Taekwondo Maltby

Taekwondo is an ideal sport for children in Maltby, because it teaches self-discipline and a respect for others. Its more physical aspects make it more suited to younger people. Unless they are particularly fit and active, older adults may find it too physically taxing. Carrying their Taekwondo experience through into older adulthood should not however be a problem for those who start when they are younger. Something a bit softer like Tai Chi might be more suitable for the less agile of you.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently established of the martial arts, with its early beginnings in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul established some new schools which they called "kwans", incorporating a variety of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it ultimately became known as, largely involves kicking manoeuvres, particularly head kicks, jumping/turning kicks and rapid kicking strategies.

Taekwondo now has over 60 million practitioners worldwide and has become very popular in Maltby and throughout the UK. This sport has even featured in the Olympic Games since 2000, and if you want to get involved, joining a local Maltby Taekwondo club or class is a good place to start. While nobody would expect you to get to Olympic standard, you can certainly be one of the best Taekwondo exponents in Maltby.

In these times of increasing violence, it is little surprise that people in areas like Maltby are taking up self-defence training like Taekwondo to help them feel safer and more secure in their local environment. The self-defence aspect is one of the primary factors of Taekwondo but it also encourages self-restraint and a deep respect for others around us, which are traits that are largely missing in this modern age.

With any luck, outside your local Taekwondo club environment, you'll never need to try out your newly discovered techniques to defend yourself.

What to Expect From Your First Class

Different Taekwondo clubs in the Maltby area will have different guidelines for what students should cover on their initial class, but to give you a concept of what you should expect most initial Taekwondo classes will include things like a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning Poomse (forms), a brief introduction to kicks, stances, blocking techniques and hand attacks (technical training) and a warm-down to stretch tired muscles and get the body back to a state of equilibrium.

The body regulating Taekwondo in Britain is British Taekwondo and any person wanting to join a Taekwondo club in Maltby must also become a member of British Taekwondo. You can find lots of info regarding first aid, coaches and competition referees, beginning a new Taekwondo club, safe practices, events, news, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, members and clubs, and more, by popping along to British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Beginners in Taekwondo do not need to fret excessively about forms (Poomse, patterns) in the early days, but they will have to familiarise themselves with some important ones to start with and move on to more complicated "forms" as they move through the various belts (grades/dans). A form is denoted by certain aspects of Taekwondo including direction, technique and stance. Learning these sequences is an important part of mastering Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

When it comes to ranking, promotion and belts there isn't actually any standardization in Taekwondo, as there are various styles of Taekwondo which each have their own system in place. There are however parallels and they typically comprise a couple of groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" symbolized by coloured and black belts respectively, . The senior grades typically have nine grades and the junior, between 8 and 12 levels.

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

There are an array of competitions in Taekwondo involving all the diverse styles. They mainly involve sparring, breaking and patterns with very little hard contact. ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) competitions don't allow disproportionate contact but sometimes permit hand attacks aimed at the head. WT (World Taekwondo) and Olympic contests only allow sparring. Multi-style competitions also take place.

Safety Equipment

British Taekwondo competitions require certain safety gear to be worn to safeguard competitors from injury as a result of the powerful kicks that are used. These safety solutions include: a gum shield, shin pads, forearm guards, hand guards, a red/blue head guard, a groin protector and a red/blue trunk guard (hogu).