Taekwondo Litherland

While people of all ages in Litherland can of course participate in Taekwondo, it is particularly suited to the younger generation since it can be quite physically demanding, children can especially benefit from its teachings of self-discipline and the respect of others. Older adults who are not all that fit and active might find it a tad too taxing. Carrying their Taekwondo experience through into older adulthood should not however be a problem for those who start when they are younger. The less agile of you might consider something softer like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea in 1945. In Seoul, a group of Korean martial arts enthusiasts set up some new schools which they named "kwans", practicing a blend of martial arts techniques. This eventually became known as Taekwondo and the main focus of the discipline was on kicking manoeuvres, in particular fast kicking methods, jumping/spinning kicks and head-height kicks. Now Litherland Taekwondo classes stick to this tradition.

Nowadays an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than 60 million practitioners all over the world, and while you might not have any ambitions to be an Olympic Games athlete, you're still able to register for a Taekwondo class or club to master what will undoubtedly turn out to be a fascinating and rewarding pastime.

People in Litherland take up Taekwondo for many reasons but it is the self-defence aspect that appeals to most. This is not hard to believe when you take into account the high levels of violence experienced in town and city centres on a daily basis. 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.

There's a fairly decent likelihood that your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will never need to be used in your everyday life, but it will undoubtedly give you self-confidence knowing that they are there should you need them.

Your First Lesson

If you have not done Taekwondo before, you may be interested to find out what is going to happen on your first class. The following will give you a good idea, but this may vary from school to school. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase your heart rate and reduce stiffness in the muscles, some technical training which will involve learning some hand attacks, blocking techniques, stances and kicks, learning some Poomse (or forms), a look at sparring including good timing, precise movement and the accurate targeting of attacks, and finally a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping,

Everyone who's a member of a Taekwondo class in Litherland or anywhere else in the United Kingdom, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the official regulating body of the sport. By viewing British Taekwondo's website you'll be able to discover info regarding members and clubs, starting a new club, events, safe practices, first aid, news, coaches and tournament referees, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, and many more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Kicks

One of the main elements of Taekwondo is kicking, listed here is a small selection of the basic kicks: Crescent Kick, Back Kick, Side Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Front Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Push Kick, Axe Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To repulse the many hand attacks and kicks there are an equally diverse selection of "blocks". Employing the hand and areas of the arm, they are held in diverse positions. Every block can be coordinated with a kick or punch to produce a counter-attacking movement, and each is appropriate for a certain type of attack. The primary "blocks" in Taekwondo include: Rising Block, Low Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Upper Block, Palm Block, Double Forearm Block and Nine Block.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Taekwondo forms (also known as Poomse or patterns) are categorized by certain elements such as technique, direction and stance. From the start of your Taekwondo experience you'll get to grips with some of the important forms, and so as to progress through the rankings (belts) you'll have to learn some more technical ones.

Taekwondo Belts

Since there are various different disciplines of Taekwondo there's never really been any recognised arrangement for allocating belts (promotion). What does exist however is quite similar and involves two belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groups is divided into ranks, eight to twelve colours for juniors and 9 "blacks" for the seniors.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

Taekwondo competitions and tournaments are staged internationally in all the diverse styles. There is usually not a whole lot of hard contact but patterns (forms), breaking and sparring. Olympic and WT (World Taekwondo) contests consist only of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation tournaments certain hand attacks are permitted to the head. Some other organizations hold multi-discipline competitions.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

With any sport or activity we've got to begin someplace, and Taekwondo is just the same. Even the the most brilliant Litherland Taekwondo masters were total novices at one point. So, exactly what can you expect as a complete beginner at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its enrollees ample coaching to teach them the basics and allow them to develop self-confidence as they move forward. The ideal beginners class ought to be enjoyable as well as educational, when folks are having fun they're a lot more engrossed and are going to learn faster.