Taekwondo Henfield

While not wanting to discourage any particular age group, it has to be said that Taekwondo is more suitable for younger people in Henfield, being rather physically demanding. Its encouragement of self-discipline and respect for others make it especially appropriate for children. Unless they are particularly active and fit, seniors might find it too physically challenging. People in Henfield who take up Taekwondo when they are young find it simple to continue when they become older. The less nimble of you might find that Tai Chi which is a bit softer, is more suitable.

Based mostly around high-kicking manoeuvres and moves like head-height kicks, rapid kicking techniques and jumping/spinning kicks, Taekwondo was developed from the practices of different martial arts, by a number of Seoul martial arts experts in new schools called "Kwans" during the 1940's and 1950's. These "Kwans" were given the names Changmu Kwan, Mooduk Kwan, Chungdo Kwan, Jido Kwan and Songmu Kwan.

With over 60 million practitioners worldwide and quite a few in Henfield, Taekwondo has become very popular. If you want to get involved in this activity, which is now an Olympic sport, joining a Taekwondo club or class in Henfield 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 men, women and children of Henfield who are keen on the idea of learning a martial art, a top priority is the element of self-defence. As this is an important principle of Taekwondo, it isn't difficult to see the attraction of this particular sport. With the added benefit of developing self-restraint and having a deep respect for other people, signing up for a local Henfield Taekwondo class would seem to be a no brainer.

While its good to know that you are able to defend yourself any time you need to, you should be hoping that you never need to test this outside of your local Taekwondo club environment.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you've never tried Taekwondo previously, you might be somewhat anxious as to what you can expect on your first class. This can vary from school to school but will normally involve some or all of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen up muscles, some technical training involving learning some hand attacks, kicks, stances and blocking techniques, learning some Poomse (forms), a quick introduction to sparring including the timing of attacks, timing and movement, and lastly a warm down to relax and stretch tired muscles.

The UK's official governing body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you wish to sign up with a Taekwondo class in Henfield, you will also be required to register with this organization. You can find loads of info on beginning a new Taekwondo club, news, safe practices, equality and safeguarding, events, first aid, members and clubs, coaching courses, coaches and tournament referees, and more, by checking out British Taekwondo's official website.

Some Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the basic Taekwondo kicks that you'll master initially include: Side Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Back Kick, Push Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Axe Kick, Front Kick, Crescent Kick. Blocks: To defend against and stop an inbound attack, "blocks" (called Makgi) are employed. They're held in various positions and enlist the hand with different parts of the arm. Specific attacks necessitate particular "blocks", but "blocks" can also be turned into counter-attacks by the combination of retaliatory kicks or punches. The key Taekwondo "blocks" (makgi) include: Double Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Rising Block, Nine Block, Upper Block, Palm Block, Knife Hand Block and Low Block.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

Since there are a number of types of Taekwondo there's never been any standardized system for assigning belts (levels). What exists however is pretty similar and comprises two belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groupings is split into ranks, eight to twelve colours for juniors and 9 for seniors.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what are referred to as "Kup". The highest rank is First Kup and the lowest (beginners) is Tenth Kup. If you're interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it is as follows, and is portrayed by a number of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with "in-between" 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 White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo beginners in Henfield will commence with, they can then proceed through the different colours, eventually attaining the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which will probably take approximately 3-4 years.

Taekwondo students in Henfield are called "black belt candidates" once they've worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then be faced with moving through another 9 ranks (called Dans) if they plan to achieve the supreme accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. So, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the three primary groupings 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 takes a number of years to successfully progress through.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Taekwondo forms (also known as patterns or Poomse) are characterized by particular elements like direction, technique and stance. From the start you will learn some of the basic forms, and in order to move through the levels (belts) you will have to learn some more complicated ones.

Final Thoughts

So, what do you want from Taekwondo? Well, that's a good question, and the answer to that will be different for individual people. Most participants will just wish to improve their fitness levels, meet new people and gain more self-confidence. We are certainly not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though perhaps you will, you never know? 👊