Taekwondo Fair Oak

It must be asserted that Taekwondo can be quite physically demanding, which may discourage the less agile and more elderly folks in Fair Oak from getting involved. To be fair, the most common participants of Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but obviously older individuals who are in excellent physical health can easily get involved and get benefits from this sport.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul founded some schools which they called "kwans", merging many different martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was eventually called, largely entails kicking manoeuvres, especially fast kicking strategies, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks.

Popular all over the world Taekwondo now has over 60 million practitioners. This sport has even featured in the Olympic Games since 2000, and if you want to get involved, joining a local Fair Oak Taekwondo club or class is a good place to start. There is no reason why you cannot reach a high standard in this thrilling sport, even if you have no desire to compete in the Olympics.

For the people of Fair Oak who are keen on the idea of learning a martial art, a top priority is the aspect of self-defence. Considering that this is a central concept of Taekwondo, it's not difficult to see the appeal of this specific sport. With the added benefit of developing self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for others, enrolling in a local Fair Oak Taekwondo class would seem to be a no brainer.

Your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will more than likely never need to be tested outside of an organized Taekwondo class, however being aware that you have them will instill you with self-confidence.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

Different Taekwondo schools in the Fair Oak area will have different guidelines for what students should be covering on their very first lesson, however to give you an understanding of what you can expect most first Taekwondo lessons will involve a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning patterns (Poomse), an overview of blocking techniques, kicks, stances and hand attacks (technical training) and a warm-down to relax weary muscles and return the body to a state of harmony.

British Taekwondo is the governing body of the sport within Britain, and membership of this organisation is mandatory should you wish to join any Taekwondo class in Fair Oak or nearby. You will be able to find out about safe practices, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, news, first aid, events, launching a new Taekwondo club, referees and coaching, members and clubs, and more on the official British Taekwondo website, or find out the latest news reports on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Tournaments

There are a whole host of tournaments in Taekwondo involving all the different styles. They largely include sparring, patterns (forms) and breaking with little or no hard contact. International Taekwon-Do Federation competitions don't permit excessive contact but may permit hand attacks aimed at the head. World Taekwondo and Olympic tournaments only allow sparring. Multi-style contests are also held.

Safety Equipment

In all competitions, events and contests being staged under the supervision of British Taekwondo, safety gear like shin guards, forearm protectors, a gum shield, hand protectors, blue/red trunk armour, a groin protector and a red or blue head protector is mandatory. The kicking manoeuvres employed in Taekwondo can easily cause serious injuries and this preventative measure helps to make the activity much safer for its competitors.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

You'll no doubt be interested to find out about precisely what type of benefits may be obtained by attending Fair Oak Taekwondo sessions and partaking 100% in its activities. You could expect to: Augment flexibility, stamina and agility through intensive cardiovascular effort, Toughen up your body and mind via accelerated mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Better discipline by methodically educating your body and mind in the concepts and techniques of Taekwondo, Boost confidence by motivating you to succeed and to take control of your life, Improve your self-esteem by raising both mental and physical fitness, Teach you self-defence techniques by helping you to recognise situations in which self-defence could be needed, and allowing you to turn these types of circumstances to your advantage, Reduces anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Forms are a pivotal part of Taekwondo and are important if you are going to master this thrilling activity. A few basic "forms" have to be learned at the start and more advanced forms have to be perfected so as to move through the various ranks. A Taekwondo form is characterized by a number of facets such as technique, direction and stance.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Students starting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Fair Oak will first of all sign up for a beginners class. Beginners classes are awesome, as there's no pressure and everything's carried out at a relaxed, slow pace. Having fun whilst learning is the key aim at the start and students who are enjoying themselves have a tendency to learn much faster and digest more of what they are being told. Even Taekwondo masters started out as naive newbies, so take that first step and who knows where you'll finish up!

The Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is possibly best known for its fast-moving kicks, the following are some of the basic kicks you will learn as a beginner: Push Kick, Crescent Kick, Back Kick, Axe Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Front Kick, Side Kick, Hook or Whip Kick. Blocks: To divert and stop an inbound Taekwondo attack, "blocks" (called Makgi) are implemented. They are held in various positions and use the hands with different areas of the arm. Each and every "block" can be merged with a kick or punch to produce a counter-attacking move, and each one is appropriate for a specific attack. The principal "blocks" (makgi) in Taekwondo include: Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Rising Block and Palm Block.

Summary

Precisely what you get from Taekwondo will be proportional to what you invest in it (as applies with life in general). The majority of you will simply want to meet different people, improve your fitness levels and make new friends, some may aspire to move on to competitions or tournaments or maybe even the Olympics. But remember, we cannot all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.