Taekwondo Ely

Because Taekwondo has fairly high physical requirements, it's possibly more suitable for the younger people of Ely. That's not to say that older individuals cannot be involved in this activity, but simply that there may be alternative martial arts that are more suitable for the less nimble among us. Tai Chi would be a perfect example.

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

Taekwondo now has over 60 million practitioners worldwide and has become very popular in Ely and throughout the UK. Since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to give it a go, joining a local Ely Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved. While the chances of you getting to Olympic standard are pretty slim, there is no reason at all why you cannot master this thrilling martial art.

For a lot of folks in Ely, it's 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 really is little surprise that this sits high on people's priority lists. It is a key factor of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your capability to defend yourself while at the same time learning to respect those around you and practice self-restraint.

Your newly learned Taekwondo skills will more than likely never have to be proven outside the monitored atmosphere of a dedicated Taekwondo class, however knowing that you've got them will instill you with self-confidence.

What to Expect From Your First Class

If you have booked your first class but have never done Taekwondo before, you may be wondering what to expect. There may be variations to the following, depending on which Ely Taekwondo school you attend, but you can roughly expect; A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, some technical training which will involve learning some blocking techniques, hand attacks, stances and kicks, some work on forms or patterns, a look at sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to relax and stretch muscles.

If you would like to join a Taekwondo class in Ely, you'll also have to register with the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You'll be able to learn about members and clubs, news, launching a new club, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, events, first aid, health and safety, referees and coaching, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, or find out the latest news reports on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Beginners Taekwondo Ely

As with any activity or sport we've got to begin someplace, and Taekwondo is not any different. Even the elite Ely Taekwondo masters were complete newbies at one time. So, what should you be expecting as a total novice at Taekwondo? Beginner classes should give their pupils enough coaching to give them the basics and enable them to build self-confidence as they move forward. The perfect beginners class must be enjoyable as well as educational, when students are having fun they are a lot more committed and are going to learn quicker.

Taekwondo Belts

In Tae kwon do there's not really any uniformity in relation to belts and ranking. It's all depending on what style you're considering, as there are such a diversity of Taekwondo rules and styles. However, they are typically separated into two groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The colour/junior rankings range from white to red, with from 8 to 12 ranks, while the black/senior belts typically have 9 grades.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks (belts) that are generally known as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, like the vast majority of the martial arts is portrayed by a number of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, namely 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 Ely will commence with, they'll then proceed through the different colours, eventually reaching the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which will probably take around three to four years of lessons and training.

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Ely become "black belt candidates" which sees them progressing through an additional 9 ranks (Dans) right up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt" status. Therefore, the bottom line is, there are three principal groups in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

In all events, matches and competitions taking place under the auspices of British Taekwondo, safety equipment like a gum shield, forearm guards, red/blue trunk armour (hogu), hand protectors, a red/blue head protector, a groin guard and shin pads is obligatory. The kicking moves employed in Taekwondo may cause serious injuries and this helps to make this activity less hazardous for its competitors.

In Summary

We can practically guarantee that if you take up Taekwondo you are going to make more friends, gain self-confidence and improve your levels of fitness. If that is all you take away from it, then that is amazing, and you can call it a success! We aren't all striving to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you who are, need to start with the first step. Good luck on your journey! 👊