Taekwondo Norton Canes

Images of young children doing rapid punches and energetic kicking manoeuvres, are what come to mind at the mere mention of Taekwondo. While the younger and fitter generation might find it easier to contend with the physical demands of Taekwondo, people of every age can practice the sport. It does however help if you are relatively agile and fit to fully enjoy all the intricacies of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea in 1945. Some exciting new schools called "kwans", mixing various martial arts techniques were established in Seoul by a group of Korean martial arts devotees. The focus of the discipline was on kicking manoeuvres, in particular turning/jumping kicks, fast kicking techniques and head kicks, and it was later given the name; Taekwondo, roughly meaning "the way of the foot and fist". Today Norton Canes Taekwondo classes observe this tradition.

The total number of Taekwondo students worldwide, now exceeds 60 million. If you would like to get involved in this activity, which is now an Olympic sport, heading along to a Taekwondo club or class in Norton Canes is an excellent place to start. While the chances of you reaching Olympic standard are pretty slim, there isn't any reason at all why you cannot master this fascinating martial art.

Though there's much to be gained by doing Taekwondo, it's the element of self-defence that most Norton Canes people find appealing. This is not difficult to believe when you take into account the elevated levels of violence witnessed in town and city centres on a daily basis. However, exercising a good helping of self-restraint and having respect for others goes hand in hand with the self-defence principles of Taekwondo.

These self-defence techniques may at some time come in handy in your day to day life, though it is far more likely that you'll only be testing them within a controlled class setting. Nevertheless it's a nice feeling knowing the fact that you will always be able to defend yourself when you have to.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If you've never done Taekwondo before, you may be interested to know what is going to occur on your first lesson. There might be variations to the following, subject to which Norton Canes Taekwondo school you attend, but you can more or less expect; A warm up of 15-20 minutes to increase heart rate and loosen stiff muscles, a little technical training comprising some hand attacks, kicks, stances and blocks, a look at some forms (Poomse), a look at sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and last but not least a warm down to stretch weary muscles and relax.

Taekwondo also of course has got its own regulating body, and in Great Britain it is British Taekwondo. Everybody wishing to sign up with a Taekwondo club in Norton Canes must become registered members of this organisation. You can get plenty of details about equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, news, members and clubs, first aid, launching a new club, health and safety, coaches and referees, events, and more, by dropping by at the official British Taekwondo website.

The Popular Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the basic Taekwondo kicks that you will learn to begin with include: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To fend off the many kicks and hand attacks there are a similarly diverse selection of "blocks" (Makgi). Employing the hand and areas of the arm, they are held in specific positions. Each type of attack necessitates a particular type of block, counter-attacks can be created by integrating a block with another punch or kick. The most important blocks (makgi) include: Double Forearm Block, Upper Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Palm Block and Nine Block.

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

There are a whole host of contests in Taekwondo involving all the different styles. They primarily involve sparring, patterns and breaking with little or no "hard contact". ITF contests do not permit substantial contact but may allow hand attacks towards the head. World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic contests only allow sparring. Multi-style competitions also take place.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

With regards to belts, promotion and ranking there is not actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, since there are many different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own unique system. There are however similarities and they typically consist of two groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" symbolized by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior grades typically have nine tiers and the junior, between 8 and 12 levels.

In the UK there are a set of ranks in Taekwondo that are generally known as "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, much like the vast majority of the martial arts is denoted by a range of 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Norton Canes will begin with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and advance through the different coloured belts until they reach the Red With Black Stripe Belt (First Kup)

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Norton Canes become "black belt candidates" which requires them to move through yet another nine ranks (Dans) until they achieve the ultimate accolade of "Black Belt" status. Hence, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into three groupings; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group comprise; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior group 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 range from 1st to 9th Dan, a process that will take many years. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Norton Canes, Taekwondo Ranks Norton Canes, Taekwondo Belt Order, Belt Order Taekwondo).

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Forms are a key element of Taekwondo and are essential if you're going to excel at this intriguing sporting activity. A few basic Taekwondo forms must be learned from the beginning and more complex forms must be mastered in order to advance through the various levels. A Taekwondo form is distinguished by a number of variables such as technique, stance and direction.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

It does not matter what you're capable of or who you are in the world of Taekwondo, at one point you were a total novice, fearing failure and knowing absolutely nothing. We've all started out at that point and are only able to learn and improve with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Norton Canes are the place get started on that learning journey and to acquire the necessary basics so that you can gain self-confidence and move forward in your Taekwondo experience. Almost all beginner classes are set up to be friendly and fun, offering a slow introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo values and building a firm base for the future.