Taekwondo Rothbury

It's got to be asserted that Taekwondo can be very physically challenging, which may unnerve the older and less agile folks in Rothbury from becoming involved. To be fair, the most common people participating in Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but certainly older people who are in excellent physical health can easily take part and benefit considerably from this sport.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", incorporating a number of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which was eventually called, mainly consists of kicking manoeuvres, especially head kicks, rapid kicking methods and jumping/turning kicks.

Nowadays an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million enthusiasts all around the world, and whilst you might not aspire to be an Olympic Games medalist, you are still able to join a Taekwondo class or club to master what will undoubtedly prove to be a fascinating and advantageous activity.

A key element of Taekwondo is self-defence, and of course this is one of the primary reasons that people in Rothbury sign up to classes and engage with the sport. There has been a disturbing escalation of violent behaviour over the last few years and this is particularly common in city and town centres around Northumberland and the UK in general. The fantastic thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also encourages self-discipline and respect for other people, not such widespread attributes in Rothbury nowadays.

Your newly learned Taekwondo skills will likely never need to be tried and tested outside the regulated environment of a dedicated Taekwondo class, however knowing that you've got them will instill you with confidence.

Your First Lesson

If you have never done Taekwondo previously, you may be somewhat anxious as to what can be expected on your very first lesson. This varies from club to club but will usually consist of some or all of the following. A 15-20 minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, a bit of practical training involving learning some kicks, stances, blocks and hand attacks, learning a few forms, a quick introduction to sparring which will include the timing of attacks, movement and timing, and lastly a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

If you want to join a Taekwondo class in Rothbury, you'll also have to register with the sport's official regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You can find a lot of information on safe practices, coaching courses, news, first aid, events, clubs and members, launching a new club, referees and coaching, equality and safeguarding, and more, by dropping by at the British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all events, tournaments and contests being staged under the control of British Taekwondo, safety equipment such as forearm guards, a groin guard, a mouth protector, shin pads, hand guards, a red or blue head protector and red or blue trunk armour (hogu) is compulsory. The kicking tactics employed in Taekwondo could potentially cause injuries and this helps to make this sport less hazardous for its competitors.

Beginners Classes

It doesn't matter what you're capable of or who you are in Taekwondo, at some stage you were a total novice, fearing failure and knowing absolutely nothing. We've all started at that point and are only able to learn and develop with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Rothbury are the right place to start that learning journey and to pick up the basic principles so you can build confidence and proceed with your exciting Taekwondo quest. Nearly all beginner classes are geared up to be friendly and fun, offering a gradual introduction to the basic Taekwondo values and developing a firm base moving forward.

Tournaments

Tournaments and competitions are a significant element of the Taekwondo experience, and all the various styles all over the world hold tournaments where Taekwondo masters get together to battle it out. Hard contact is rarely allowed in any of these competitions which mainly incorporate patterns (forms), breaking and sparring. Sparring only is permitted in Olympic and WT tournaments, whilst specified hand attacks are tolerated in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) events.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Taekwondo forms (also known as Poomse or patterns) are distinguished by particular facets like direction, stance and technique. From the outset you are going to learn some of the important forms, and in order to move through the various grades (belts) you'll need to master some more technical ones.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The belt and ranking system can get very bewildering in Taekwondo since there's no recognised arrangement across the various Taekwondo disciplines. Similarities do exist though, and generally there are two separate belt groups, denoted as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of grades in the junior section varies over the styles but is usually between 8 and 12 belts, while the senior section commonly has nine belts or dans.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what are known as "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. If you are interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is portrayed by a number 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. The White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo beginners in Rothbury will begin with, they'll then proceed through the colours, eventually achieving the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will take about 3-4 years of training and lessons.

Taekwondo students in Rothbury are considered as "black belt candidates" once they've successfully completed this process, and they will then need to move through an additional nine ranks (Dans) if they aim to achieve the ultimate accolade Taekwondo Black Belt. Therefore, putting it simply, there are three primary groupings in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Junior division Taekwondo Belts are; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior group of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of dedicated training.

Final Thoughts

So, what are you hoping to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that is a great question, and the answer to that will be different for individual people. The majority of participants will simply look to improve their fitness levels, gain more self-confidence and meet new people. We are definitely not all going to scale the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, you never know? 👊