Taekwondo Portchester

Taekwondo is generally a lot more physically demanding than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty nimble and fit you may prefer to find something a little gentler to boost your fitness in Portchester. Children are clearly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Portchester, with lots of fast paced movements going on and a great deal of high kicking.

With its beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts and entails primarily high-kicking moves such as fast kicking strategies, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks. It started when schools known as "kwans" were set up by a group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

With more than sixty million practitioners worldwide and quite a few in Portchester, Taekwondo has become very popular. Joining your local Portchester Taekwondo class or club is the best way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. There's no reason why you cannot become a master of this fascinating martial art, even if you don't aspire to Olympic competition.

In these times of ever-increasing violence, it's little surprise that individuals in areas like Portchester are attending self-defence classes such as Taekwondo to help them to feel safer and more secure in their local environment. The self-defence aspect is one of the key factors of Taekwondo but it also promotes self-restraint and a deep respect for those around us, which are characteristics that are often missing in 21st century living.

While it is good to practice and master these self-defence techniques in the controlled environment of your local Portchester Taekwondo club, hopefully you won't ever need to use them in the world outside.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

Different Taekwondo schools in Portchester will have different viewpoints on what enrollees should cover on their very first lesson, but to give you a perception of what you should expect most first Taekwondo lessons will incorporate a warm-up, some sparring, learning basic forms (Poomse), an overview of kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocks (technical training) and a final warm-down to relax weary muscles and return the body to a state of harmony.

The regulating body for Taekwondo in the United Kingdom is British Taekwondo and any person wanting to join a Taekwondo club in Portchester has to also register with British Taekwondo. By visiting British Taekwondo's website you can obtain information about coaching courses, news, members and clubs, health and safety, launching a new Taekwondo club, events, equality and safeguarding, first aid, coaches and referees, and a lot more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Forms

Novices just beginning their journey in Taekwondo do not need to stress too much about forms (patterns, Poomse) initially, but they will get to grips with some standard ones for starters and progress to more challenging "forms" as they move up the various belts (grades/dans). A form is signified by specific elements of Taekwondo including stance, direction and technique. Getting to grips with such sequences is a crucial part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Safety Gear

British Taekwondo tournaments require specific safety gear to be worn to protect competitors from personal injury due to the powerful kicking that transpires. This safety gear includes: a red/blue head guard, a groin guard, a blue/red body protector (hogu), a gum shield, hand protectors, forearm protectors and shin pads.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

With any activity or sport we have to start someplace, and Taekwondo is exactly the same. Even the finest Portchester Taekwondo exponents were complete newbies at one time. So, what should you be expecting as a complete beginner at Taekwondo? Beginner classes should give their pupils enough instruction to teach them the fundamentals and allow them to develop confidence as they progress. An ideal beginners class ought to be enjoyable as well as educational, when folks are enjoying themselves they're a lot more invested and are going to learn quicker.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

In Taekwondo there's really no standardization in relation to belts and ranking. It is all dependent on which style you happen to be reviewing, because there are such a diversity of Taekwondo styles and rules. They are however, normally separated into two groups "junior (colour) belts and "senior" (black) belts. The colour/junior ranks consist of white to red, with from eight to twelve grades, while the black/senior belts typically have nine levels.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks (belts) which are known as "Kup", these ranks range from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). As with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of different colours, so that the ranks can be easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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. Beginners in Portchester getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and advance through the colours until they accomplish the 1st Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt).

Taekwondo trainees in Portchester are known as "black belt candidates" after they have successfully completed this process, and they'll then be faced with proceeding through yet another 9 ranks (called Dans) if they aspire to achieve the ultimate accolade Taekwondo Black Belt. So, Junior, Senior and Black Belts are the three primary groups in the Taekwondo belt order. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior division are; 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 which takes a number of years.

Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the best known Taekwondo kicking moves you will master early on include: Side Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Crescent Kick, Back Kick, Push Kick, Front Kick, Axe Kick, Roundhouse Kick. Blocks: To defend against the numerous hand attacks and kicks there are a similarly diverse array of "blocks" (Makgi). Engaging the hand and parts of the arm, they are held in specific positions. Each and every block can be coordinated with a kick or punch to produce a counter-attacking movement, and each "block" is appropriate for a certain type of attack. The key blocks (makgi) include: Upper Block, Palm Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block and Low Block.