Taekwondo Chorleywood

It needs to be asserted that Taekwondo can be fairly physically demanding, which might put off the less agile and more elderly folks in Chorleywood from getting involved. To be truthful, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are kids and younger people, but certainly older people who're in great physical health can easily participate and benefit considerably from this sport.

With its root beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently created of the martial arts and involves primarily high-kicking moves such as head kicks, spinning/jumping kicks and fast kicking methods. It began when schools known as "kwans" were established by a bunch of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than 60 million enthusiasts all over the world, and even though you may not aspire to be an Olympic Games sportsman, you're still able to enroll in a Taekwondo class or club to master what will no doubt prove to be a rewarding and fascinating activity.

The thing about Taekwondo that appears to most appeal to people in Chorleywood is the self-defence aspect of it. And its no real surprise that this is high on people's list of priorities when you take into account the ever rising amounts of violence seen nowadays in town centres throughout Britain. However, exercising self-restraint and a respect for others goes hand in hand with Taekwondo's self-defence principles.

Your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will likely never need to be tested outside of an organised Taekwondo class, however knowing that you've got them will instill you with confidence.

Your First Chorleywood Taekwondo Lesson

If you have booked your first lesson but have never done Taekwondo before, you may be wondering what to expect. This will vary from school to school but will usually involve some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase heart rate, a little technical training involving learning some stances, hand attacks, blocking techniques and kicks, an introduction to some forms, a look at sparring including good movement, timing and attack targeting, and lastly a warm down with muscle stretching and relaxing.

British Taekwondo is the regulating body of the sport within the United Kingdom, and membership of this organization is compulsory if you want to sign up with any Taekwondo club in Chorleywood or nearby. By checking out British Taekwondo's website you will be able to discover details of referees and coaching, members and clubs, news, first aid, coaching courses, establishing a new club, safeguarding and equality, events, safe practices, and lots more Taekwondo related facts.

Beginners Classes

It matters not who you are or what you're ranking is in 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 Chorleywood are the best place to begin that learning process and to pick up the basic principles so you can build confidence and proceed with your Taekwondo experience. Almost all beginner classes are created to be friendly and fun, providing a gradual introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo principles and building a firm base for the future.

Safety Equipment

British Taekwondo controlled matches call for certain safety gear to be worn to safeguard contenders from being injured as a result of the vigorous kicking that transpires. These safety solutions include: a gum shield, shin protectors, a blue or red head protector, blue/red body armour, a groin guard, forearm guards and hand protectors.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Perfecting Taekwondo will involve learning a number of techniques and disciplines and one of the key elements of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as patterns or Poomse). These are sequences of direction, stance and technique which must be mastered in order for students to move through the various dans (belts/grades).

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

One of the main elements of Taekwondo is kicking, here is a selection of the essential kicks: Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To repulse the numerous kicks and hand attacks there are an equally diverse assortment of "blocks". Engaging the hand and different sections of the arm, they are held in specific positions. Each form of attack calls for a particular type of block, counter-attacking movements can be produced by combining a block with a retaliatory kick or punch. The primary "blocks" include: Low Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Double Forearm Block, Nine Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block and Palm Block.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

A standard Taekwondo tournament features sparring, breaking and patterns, as far as the Olympics is concerned only sparring is involved. With that being said there are also some unique categories in particular tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT tournaments are solely soft-contact affairs, while ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) contests allow some hand attacks to the head. There are additionally some multi-discipline competitions.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

The belt and ranking system can get pretty confusing in Taekwondo as there is no standard arrangement throughout the diverse Taekwondo disciplines. Similarities can be found however, and generally there are two separate belt groups, signified as "seniors" (black belts) and "juniors" (coloured belts). The number of rankings in the junior section varies over the disciplines but is generally somewhere between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior's group usually has 9 dans or belts.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks that are generally known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, similar to many of the martial arts is portrayed by a number of different colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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 newbies in Chorleywood will commence with, they can then proceed through the colours, eventually attaining the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which can take approximately 3-4 years of lessons and training.

Taekwondo students in Chorleywood become known as "black belt candidates" after they have successfully completed this process, and they will then have to proceed through another nine ranks (called Dans) if they wish to achieve the greatest accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. So, the bottom line is, there are 3 principal divisions in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts are; 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 dedicated training. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Chorleywood, Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Promotion Chorleywood).