Taekwondo Liphook

Taekwondo is typically much more physically demanding than for example Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty nimble and fit you may prefer to find something a little gentler to improve your fitness in Liphook. Younger children are clearly an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Liphook, with lots of fast paced movements going on and a great deal of high kicking.

Based primarily around high-kicking moves and manoeuvres like fast kicking styles, head-height kicks and turning/jumping kicks, Taekwondo was formulated from the practices of various martial arts, by a number of Seoul martial arts specialists in new schools called "Kwans" during the nineteen forties and fifties. These "Kwans" had the names Chungdo Kwan, Mooduk Kwan, Changmu Kwan, Songmu Kwan and Jido Kwan.

With over sixty million people engaged in Taekwondo sessions all around the globe, this has unquestionably become a popular pastime, and if you become really good at the sport you might even one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part ever since the 2000 Sydney Games.

Folks in Liphook take up Taekwondo for numerous reasons but it is the self-defence element that interests most. This is not a surprise when you consider the rising levels of violence seen in town and city centres these days. Learning to properly defend yourself whilst respecting others and exercising self-restraint is a key benefit of Taekwondo.

Whilst it will give you peace of mind being aware that you have those self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the likelihood is you will never be required to use them outside of an organized Taekwondo class.

Your First Class

Different Taekwondo clubs in and around Liphook will have different guidelines for what students should be covering on their first class, but to give you an understanding of what you can expect most first Taekwondo classes will involve a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning simple forms (Poomse), an overview of stances, hand attacks, kicks and blocking techniques (technical training) and a warm-down to relax weary muscles and get the body back to a state of equilibrium.

British Taekwondo is the official governing body of the sport within Britain, and membership of this organisation is compulsory if you wish to sign up with any Taekwondo class in Liphook or nearby. You will be able to find plenty of facts about news, first aid, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, coaches and competition referees, clubs and members, events, establishing a new club, health and safety, and more, by heading to the British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

Since there are various kinds of Taekwondo there's never been any recognised arrangement for assigning belts (grades). What does exist however is fairly similar and is made up of a couple of belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groups is divided into ranks, eight to twelve colours in the case of juniors and nine "blacks" for seniors.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are called "Kup". The top rank is First Kup and the lowest rank is Tenth Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, like the vast majority of the martial arts is denoted by a number of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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. Students in Liphook getting started in Taekwondo will begin with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and progress through the colours until they reach the 1st Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe).

Taekwondo students in Liphook become "black belt candidates" after they have successfully completed this process, and they'll then be faced with progressing through another nine ranks (or Dans) if they want to achieve the consummate accolade Taekwondo Black Belt. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into three groupings; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. 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 will involve many years of training and dedication.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Mastering Taekwondo calls for getting to grips with many techniques and disciplines and one of the key parts of Taekwondo is its forms (also called Poomse or patterns). These are sequences of technique, direction and stance which have to be mastered in order for participants to move through the different dans (grades/belts).

Beginners Taekwondo Liphook

Even the top exponents of Taekwondo in Liphook set out as rookies, so there is no disgrace in being a total beginner at Tae kwon do, or in fact any other activity. The aim of a Taekwondo beginner class is to provide a few of the basics, raise self-confidence and build a firm base moving forward. Most importantly of all is that it needs to be enjoyable, trainees having a good time will learn quicker and be better invested.

Benefits to be Gained From Taekwondo

There are needless to say, plenty of benefits to be had from participating in Taekwondo, and the following are just an idea of the ones that may be interesting for you: Teach self-defence by helping you identify instances where self-defence could be necessary, and allowing you to turn such scenarios in your favour, Beef up your confidence by encouraging you to succeed and to take control of your life, Increase concentration and self-esteem by elevating your physical and mental health, Reduces anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Strengthen your body and mind via increased mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Improve agility, stamina and flexibility by means of strenuous cardiovascular work-outs, Greater discipline and willpower by methodically schooling your mind and body in the tactics and concepts of Taekwondo.

Summary

What you get out of Taekwondo are going to be directly related to what you put into it (as applies with life on the whole). Most of you will just wish to make new friends, improve your fitness levels and meet different people, some may aspire to progress to competitions or tournaments or perhaps even the Olympic Games. But bear in mind, we can't all end up being a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.