Taekwondo Mountsorrel

It should be said that Taekwondo can be quite demanding physically, which could discourage the older and less agile folks in Mountsorrel from taking this up. To be truthful, the most common participants of Taekwondo classes are kids and the younger generation, but certainly older individuals who're in great physical health can easily be involved and benefit considerably from this sport.

With its root beginnings in 1940's Korea, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently created of the martial arts and consists of primarily high-kicking movements such as jumping/turning kicks, rapid kicking strategies and head-height kicks. It began when schools called "kwans" were established by a bunch of Korean martial artists in Seoul, South Korea.

Since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity worldwide with some sixty million people or more regularly participating in classes. And it is by signing up to a Taekwondo club or class that you can commence your quest of learning this thrilling activity.

For the men, women and children of Mountsorrel who want to learn a martial art, a major priority is the aspect of self-defence. Considering that this is a pivotal concept of Taekwondo, it's not difficult to see the appeal of this unique sport. With the added reward of learning self-restraint and having a deep respect for others, getting involved in a local Mountsorrel Taekwondo class would seem to be an easy decision.

While its great to know they are there if you need them, hopefully you will never be required to use your newly discovered Taekwondo techniques for defending yourself outside of your local club surroundings.

What to Expect From Your First Class

If you have made up your mind to learn Taekwondo and are heading to your first class, you will be wondering what will happen. The following will give you an example, but this will vary depending on which Mountsorrel school you attend. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up, some technical training covering some hand attacks, kicks, blocking techniques and stances, learning your the basic forms or patterns, a few ideas on sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping.

British Taekwondo is the official governing body of the sport within the British Isles, and membership of this organisation is compulsory if you would like to join any Taekwondo class in Mountsorrel or nearby. You can find loads of information about health and safety, first aid, coaching courses, launching a new Taekwondo club, referees and coaching, members and clubs, events, safeguarding and equality, news, and more, by heading to British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Even the finest exponents of Taekwondo in Mountsorrel began their journey as newbies, so it's no shame to be a complete beginner at Taekwondo, or in fact any other activity. The purpose of a Taekwondo beginners class is to teach a few of the basics, raise self-confidence and develop a solid foundation moving forward. Most importantly of all is that it needs to be enjoyable, students having fun will learn quicker and be more engaged.

Taekwondo Kicks

There are a lot of different Taekwondo kicking moves, here are just a selection of them: Back Kick, Front Kick, Crescent Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Push Kick, Axe Kick, Side Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To defend against the many hand attacks and kicks there are a similarly diverse array of blocks (Makgi). Held in various positions, they employ the hands and areas of the arm. Each form of attack necessitates a specific type of block, counter-attacking moves can be created by combining a block with a retaliatory punch or kick. The primary Taekwondo "blocks" (makgi) include: Upper Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block, Rising Block and Palm Block.

Competitions

There are a multitude of contests in Taekwondo associated with all the various styles. They mostly consist of breaking, sparring and patterns (forms) with very little hard contact. International Taekwon-Do Federation competitions do not allow substantial contact but may allow hand attacks to be aimed at the head. WT and Olympic competitions only allow sparring. Multi-style tournaments also take place.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

Since there are a number of types of Taekwondo there has never really been any standardized system for assigning belts (levels). What exists is however pretty similar and comprises a couple of belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groupings is split into ranks, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and 9 for the seniors.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks (belts) which are known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). If you're interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is indicated by a number of different colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary belts with stripes, 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. Students in Mountsorrel starting out in Taekwondo will begin with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and progress through the colours until they reach the 1st Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe).

As soon as this training has been accomplished, Mountsorrel Taekwondo trainees are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they must then progress through an additional 9 ranks if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which is the ultimate distinction in this sport. So, putting it simply, there are 3 main divisions in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior division are; 6th (Green), 5th (Green With Blue Stripe), 4th (Blue), 3rd ( Blue With Red Stripe), 2nd (Red), and 1st (Red With Black Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Black group go from 1st to 9th Dan, a process that will take a number of years.

Summary

We can pretty much guarantee that if you take up Taekwondo you are going to improve your wellbeing, gain self-confidence and make more friends. If that is all that you get out of it, then that is great, you can call it an achievement! We aren't all aiming to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you who are, still need to start with that first step. Good luck with your quest! 👊