Taekwondo Dersingham

Taekwondo is generally much more demanding physically than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and agile you may prefer to partake in something a bit gentler to boost your fitness levels in Dersingham. Children and younger people are clearly an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Dersingham, with lots of fast paced movements going on and plenty of high kicking.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily features kicking manoeuvres, most notably jumping/turning kicks, head kicks and rapid kicking techniques. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts established schools called "kwans", which combined a number of martial arts practices.

With over sixty million practitioners around the world and a fair few in Dersingham, Taekwondo has become very popular. Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo is accessible to everyone, and signing up for a local Dersingham Taekwondo class or club is the best way to get yourself involved. While you might not aspire to Olympic competition, there's no reason why you can't be a master of this fascinating martial art and have some fun along the way.

For the people of Dersingham who would like to learn a martial art, a major priority is the aspect of self-defence. As this is an important principle of Taekwondo, it's not difficult to appreciate the appeal of this particular sport. With the extra bonus of developing self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for other people, getting involved in a local Dersingham Taekwondo class would seem to be a no brainer.

Although it will instill you with confidence being aware that you have these self-defence skills in your locker, the chances are that you will never be required to test them outside of an actual Taekwondo class.

Your First Class

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

The United Kingdom's official governing body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you would like to join a Taekwondo club in Dersingham, you will also be required to become a member of this organization. You can find loads of information about coaches and referees, news, first aid, safe practices, coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, events, members and clubs, establishing a new Taekwondo club, and more, by exploring British Taekwondo's official website.

Beginners Classes

Students setting out on their Taekwondo experience in Dersingham will first of all register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are awesome, because there are no serious demands and everything is done at a relaxed, slow pace. Learning and having fun are the principal aims in the early stages and students who are having fun are inclined to learn much quicker and digest significantly more of what they are being told. Even Taekwondo masters began as naive newbies, so take that first step and you never know where you'll end up!

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

People just starting out Taekwondo don't have to stress excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, however they'll have to learn some basic ones to begin with and advance to more complicated "forms" as they move through the various belts (grades/dans). A "form" is indicated by particular aspects of Taekwondo including technique, stance and direction. Getting to grips with these techniques is a crucial part of mastering Taekwondo.

The Eight Basic Taekwondo Kicks

One of the main elements of Taekwondo is kicking, here is a small selection of the basic kicking moves: Push Kick, Axe Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Front Kick, Side Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Back Kick, Crescent Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To repulse the numerous kicks and hand attacks there are an equally diverse selection of "blocks" (Makgi). Held in various positions, they use the hands and different areas of the arm. Each type of attack calls for a specific kind of block, counter-attacking moves can be created by combining a block with another kick or punch. The main Taekwondo "blocks" (makgi) include: Low Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Nine Block, Palm Block, Upper Block, Single Forearm Block and Knife Hand Block.

Taekwondo Belts

The belt and ranking structure can get rather bewildering in Taekwondo as there's no standardized system throughout the different Taekwondo disciplines. Likenesses can be found however, and normally there are 2 separate belt groups, denoted as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of grades in the junior group varies over the disciplines but is typically somewhere between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior groupings commonly has nine dans or belts.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks which are generally known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a range of different colours, so the ranks are easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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. Beginners in Dersingham starting out in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and advance through the colours until they achieve the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Dersingham are considered to be "black belt candidates" which involves them proceeding through a further nine ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt" status. Therefore, to put it simply, there are 3 primary groups in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior division comprise; 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 range from 1st to 9th Dan, a process which takes a considerable number of years. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Dersingham, Taekwondo Rankings Dersingham, Taekwondo Belt Order, Order of Belts in Taekwondo).

Safety Equipment

Contests regulated by British Taekwondo guidelines require various pieces of protective gear to be used, these include: a groin protector, shin protectors, a red or blue head guard, blue/red body armour, hand protectors, a mouth guard and forearm guards. This is important on account of the forceful kicking attacks being employed.