Taekwondo Lydney

While people of all ages in Lydney 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. Unless they are particularly fit and active, older adults may find it too physically taxing. People in Lydney who take up Taekwondo when they are young find it easy to continue when they get older. If you consider yourself among the less agile, you could try something like Tai Chi which is much softer.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its early beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul founded some new schools which they called "kwans", combining a number of martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, largely involves kicking manoeuvres, particularly fast kicking methods, spinning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks.

The total number of Taekwondo practitioners worldwide, now exceeds 60 million. Since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to give it a go, joining a local Lydney Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved. While nobody would expect you to get to Olympic standard, you can certainly be one of the best Taekwondo exponents in Lydney.

In these days of escalating violence, it is no surprise that people in places like Lydney are enrolling in self-defence training like Taekwondo to help them to feel safer and more secure in their local environment. The self-defence aspect is one of the primary factors of Taekwondo but it also promotes self-restraint and a deep respect for other people, which are characteristics that are frequently lacking in this modern age.

There's a very good likelihood that your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will never see the light of day in your day to day life, but it will unquestionably give you a secure feeling knowing that they're there should you need them.

Your First Lesson

If Taekwondo is not something that you've ever done previously, you will likely be curious about what you should expect from your very first lesson should you make up your mind to join. Different Taekwondo schools in the Lydney area have different thoughts on this but roughly; you will take part in a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up, you will do some technical training, you'll learn some forms, you'll practice sparring methods and finally you will warm-down to get your body back into a state of relaxation again.

Everyone who's a registered member of a Taekwondo class in Lydney or any place else in the UK, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the regulating body of the sport. You can get lots of facts about clubs and members, first aid, coaches and referees, beginning a new Taekwondo club, coaching courses, health and safety, safeguarding and equality, events, news, and more, by popping along to British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Taekwondo forms (also referred to as Poomse or patterns) are distinguished by specific activities such as technique, direction and stance. From the start of your Taekwondo adventure you will get to grips with a few of the standard forms, and in order to move through the levels (belts) you'll need to master some more complex ones.

Beginners Classes

Trainees setting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Lydney will at first sign up for a beginners class. Beginners classes are awesome, since there is no pressure and everything's done at a slow, casual pace. Learning and having fun are the key goals at first and students who are having a good time have a tendency to learn a lot faster and absorb considerably more of what they are being shown. Even Taekwondo masters started off as clueless novices, so take that very first step and who knows where you'll finish up!

Taekwondo Tournaments

Taekwondo tournaments and competitions are staged internationally in all of the various styles. There is normally not a whole lot of hard contact but breaking, patterns and sparring. Olympic and World Taekwondo tournaments consist only of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) contests specific hand attacks are allowed to the head. Other bodies stage multi-discipline contests.

Safety Gear

Safety gear such as a groin protector, hand protectors, a blue or red head guard, a mouth guard, shin pads, a red or blue trunk guard (hogu) and forearm guards have to be worn in all matches controlled by British Taekwondo. Protection from injuries is paramount due to the powerful kicking that is part and parcel of this sport.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

With there being various different types of Taekwondo there has never been any uniform arrangement for allocating belts (grades). What exists however is quite similar and consists of two belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groupings is split into ranks, eight to twelve colours in the case of juniors and 9 for seniors.

In the UK there are a sequence of ranks in Taekwondo that are known as "Kup". The lowest is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st 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, 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 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo newbies in Lydney will start out with, they can then proceed through the different colours, finally achieving the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which will probably take around three to four years of dedication.

After this training regime has been successfully completed, Lydney Taekwondo students become "black belt candidates", and they must then progress through an additional nine ranks if they're to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which is the supreme accolade in this sport. So, Junior, Senior and Black Belts are the three principal sections in the Taekwondo belt order. 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 training and dedication.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

You'll no doubt be fascinated to discover exactly what type of benefits might be obtained by taking part in Lydney Taekwondo sessions and engaging 100% in its activities. You may expect to: Empower your mind and body through accelerated mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Better discipline and willpower by extensively training your mind and body in the principles and tactics of Taekwondo, Supercharge stamina, flexibility and agility by way of intensive cardiovascular exertion, Boost confidence by helping you to take control of your life and succeed, Help with self-defence strategies by helping you to recognize situations where self-defence may be required, and enabling you to control these kinds of situations to your advantage, Improve self-esteem and concentration by raising your physical and mental health, Lower stress and anxiety by doing deep breathing exercises.