Taekwondo Ramsbottom

Because Taekwondo has quite high physical requirements, it is possibly more suited to the younger people of Ramsbottom. That isn't to say that elderly people cannot get involved in this kind of activity, but just that there could be other martial arts which are more suited to the less agile of us. Tai Chi would be the perfect illustration.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts, with its origins in Korea in 1945. In Seoul, a group of Korean martial arts devotees set up some innovative new schools which they called "kwans", practicing a mixture of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it later became known as, mostly involves kicking movements, especially rapid kicking methods, jumping/spinning kicks and head-height kicks. Now Ramsbottom Taekwondo classes abide by this tradition.

With over 60 million individuals engaged in Taekwondo classes all around the globe, this has unquestionably become a popular and worthwhile pastime, and if you become really expert at the martial art you might possibly one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part since the 2000 Sydney Games.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and not surprisingly this is one of the principal reasons that folks in Ramsbottom join classes and engage with the sport. There has been a worrying increase in violent conduct over the last few years and this is particularly widespread in town and city centres throughout Greater Manchester and the British Isles as a whole. The beauty of Taekwondo though, is that it also promotes self-discipline and respect for other people, not such familiar qualities in Ramsbottom these days.

Whilst it will instill you with self-confidence being aware that you have these self-defence skills in your locker, the chances are that you'll never need to test them outside of a dedicated Taekwondo class.

Your First Class

If you decide on registering for Taekwondo training in Ramsbottom, the first thing you'll be wondering is what is going to transpire on the very first class and precisely what will the teacher be expecting of you. Different Taekwondo masters in Ramsbottom will devise diverse routines for this first introductory lesson but you can count on doing a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up to loosen your muscles and get the blood pumping, learn some basic forms (Poomse), go through some practical training (hand attacks, kicks, blocks and stances), do some sparring, and finally, a warm-down.

British Taekwondo is the governing body of the sport within the UK, and membership of this organization is compulsory if you would like to join any Taekwondo class in Ramsbottom or nearby. By viewing the official British Taekwondo website you'll be able to read info on starting a new club, coaching courses, first aid, news, coaches and referees, health and safety, clubs and members, safeguarding and equality, events, and many more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Belts

When it comes to ranking, promotion and belts there's not actually any standardization in Taekwondo, since there are various different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own unique arrangement. There are however analogies and they usually consist of a couple of groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" symbolized by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior grades typically have 9 levels and the junior, 8 to 12 levels.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo which are called "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. As is the case with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a number of different colours, so the ranks are easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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 Ramsbottom will begin with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and move up through the coloured belts until they attain the First Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe)

Taekwondo students in Ramsbottom are considered as "black belt candidates" after they've worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then be faced with moving through an additional 9 ranks (or Dans) if they aspire to achieve the consummate distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the 3 primary divisions in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. 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 division comprise; 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 a number of years.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Tournaments controlled by British Taekwondo rules require various pieces of protective gear to be worn, these include: forearm protectors, shin guards, a mouth protector, a groin guard, a blue/red trunk protector (hogu), hand guards and a blue/red head guard. This is necessary due to the powerful kicking movements being practiced.

Taekwondo Competitions

A typical Taekwondo tournament incorporates breaking, patterns (forms) and sparring, where the Olympics is concerned only sparring is involved. That said there can also be a few unique categories in particular tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT contests are purely soft-contact affairs, while International Taekwon-Do Federation competitions permit some hand attacks aimed at the head. There are additionally a few multi-discipline tournaments.