Taekwondo Eastwood

Since Taekwondo has fairly high physical demands, it's possibly more suitable for the younger people of Eastwood. That's not to say that older people cannot take part in this activity, but simply that there might be alternative martial arts that are more appropriate for the less nimble among us. Tai Chi would be a perfect illustration.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily comprises high-kicking manoeuvres and moves, most notably head-height kicks, spinning/jumping kicks and rapid kicking strategies. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a group of martial arts specialists founded schools known as "kwans", which merged various martial arts techniques.

These days an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than 60 million practitioners worldwide, and whilst you may not have any aspirations to be an Olympic Games sportsman, you can still join a Taekwondo club or class to master what will no doubt prove to be a fascinating and fulfilling activity.

For a lot of folks in Eastwood, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that holds the most appeal. And in these times of ever increasing violence, especially in town and city centres, it is little surprise that this aspect features high up on people's list of priorities. It is a key element of Taekwondo that you are able to gain more confidence in your capacity to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect those around you and practice self-restraint.

Your eagerly learned Taekwondo skills will more than likely never need to be proven outside the regulated environment of an organised Taekwondo class, however knowing that you've got them will instill you with confidence.

Your First Class

If you have never tried Taekwondo previously, you may be a bit concerned as to what should be expected on your very first class. This may vary from club to club but will normally comprise all or some of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, a little practical training including learning some kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocks, discovering some forms (or Poomse), a quick introduction to sparring which will include timing, the timing of attacks and movement, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch tired muscles.

British Taekwondo is the governing body of the sport within Great Britain, and membership of this organisation is compulsory if you wish to sign up with any Taekwondo club in Eastwood or nearby. You can learn about safe practices, first aid, coaching courses, news, members and clubs, coaches and referees, equality and safeguarding, events, starting a new club, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, or get the latest news stories on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

British Taekwondo contests require specific safety gear to be worn to safeguard competitors from being injured due to the powerful kicks being used. These safety products include: a blue or red head guard, forearm guards, shin guards, hand guards, a groin protector, a mouth guard and red/blue trunk armour.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Because there are various kinds of Taekwondo there's never really been any uniform system for allocating belts (grades). What does exist is however pretty similar and comprises a couple of belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groupings is split into ranks, eight to twelve colours for juniors and nine for the seniors.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks which are generally known as "Kup", these ranks range from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). As with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a number of different colours, so that the ranks are easily recognised. 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. The 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo beginners in Eastwood will start out with, they will then advance through the different coloured belts, eventually attaining the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will take about 3-4 years of lessons and training.

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo students in Eastwood are considered to be "black belt candidates" which entails them proceeding through an additional nine ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt" status. Therefore, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the three primary sections in the Taekwondo belt order. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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 can take a number of years to progress through. (Tags: Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belts Eastwood, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Promotion Eastwood).

The Eight Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is well known for its wide variety of kicking techniques, over and above any other martial art. Listed here are just a selection: Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To repulse the many hand attacks and kicks there are a similarly diverse array of blocks. Employing the hand and parts of the arm, they are held in diverse positions. Each "block" can be merged with a punch or kick to create a counter-attacking movement, and each one is suitable for a certain type of attack. The key blocks (makgi) include: Palm Block, Low Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Double Forearm Block, Rising Block and Upper Block.

Beginners Classes

Even the top exponents of Taekwondo in Eastwood had to start as rookies, so there's no disgrace in being a complete beginner at Taekwondo, or in fact any other activity. The purpose of a Taekwondo beginners class is to teach just a few basics, raise confidence and build a firm base for the future. Most importantly of all is that it needs to be enjoyable, students having a great time are going to learn faster and be more invested.

In Conclusion

The benefits that you get out of Taekwondo are going to be directly related to what you put into it (as applies with life on the whole). Most of you will merely want to meet different people, make new friends and improve your fitness levels, some may wish to progress to tournaments and competitions or perhaps even the Olympic Games. But bear in mind, we cannot all end up being a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.