Taekwondo Sawtry

Taekwondo is quite physically demanding, which means it may be considered more suitable for the younger rather than the older generation in Sawtry. Its teachings of self-discipline and respect for others make it particularly good for children. It can sometimes be too taxing for older adults unless they are exceptionally fit and active. However those who take up Taekwondo in Sawtry at a young age will find they can easily carry it on into older adulthood. The less agile of you might find that Tai Chi which is a bit softer is more suitable.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily features kicking manoeuvres, most notably head kicks, rapid kicking methods and spinning/jumping kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a group of martial arts specialists founded schools called "kwans", which merged a variety of martial arts techniques.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been a competitive Olympic sport. This has made it even more popular around the world with some sixty million people actively taking classes. And it is by joining a Taekwondo class or club that you can start your quest of mastering this remarkable activity.

In these days of escalating violence, it is no surprise that folks in places like Sawtry are signing up for self-defence training like Taekwondo to help them feel safer in their local environment. The self-defence aspect is one of the primary factors of Taekwondo but it also teaches self-restraint and a respect for those around us, which are characteristics that are frequently missing in 21st century living.

While it will instill you with self-confidence knowing that you have those self-defence skills in your locker, the chances are you'll never be required to use them outside the regulated atmosphere of an actual Taekwondo class.

Your First Class

Different Taekwondo schools in the Sawtry area will have different guidelines for what pupils should cover on their first lesson, but to give you an idea of what you should expect most first Taekwondo classes will include a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning basic forms (Poomse), an introduction to blocks, hand attacks, kicks and stances (technical training) and a warm-down to stretch tired muscles and return the body to a state of harmony.

The UK regulating body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you want to sign up with a Taekwondo class in Sawtry, you will also be required to register with this organization. You will be able to read about coaches and competition referees, events, clubs and members, safe practices, first aid, news, equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, launching a new Taekwondo club, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, and get the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Safety Equipment

British Taekwondo controlled matches call for specific safety gear to be worn to protect contenders from getting injured as a result of the powerful kicking that occurs. This safety gear includes: a groin guard, a red or blue head guard, a blue/red body protector (hogu), hand guards, a mouth protector, forearm guards and shin guards.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

A standard Taekwondo competition incorporates patterns, sparring and breaking, in the Olympics only sparring is involved. With that being said there may also be some extraordinary categories in particular competitions such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT tournaments are purely soft-contact affairs, whilst ITF contests allow some hand attacks to the head. There are also a few multi-discipline tournaments.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The ranking and belt system can get quite complicated in Taekwondo because there is no uniform system throughout the various Taekwondo disciplines. Parallels can be found however, and commonly there are two separate belt groupings, denoted as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of levels in the junior section varies across the styles but is typically between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior groupings typically has 9 belts or dans.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what are referred to as "Kup". The top rank is First Kup and the lowest (beginners) is Tenth Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, just like most of the martial arts is portrayed by a range of different colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary belts with stripes, 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 Sawtry will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and proceed through the various colours until they accomplish the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

Taekwondo students in Sawtry are called "black belt candidates" after they have succeeded with this challenge, and they will then be faced with moving through yet another 9 ranks (called Dans) if they aspire to achieve the supreme distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into three groupings; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts are; Green (6th), Green With Blue Stripe (5th), Blue (4th), Blue With Red Stripe (3rd), Red (2nd) and Red With Black Stripe (1st). The Black Taekwondo Belts go from 1st to 9th Dan which will take many years to progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Sawtry, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Promotion Sawtry).

Some Taekwondo Kicks

There are a lot of different Taekwondo kicking manoeuvres, here are just a few of them: Side Kick, Crescent Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Front Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Push Kick, Axe Kick, Back Kick. Blocks: To stop and deflect an incoming Taekwondo attack, "blocks" (known as Makgi) are employed. They are held in various positions and enlist the hands with different areas of the arm. Each type of attack necessitates a specific style of block, counter-attacks can be produced by combining a block with a retaliatory punch or kick. The primary blocks (makgi) include: Upper Block, Palm Block, Double Forearm Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Nine Block, Double Knife Hand Block and Rising Block.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Perfecting Taekwondo will involve getting to grips with a number of disciplines and techniques and one of the key parts of Taekwondo is its forms (also called patterns or Poomse). These are types of technique, direction and stance which must be mastered in order for pupils to progress through the different dans (grades/belts).