Taekwondo East Grinstead

It needs to be asserted that Taekwondo can be very physically challenging, which might intimidate the less agile and more elderly folks in East Grinstead from taking this up. To be truthful, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are children and younger people, but certainly older individuals who're in great physical health can easily be involved and benefit considerably from this activity.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its origins in Korea in 1945. In Seoul, a group of Korean martial arts devotees founded some schools which they called "kwans", practicing a mix of martial arts techniques. In Taekwondo the emphasis is on kicking, in particular head-height kicks, jumping/spinning kicks and fast kicking methods. Now East Grinstead Taekwondo classes abide by this tradition.

With more than 60 million individuals taking part in Taekwondo instruction all over the world, this has unquestionably become a popular pastime, and if you really master the sport you may possibly one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been a part since the 2000 Sydney Games.

It seems that the most appealing aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. And its not surprising that this is on people's list of priorities when you consider the rising levels of violence seen these days in town and city centres throught the United Kingdom. However, exercising self-restraint and a respect for others goes hand in hand with the self-defence principles of Taekwondo.

While it is good to know that you're able to defend yourself any time you need to, you should be hoping that you never need to do this outside of your local Taekwondo club environment.

Your First Lesson

If you have never had a go at Taekwondo before, you could be a bit concerned as to what should be expected on your very first class. This may vary from school to school but will generally consist of all or some of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, some practical training involving learning some stances, hand attacks, kicks and blocks, learning a few forms (or Poomse), a quick introduction to sparring which will include movement, timing and attack timing, and lastly a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

British Taekwondo is the regulating body of the sport within the British Isles, and membership of this organization is mandatory if you would like to join any Taekwondo class in East Grinstead or nearby. By exploring the official British Taekwondo website you will be able to find info regarding safe practices, first aid, beginning a new club, coaches and referees, coaching courses, clubs and members, equality and safeguarding, events, news, and lots more Taekwondo related facts.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

You will no doubt be fascinated to find out about precisely what kind of benefits could be achieved by taking part in East Grinstead Taekwondo sessions and partaking 100% in its practices. You can expect that you will: Develop self-discipline by methodically schooling your body and mind in the techniques and concepts of Taekwondo, Increase feelings of self-esteem by raising both physical and mental health, Improve agility, flexibility and stamina by means of strenuous cardiovascular exertion, Lessen stress and anxiety with controlled breathing, Teach self-defence by coaching you to identify occasions where self-defence may be required, and empowering you to turn these kinds of scenarios in your favour, Toughen up your mind and body via improved mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Build up confidence by encouraging you to take control of your life and succeed.

Some Taekwondo Kicks

Kicks play a major role in Taekwondo, here are a handful of the more simple ones: Roundhouse Kick, Axe Kick, Push Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Back Kick, Crescent Kick, Front Kick, Side Kick. Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", which are used to repulse the different attacks, are known as Makgi. Held in various positions, they employ the hands and different parts of the arm. Each form of attack necessitates a specific type of block, counter-attacks can be produced by combining a block with another kick or punch. The key Taekwondo "blocks" include: Rising Block, Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Palm Block, Nine Block, Double Forearm Block and Low Block.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

Competitions are a significant element of the overall Taekwondo experience, and all of the diverse styles across the world stage tournaments and competitions where Taekwondo masters get together to battle it out. Hard contact is rarely allowed in any of these tournaments which primarily incorporate sparring, patterns and breaking. Sparring only is allowed in Olympic and WT tournaments, while some hand attacks are tolerated in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) events.

Beginners Classes

As with any sport or activity we have to start someplace, and Taekwondo is no different. Even the best East Grinstead Taekwondo masters were complete novices at one time. So, what should you be expecting as a total beginner at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its enrollees sufficient instruction to teach them the fundamentals and enable them to develop confidence as they move forward. A perfect beginners class should be fun as well as educational, when people are having fun they are more invested and will learn much faster.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

With there being a number of styles of Taekwondo there has never really been any standard arrangement for assigning belts (grades). What exists however is quite similar and is made up of a couple of belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groups is split into ranks, eight to twelve colours for juniors and nine "blacks" for the seniors.

In the UK there are a series of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo which are generally known as "Kup". The lowest is Tenth Kup and the highest rank is First Kup. If you're eager to know the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a range of different colours i.e. 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in East Grinstead will begin with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and progress through the colours until they reach the First Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe)

Taekwondo students in East Grinstead are considered as "black belt candidates" after they have worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then have to proceed through a further nine ranks (called Dans) if they want to achieve the consummate accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. So, putting it simply, there are 3 principal divisions in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior, Senior and Black Belts. 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 are; 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 which will take many years. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts East Grinstead, Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Ranks East Grinstead).

Summary

Precisely what you get from Taekwondo will be directly related to what you invest in it (as is true of life in general). The majority of you will only wish to improve your fitness levels, meet different people and make new friends, some might wish to take part in competitions or tournaments or possibly even the Olympic Games. But remember, we can't all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.