Taekwondo North Wingfield

While people of all ages in North Wingfield can of course participate in Taekwondo, it is particularly suited to the younger generation as it can be quite physically demanding, children can especially benefit from its teachings of self-discipline and the respect of others. Seniors who are not all that fit and active might find it a tad too tough. Carrying their Taekwondo experience through into older adulthood shouldn't however be difficult 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 developed of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", incorporating various martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was ultimately called, largely consists of kicking manoeuvres, particularly turning/jumping kicks, fast kicking styles and head kicks.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been a competitive Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity around the world with some 60 million people routinely taking part in classes. And it's by enrolling in a Taekwondo club or class that you are able to commence your quest of learning this exciting martial art.

For many folks in North Wingfield, it's the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo which has the most appeal. And in these days of increased violence, particularly in city and town centres, it is little surprise that this features high on people's list of priorities. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you are able to gain more confidence in your capacity to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect others and learn self-restraint.

These self-defence techniques may at some time come in useful in your day to day life, although it's much more likely you'll only be testing them within a controlled class environment. Nevertheless it's a nice feeling knowing that you can always defend yourself if you have to.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If Taekwondo isn't an activity that you've ever tried before, you'll doubtless be wondering what you should be expecting from your very first class should you make your mind up to join. Different Taekwondo schools in North Wingfield have different ideas about this but roughly; you will participate in a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up, you'll do some technical training, you'll learn some forms (patterns), you will practice sparring strategies and lastly you will perform a warm-down to get your body back into a state of relaxation.

Everyone who is a member of a Taekwondo class in North Wingfield or anywhere else in the United Kingdom, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the official regulating body of the sport. You will be able to find plenty of details on events, clubs and members, news, safeguarding and equality, starting a new club, coaches and referees, safe practices, first aid, coaching courses, and more, by visiting the official British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

In Tae kwon do there's really no form of uniformity in regards to grades and belts. It's all dependent upon what style you are looking at, since there are such a diversity of Taekwondo styles and rules. However, they are usually split into 2 groupings "junior (colour) belts and "senior" (black) belts. The junior/colour ranks consist of white to red, with from eight to twelve grades, while the black/senior belts normally have 9 ranks.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are known as "Kup". The top rank is First Kup and the lowest rank is Tenth Kup. If you are curious about 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 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in North Wingfield will begin with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and progress through the different coloured belts until they attain the First Kup (Red Belt With Black Stripe)

Taekwondo students in North Wingfield become known as "black belt candidates" once they have successfully completed this process, and they'll then have to move through another nine ranks (called Dans) if they wish to achieve the ultimate distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into 3 sections; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts are; 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 considerable number of years to progress through.

Beginners Classes

As with any sport or activity we've got to begin somewhere, and Taekwondo is not any different. Even the finest North Wingfield Taekwondo masters were complete beginners at one time. So, what can you expect as a total beginner at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its pupils enough training to teach them the basics and enable them to build self-confidence as they progress. An ideal beginners class must be enjoyable as well as instructional, when folks are having fun they are more engrossed and are going to learn quicker.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Beginners in Taekwondo do not have to stress too much about forms (patterns, Poomse) initially, but they will learn some basic ones to start with and move forward to more challenging "forms" as they progress up the belts (dans/grades). A form is indicated by specified areas of Taekwondo including direction, technique and stance. Getting to grips with these techniques is a crucial part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is renowned for its wide range of kicking manoeuvres, over and above any other martial art. Here are just a selection: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to defend against the various attacks, are known as Makgi. They're held in specific positions and enlist the hands with parts of the arm. Each kind of attack calls for a particular sort of block, counter-attacking manoeuvres can be produced by integrating a block with another kick or punch. The principal "blocks" include: Palm Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block and Double Forearm Block.

Summary

Precisely what you get from Taekwondo will be proportional to what you put into it (as applies with life in general). The majority of you will purely want to make new friends, meet different people and improve your fitness levels, some might aspire to progress to competitions or tournaments or possibly even the Olympics. But remember, we can't all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad. 👊