each block can be coupled with a kick or punch to produce a counter-attack, and each one is suitable for a particular attack. The most important "blocks" include: Rising Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Nine Block, Palm Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Forearm Block and Double Knife Hand Block.

Safety Equipment

Matches regulated by British Taekwondo guidelines demand that certain items of protective equipment be used, these include: a blue or red trunk protector (hogu), hand guards, shin pads, forearm protectors, a gum shield, a groin guard and a blue or red head protector. This is a must due to the vigorous kicking movements being employed.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In regards to promotion, ranking and belts there is not actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, as there are a number of styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own specific system. There are however likenesses and they usually comprise a couple of groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" symbolized by black and coloured belts respectively. The senior levels generally have 9 levels and the junior, between 8 and 12 grades.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what are called "Kup". The highest rank is First Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is Tenth Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, just like most of the martial arts is denoted by a number of different 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 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo novices in Cadishead will start off with, they will then progress through the colours, eventually achieving the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will take approximately three to four years.

After this training regime has been completed, Cadishead Taekwondo trainees advance to "black belt candidates", and they then have to progress through a further 9 Dans or ranks if they're to achieve the title of Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade. Therefore, putting it simply, there are three primary groupings in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belts. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts are; 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 a number of years to progress through.