Taekwondo Liskeard

Because Taekwondo has pretty high physical requirements, it is possibly more suited to the younger generation in Liskeard. That isn't to say that older individuals cannot participate in this particular activity, but just that there might be other martial arts that are more suitable for the less agile of us. Tai Chi would be a perfect illustration.

With its root beginnings in 1940's Korea, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts and entails mainly kicking moves such as spinning/jumping kicks, head-height kicks and fast kicking techniques. It began when schools known as "kwans" were founded by a group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

With over 60 million fitness enthusiasts taking part in Taekwondo sessions all around the globe, this has definitely become an extremely popular activity, and if you really master the martial art you may possibly one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it has been a part ever since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

People in Liskeard take up Taekwondo for many reasons but it is the self-defence aspect that appeals to most. This is not surprising when you consider the rising levels of violence seen in town and city centres these days. The ability to defend yourself and at the same time exercising self-restraint and a respect for others is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo.

Whilst it will give you peace of mind being aware that you have such self-defence skills in your locker, the odds are that you will never need to use them outside the controlled setting of a dedicated Taekwondo class.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If Taekwondo is not a sport that you've ever tried previously, you'll probably be curious about what you should be expecting from your very first lesson should you decide to sign up. Different Taekwondo schools in Liskeard have different ideas about this but in brief; you will take part in a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up, you'll do a certain amount of technical training, you'll learn some forms, you'll practice sparring tactics and finally you'll warm-down to get your body back into a relaxed state once again.

If you wish to join a Taekwondo club in Liskeard, you will also have to become a member of the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. By going to British Taekwondo's official website you'll be able to find information on coaching courses, safe practices, clubs and members, equality and safeguarding, events, coaches and referees, news, first aid, starting a new club, and many more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Belts

The belt and ranking system can get a bit confusing in Taekwondo since there's no recognised structure throughout the different Taekwondo styles. Parallels do exist however, and normally there are 2 separate belt groups, denoted as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of grades in the junior groupings varies across the disciplines but is commonly between 8 and 12 belts, while the senior section usually has 9 belts or dans.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks which are referred to as "Kup", these ranks range from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). If you're interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a number of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with "in-between" 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 White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo newbies in Liskeard will begin with, they'll then progress through the different colours, finally earning the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which can take approximately three to four years of dedicated training.

After this training has been accomplished, Liskeard Taekwondo trainees become "black belt candidates", and they then need to progress through an additional nine ranks if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade in this sport. Therefore, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the 3 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 group 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 group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and involves many years of dedicated training. (Tags: Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Promotion Liskeard, Taekwondo Belts Liskeard).

Taekwondo - The Benefits

There are needless to say, many benefits to be gained from taking part in Taekwondo, and listed here are just a few that could be attractive to you: Improve feelings of self-esteem by raising your physical and mental fitness, Beef up confidence by inspiring you to take control of your life and succeed, Improve agility, stamina and flexibility by means of intense cardiovascular exertion, Help with self-defence tactics by helping you to realize occasions in which self-defence could be necessary, and allowing you to turn such circumstances in your favour, Toughen up your body and mind by means of improved mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Reduce stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Greater discipline by exhaustively schooling your mind and body in the doctrines and strategies of Taekwondo.

Safety Gear

British Taekwondo competitions call for specific safety equipment to be worn to safeguard competitors from being injured due to the vigorous kicks that are used. These safety solutions include: shin pads, a mouth guard, a blue or red head guard, a groin protector, red or blue trunk armour, forearm protectors and hand guards.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Mastering Taekwondo necessitates getting to grips with many disciplines and techniques and one of the key aspects of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as Poomse or patterns). These are types of technique, direction and stance which need to be mastered in order for students to progress through the different dans (belts/grades).

The Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are loads of different Taekwondo kicking techniques, here are just a handful of them: Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", which are used to repulse the different attacking movements, are called Makgi. Held in various positions, they engage the hand and parts of the arm. Each kind of attack calls for a particular kind of block, counter-attacking manoeuvres can be created by integrating a block with a retaliatory kick or punch. The most used "blocks" in Taekwondo include: Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Nine Block, Palm Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Single Forearm Block, Rising Block and Double Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

A regular Taekwondo tournament incorporates sparring, breaking and patterns, where the Olympics is concerned only sparring is included. With that being said there can also be some special categories in particular tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT (World Taekwondo) competitions are solely soft-contact events, whilst International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) competitions allow some hand attacks to be aimed at the head. There are in addition several multi-discipline competitions.

Conclusion

So, what do you want from doing Taekwondo? Well, that is a good question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. The majority of participants will simply wish to meet new people, gain more self-confidence and improve their levels of fitness. We are certainly not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though maybe you will, you never know?