Taekwondo Halesworth

It needs to be asserted that Taekwondo can be quite physically challenging, which might put off the older and less agile folks in Halesworth from getting involved. To be truthful, the most common people participating in Taekwondo classes are children and younger people, but unquestionably older individuals who are in good physical condition can easily get involved and get benefits from this sport.

With its origins in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts and involves mostly high-kicking movements such as turning/jumping kicks, fast kicking techniques and head-height kicks. It started when schools called "kwans" were set up by a group of Korean martial artists in Seoul, South Korea.

Taekwondo has grown to become extremely popular in Halesworth and all across the globe, with over sixty million practitioners worldwide. Joining a local Halesworth Taekwondo club or class is a good way to become involved with this activity which has even been included in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. While you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you cannot become a master of this challenging martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

In these times of increasing violence, it is no surprise that people in locations like Halesworth are enrolling in self-defence classes like Taekwondo to help them feel safer in their everyday life. The self-defence aspect is one of the key factors of Taekwondo but at the same time it also teaches self-restraint and a respect for other people, which are qualities that are frequently lacking in modern day life.

Whilst it will give you peace of mind knowing that you have such self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the chances are you will never be required to use them outside of a dedicated Taekwondo class.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

Different Taekwondo clubs in the Halesworth area will have different thoughts on what learners should cover on their very first class, but to give you a notion of what you can expect most first Taekwondo lessons will include things like a warm-up, some sparring, learning basic Poomse (forms), an introduction to kicks, blocks, hand attacks and stances (technical training) and a final warm-down to stretch tired muscles and get the body back to a state of harmony.

The UK regulating body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you wish to sign up to Taekwondo club in Halesworth, you'll also be required to register with this respected organization. You can get plenty of details about safe practices, events, beginning a new Taekwondo club, first aid, coaching courses, coaches and competition referees, members and clubs, safeguarding and equality, news, and more, by exploring the British Taekwondo website.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

The benefits that may be acquired by participating in Taekwondo classes in Halesworth are countless, amongst the most noteworthy are: Lower anxiety and stress with controlled breathing, Empower your mind and body through accelerated mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Supercharge stamina, agility and flexibility by means of intensive cardiovascular exertion, Greater discipline by exhaustively training your mind and body in the techniques and principles of Taekwondo, Build confidence by encouraging you to succeed and to take control of your life, Increase feelings of self-esteem by sharpening your physical and mental fitness, Teach self-defence strategies by helping you to recognize circumstances in which self-defence may be needed, and enabling you to turn these situations to your advantage.

Safety Gear

British Taekwondo contests call for certain safety equipment to be worn to protect contenders from personal injury due to the vigorous kicks that occur. These safety products include: a mouth guard, hand protectors, a blue/red head protector, forearm protectors, shin pads, a blue/red trunk protector (hogu) and a groin guard.

Taekwondo for Beginners

Trainees starting out on their Taekwondo experience in Halesworth will first of all register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are fabulous, since there is not any pressure and everything is carried out at a slow, casual pace. Having fun while learning is the main goal to start with and trainees who are having fun have a tendency to learn much quicker and digest considerably more of what they are being told. Even Taekwondo masters started off as inexperienced novices, so take that first step and you never know where you'll end up!

The Popular Taekwondo Kicks

One of the main elements of Taekwondo is kicking, here is a selection of the basic kicks: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To stop and defend against an inbound Taekwondo attack, blocks (known as Makgi) are employed. Using the hand and parts of the arm, they are held in specific positions. Specific attacks necessitate particular blocks, but blocks can also be turned into counter-attacks by linking reciprocal punches or kicks. The principal "blocks" (makgi) include: Nine Block, Palm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Forearm Block, Low Block and Upper Block.

Competitions and Tournaments

There are a whole host of tournaments in Taekwondo involving all the diverse styles. They mostly involve patterns (forms), breaking and sparring with not much hard contact. ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) contests do not permit excessive contact but may permit hand attacks to be aimed at the head. World Taekwondo and Olympic contests allow only sparring. Multi-style competitions also take place.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

Since there are a number of disciplines of Taekwondo there has never been any standardized system for assigning belts (levels). What does exist is however relatively similar and is made up of 2 belt groupings "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groups is split into levels, eight to twelve colours in the case of juniors and nine for the seniors.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are symbolized by what generally known as "Kup". The top rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. If you're interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is portrayed 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. The 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo newbies in Halesworth will start out with, they'll then advance through the coloured belts, eventually earning the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will probably take approximately three to four years of training and lessons.

After this training has been successfully completed, Halesworth Taekwondo trainees advance to "black belt candidates", and they then need to progress through an additional nine Dans if they're to achieve the Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade. Therefore, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the three primary sections in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior division of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and involves many years of training and dedication.

In Conclusion

So, what are you hoping to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that is an excellent question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. Most participants will purely look to improve their fitness, gain more self-confidence and meet new people. We're definitely not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, you never know? 👊