Taekwondo Prestatyn

It has to be asserted that Taekwondo can be fairly physically challenging, which might discourage the less agile and more elderly people in Prestatyn from becoming involved. To be completely truthful, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but certainly older individuals who are in decent physical condition can easily take part and benefit from this sport.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently established of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul founded some new schools known as "kwans", combining various martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was ultimately called, primarily involves kicking manoeuvres, especially jumping/turning kicks, fast kicking techniques and head-height kicks.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has made it even more popular throughout the world with some sixty million people actively attending classes. And it's by enrolling in a Taekwondo club or class that you can commence your adventure of learning this remarkable activity.

For many people in Prestatyn, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that has the most appeal. You should not be surprised by this, when you take into account the high incidence of violence seen in today's town and city centres. Learning to defend yourself while at the same time applying self-restraint and a respect for others is a key benefit of Taekwondo.

There's a pretty decent chance that your newly learned Taekwondo skills will never see the light of day in your day to day life, but it will certainly give you a secure feeling knowing that they're there should you ever need them.

Your First Class

For those of you who have never tried Taekwondo before, you will no doubt be intrigued to know what to expect from your first lesson. There might be variations to the following, depending on which Prestatyn Taekwondo school you attend, but you can more or less expect; A warm up of 15-20 minutes to loosen your muscles and increase heart rate, a bit of technical training such as learning some stances, kicks, hand attacks and blocks, learning the basic forms or patterns, a look at sparring including good timing, movement and targeting attacks, and finally a warm down to stretch muscles and loosen up.

The official body governing Taekwondo in the UK is British Taekwondo and any person wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Prestatyn must also register with British Taekwondo. You will be able to get lots of facts about events, first aid, referees and coaching, news, health and safety, equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, beginning a new club, members and clubs, and more, by checking out British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

The benefits that can be gained by participating in Taekwondo lessons in Prestatyn are many and varied, amongst the most noteworthy are: Lower anxiety and stress using advanced breath control, Strengthen your body and mind by way of enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Build up your confidence by encouraging you to succeed and to take control of your life, Greater discipline and willpower by comprehensively schooling your mind and body in the doctrines and tactics of Taekwondo, Increase agility, flexibility and stamina by way of extreme cardiovascular effort, Learn self-defence by helping you to realize circumstances where self-defence could be required, and allowing you to manipulate such circumstances in your favour, Improve your self-esteem by raising your physical and mental fitness.

Taekwondo Belts

The ranking and belt structure can get quite confusing in Taekwondo since there is no uniform arrangement throughout the diverse Taekwondo styles. Likenesses can be found however, and normally there are two distinct belt groups, signified as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of rankings in the junior groupings varies over the styles but is typically somewhere between 8 and 12 belts, while the senior's groupings normally has nine belts or dans.

Competitions and Tournaments

Taekwondo competitions and tournaments are held all over the world in all of the various styles. There's normally not a whole lot of hard contact but patterns (forms), sparring and breaking. Olympic and World Taekwondo (WT) competitions consist only of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) tournaments certain hand attacks are allowed to the head. Other organizations stage multi-discipline events.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

It doesn't matter who you are or what you're capable of in Taekwondo, at one time you were a complete novice, fearing failure and knowing nothing. We have all started like this and can only improve and learn through practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Prestatyn are the right place get started on that learning process and to acquire the necessary basics so you can build confidence and proceed with your Taekwondo quest. Most beginner classes are geared up to be fun and friendly, providing a slow introduction to the basic Taekwondo values and building a firm foundation moving forward.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

In all matches, events and competitions being staged under the patronage of British Taekwondo, safety gear like a gum shield, a red or blue head protector, forearm guards, hand protectors, red or blue trunk armour (hogu), shin guards and a groin protector is obligatory. The kicking tactics which are part of Taekwondo can cause injury and this safety measure helps to make the activity less hazardous for its competitors.

Conclusion

We cannot all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I guess we don't all want to be. Taekwondo is not just about Olympic medals and National Championships. The majority of of us are happy to meet different people, improve our fitness and make new friends, and that is exactly how it ought to be. Yet, as with most matters in life, what you get out of it will hinge on what you invest in it. Enjoy! 👊