Taekwondo Fort William

It has to be asserted that Taekwondo can be fairly demanding physically, which may put off the less nimble and more elderly folks in Fort William from getting involved. To be truthful, the most common participants of Taekwondo classes are children and younger people, but obviously older individuals who're in good physical condition can easily take part and benefit considerably from this activity.

With its origins in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts and consists of mainly kicking movements such as rapid kicking methods, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks. It began when schools called "kwans" were founded by a group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Taekwondo has become really popular in Fort William and all across the globe, with over sixty million practitioners worldwide. Becoming a member of a local Fort William Taekwondo class or club is a good way to become involved with this sporting activity which has even been included in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. Although you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you should not become a maestro of this intriguing martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

Whilst there's much to be gained by doing Taekwondo, it is the self-defence aspect that most Fort William people are interested in. And its no great surprise that this features highly on people's list of priorities when you consider the ever rising incidence of violence seen these days in city and town centres throughout Britain. Learning to properly defend yourself whilst exercising self-restraint and respect for others is a key benefit of Taekwondo.

Your eagerly learned Taekwondo skills will more than likely never have to be proven outside the monitored environment of an organized Taekwondo class, however being aware that you've got them will give you peace of mind.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you've made up your mind to learn Taekwondo and are heading to your first class, you'll be curious as to what will happen. This may vary subject to which Fort William school you go to, but will generally include the following. A warm up lasting 15-20 minutes, some technical training comprising some kicks, hand attacks, blocking techniques and stances, an introduction to forms or patterns, a look at sparring including timing, movement and the targeting of attacks, and to finish off a warm down to stretch tired muscles and relax.

Taekwondo of course also has its own governing body, and in the United Kingdom it is British Taekwondo. Anybody wishing to sign up with a Taekwondo club in Fort William has to become a member of this organisation. You'll be able to learn about starting a new club, news, equality and safeguarding, events, coaches and referees, first aid, coaching courses, members and clubs, health and safety, and more on the British Taekwondo website, or get the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is perhaps most recognized for its fast-moving kicking, here are some of the basic kicks you will learn as a beginner: Crescent Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Front Kick, Side Kick, Push Kick, Back Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Axe Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To stop and avert an inbound Taekwondo attack, "blocks" (called Makgi) are employed. They're held in specific positions and use the hand with different areas of the arm. Certain attacks require specified blocks, but blocks can also be transformed into counter-attacks by combining reciprocal kicks or punches. The main "blocks" (makgi) include: Double Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Upper Block, Palm Block, Rising Block, Single Forearm Block and Double Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

In Taekwondo there's not really any kind of standardisation in relation to belts and grades. It all hinges on what style you happen to be looking at, since there are such a lot of Taekwondo styles. However, they're generally separated into two groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour rankings consist of white to red, with anything from eight to twelve levels, while the black/senior belts normally have 9 rankings.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo that are 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 portrayed by a number of different colours i.e. 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 Fort William will start off with, they'll then progress through the coloured belts, eventually attaining the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which can take approximately three to four years of dedicated training.

Taekwondo trainees in Fort William are considered as "black belt candidates" after they've succeeded with this challenge, and they will then have to move through a further nine ranks (Dans) if they aspire to achieve the consummate accolade Taekwondo Black Belt. Therefore, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the 3 primary divisions in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. 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 group 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 that will take many years. (Tags: Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Rankings Fort William, Taekwondo Belts Fort William, Taekwondo Belt Order).