Taekwondo Littleport

Since Taekwondo has quite high physical demands, it's perhaps more suitable for the younger generation in Littleport. That's not to say that elderly people can't be involved in this activity, but merely that there may be other martial arts which are more appropriate for the less agile of us. Tai Chi would be a perfect example.

Taekwondo was only developed fairly recently in Korea (1945). A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some innovative new schools called "kwans", blending various martial arts techniques. The focus of the discipline was on kicking movements, in particular head kicks, spinning/jumping kicks and rapid kicking methods, and it was later given the name; Taekwondo, roughly meaning "the way of the foot and fist". Nowadays Littleport Taekwondo classes adhere to this tradition.

With more than sixty million individuals taking part in Taekwondo sessions all around the globe, this has definitely become a popular and worthwhile pastime, and if you really master the martial art you might possibly one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part since the 2000 Sydney Games.

For a lot of people in Littleport, it's the self-defence element of Taekwondo which has the most appeal. And in these times of increased violence, particularly in city and town centres, it's little surprise that this aspect features high up on people's list of priorities. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you are able to gain more confidence in your capability to defend yourself while at the same time learning to respect other people and practice self-restraint.

Such self-defence techniques may in due course prove to be useful in your everyday life, although it is more likely that you'll only be using them within a supervised class environment. However it's a wonderful feeling knowing the fact that you can always successfully defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Littleport Taekwondo Lesson

If you have made up your mind to learn Taekwondo and are heading to your first class, you will be wondering what will happen. There may be variations to the following, depending on which Littleport Taekwondo school you attend, but you can roughly expect; A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, some technical training covering some blocking techniques, kicks, stances and hand attacks, some work on forms or patterns (Poomse in Korean), a look at sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to stretch tired muscles and relax.

Taekwondo of course also has its own governing body, and in the United Kingdom it is British Taekwondo. Anyone wishing to join a Taekwondo club in Littleport must become a member of this organisation. You will be able to find loads of details on first aid, coaching courses, health and safety, clubs and members, referees and coaching, events, launching a new club, news, equality and safeguarding, and more, by popping along to British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Tournaments

A typical Taekwondo tournament incorporates sparring, breaking and patterns, in the Olympics only sparring is included. That being said there are also a few special categories in certain tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT tournaments are purely soft-contact affairs, whilst ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) tournaments permit some hand attacks to the head. There are also a number of multi-discipline contests.

Taekwondo for Beginners

It matters not who you are or what you're ranking is in the world of Taekwondo, at one time you were a total novice, knowing nothing and fearing failure. We have all started like this and are only able to learn and develop with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Littleport are the right place to start that learning process and to acquire the basics so you can gain confidence and proceed with your exciting Taekwondo experience. Most beginner classes are set up to be friendly and fun, providing a slow introduction to the basic Taekwondo values and developing a solid foundation moving forward.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

Because there are various different kinds of Taekwondo there's never been any standard system for allocating belts (ranks). What does exist however is relatively similar and is made up of a couple of belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each one of these groupings is divided into levels, eight to twelve colours in the case of juniors and 9 "blacks" for the seniors.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what generally known as "Kup". The highest rank is First Kup and the lowest rank is Tenth Kup. As with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a number of different colours, so that the ranks are easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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. Beginners in Littleport getting started in Taekwondo will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and progress through the coloured belts until they reach the 1st Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe).

As soon as this training regime has been successfully completed, Littleport Taekwondo trainees are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they must then progress through a further 9 ranks or Dans if they are to achieve the title of Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the ultimate accolade in this sport. Therefore, the bottom line is, there are 3 primary sections in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belts. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts are; 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 division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of dedication and training. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belts Littleport, Taekwondo Rankings Littleport).

In Summary

Precisely what you get out of Taekwondo are going to be directly related to what you invest in it (as is the case with life in general). The majority of you will simply want to make new friends, improve your fitness levels and meet different people, some might wish to take part in competitions or tournaments or possibly even the Olympics. But bear in mind, we cannot all end up being a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.