Taekwondo New Romney

Taekwondo is generally far more physically demanding than for example Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and nimble you might prefer to partake in something a little gentler to boost your fitness levels in New Romney. Children and younger people are clearly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in New Romney, with lots of fast paced movements taking place and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts devotees in Seoul established some schools called "kwans", where they practiced a combination of martial arts techniques. This ultimately became known as Taekwondo and the main emphasis of the discipline was on kicking manoeuvres, especially head-height kicks, fast kicking techniques and turning/jumping kicks. Now New Romney Taekwondo classes stick to this tradition.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of New Romney and with over 60 million others worldwide. Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo is accessible to everyone, and joining a local New Romney Taekwondo club or class is the best way to get yourself involved. There is no reason why you cannot reach a high standard in this thrilling sport, even if you have no desire to compete in the Olympics.

It is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that generally is the most interesting to people in New Romney. You shouldn't be surprised by this, when you bear in mind the high incidence of violence seen in today's city and town centres. Being capable of defending yourself is a key factor of Taekwondo, but this is balanced by respecting others and exercising self-restraint.

There's a pretty good likelihood that your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will never have to be tested in the outside world, but it will undoubtedly give you a secure feeling knowing that they are there should you need them.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If Taekwondo is not a sport that you've ever tried previously, you will probably be wondering what to expect from your very first class if you make your mind up to join. Different Taekwondo schools in New Romney have varying ideas about this but roughly; you'll participate in a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up, you'll do a certain amount of technical training, you'll learn some forms (patterns), you are going to practice sparring tactics and lastly you will perform a warm-down to get your body back into a state of relaxation again.

If you would like to join a Taekwondo class in New Romney, you will also have to become a member of the sport's official regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. By heading to the official British Taekwondo website you can find info regarding safeguarding and equality, health and safety, coaches and competition referees, news, beginning a new club, first aid, clubs and members, coaching courses, events, and lots more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all contests, tournaments and events taking place under the patronage of British Taekwondo, safety gear such as shin protectors, a blue/red trunk protector (hogu), a red/blue head guard, a groin protector, hand guards, a mouth protector and forearm protectors is mandatory. The fast kicking manoeuvres used in Taekwondo can easily cause harm and this all helps to make this sport safer for its competitors.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

With regards to ranking, promotion and belts there isn't actually any real standardisation in Taekwondo, because there are a number of styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own system in place. There are however likenesses and they generally comprise a couple of groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior levels normally have nine tiers and the junior, 8 to 12 tiers.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are symbolized by what are referred to as "Kup". The highest rank is First Kup and the lowest rank is Tenth Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, similar to many of the martial arts is denoted by a number of different colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate 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 White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo novices in New Romney will begin with, they'll then progress through the colours, finally reaching the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which will probably take approximately three to four years of dedicated training.

After this has been completed, Taekwondo trainees in New Romney become "black belt candidates" which entails them moving through an additional nine ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt" status. Therefore, Junior, Senior and Black Belts are the three main groupings in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; Green (6th), Green With Blue Stripe (5th), Blue (4th), Blue With Red Stripe (3rd), Red (2nd) and Red With Black Stripe (1st). The Black Taekwondo Belts go from 1st to 9th Dan which will take a number of years to successfully progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts New Romney, Taekwondo Belt Order, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Ranks New Romney).

Summary

So, what are you looking to get from Taekwondo? Well, that's a good question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. Most participants will simply look to gain more self-confidence, improve their levels of fitness and meet new people. We're not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, who knows?