Taekwondo Prestonpans

It has to be said that Taekwondo can be fairly challenging physically, which may unnerve the older and less agile people in Prestonpans from taking this up. To be truthful, the most common people participating in Taekwondo classes are kids and the younger generation, but unquestionably older people who're in excellent physical health can easily take part and benefit from this sport.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its early beginnings in Korea in 1945. A number of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul established some schools which they called "kwans", combining many different martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which it ultimately became known as, primarily entails kicking manoeuvres, especially fast kicking styles, head-height kicks and jumping/turning kicks.

With over 60 million individuals taking part in Taekwondo classes all over the world, this has unquestionably become an extremely popular and beneficial pastime, and if you become really good at this sport you may even one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part since the 2000 Sydney Games.

In these times of increasing violence, it's no surprise that people in locations like Prestonpans are getting involved in self-defence techniques like Taekwondo to enable them to feel safer and more secure in their everyday life. The self-defence aspect is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo but at the same time it also promotes self-restraint and a respect for those around us, which are characteristics that are frequently absent in modern day life.

There's a fairly good likelihood that your eagerly learned Taekwondo skills will never see the light of day in the outside world, but it will unquestionably give you self-confidence knowing that they're there should you ever be in need of them.

Your First Lesson

If you decide on registering for a Taekwondo club in Prestonpans, the very first thing you will want to know is what is going to happen on the very first class and what exactly will the instructor expect to see from you. Different Taekwondo masters in Prestonpans will formulate diverse routines for this first lesson but you can anticipate performing a 15-20 minute warm-up to loosen your muscles and get the blood flowing, learn a couple of forms (Poomse), go through some practical training (kicks, blocking techniques, stances and hand attacks), do a bit of sparring, and finally, warm-down.

The regulating body for Taekwondo in the British Isles is British Taekwondo and anybody wanting to join a Taekwondo class in Prestonpans has to also register with British Taekwondo. You can learn about safe practices, members and clubs, events, coaches and referees, first aid, starting a new club, equality and safeguarding, news, coaching courses, and more on the official British Taekwondo website, or get the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Because there are various kinds of Taekwondo there's never been any standardized arrangement for assigning belts (promotion). What does exist however is quite similar and consists of 2 belt groups "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groups is divided into ranks, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and 9 "blacks" for seniors.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo which are referred to as "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. If you're interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is portrayed by a range of different colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, 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 Prestonpans starting out in Taekwondo will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and move up through the coloured belts until they attain the 1st Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt).

Taekwondo trainees in Prestonpans are called "black belt candidates" once they've successfully completed this process, and they'll then have to move through another nine ranks (called Dans) if they want to achieve the supreme distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Hence, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into three groups; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. 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 division 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 go from 1st to 9th Dan, a process which takes a number of years.

Some Taekwondo Kicks

Of all the martial arts, Taekwondo has the widest assortment of kicking manoeuvres. Among them are: Front Kick, Crescent Kick, Push Kick, Side Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Back Kick, Axe Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To divert and stop an inbound Taekwondo attack, "blocks" (known as Makgi) are implemented. They're held in particular positions and use the hand with sections of the arm. Each form of attack calls for a particular sort of block, counter-attacks can be produced by combining a block with another punch or kick. The main Taekwondo blocks (makgi) include: Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Upper Block, Nine Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Single Forearm Block, Low Block and Double Knife Hand Block.

Beginners Taekwondo Prestonpans

It matters not what you're standing is or who you are in the world of Taekwondo, at some point you were a total novice, fearing failure and knowing nothing. We have all started out like this and are only able to learn and develop with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Prestonpans are the best place to begin that learning journey and to acquire the basic principles so that you can gain self-confidence and proceed with your exciting Taekwondo quest. The majority of beginner classes are geared up to be friendly and fun, offering a slow introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo values and building a solid foundation for the future.

Safety Gear

Safety gear like a red/blue head guard, a groin guard, a gum shield, shin guards, forearm guards, hand protectors and a red or blue trunk guard (hogu) are worn in all tournaments controlled by British Taekwondo. Protection from injuries is needed on account of the powerful kicks that are part and parcel of this activity.

To Summarize

The benefits that you get out of Taekwondo are going to be proportional to what you invest in it (as is the case with life on the whole). Many of you will purely wish to meet different people, improve your fitness and make new friends, some might wish to progress to tournaments and competitions or possibly even the Olympic Games. But remember, we cannot all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.