Taekwondo Sheffield

Taekwondo is typically a lot more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty nimble and fit you might prefer to find something a little bit gentler to boost your fitness levels in Sheffield. Children are definitely the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Sheffield, with lots of fast movements going on and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mostly features kicking manoeuvres and moves, in particular rapid kicking techniques, head kicks 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 combined a variety of martial arts techniques.

Since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been a competitive Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity worldwide with some 60 million people routinely attending classes. And it's by enrolling in a Taekwondo club or class that you can commence your adventure of learning this fascinating martial art.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and not surprisingly this is one of the main reasons that folks in Sheffield get involved in classes and take up the sport. There has been a troubling increase in violent conduct over the last few years and this is particularly widespread in town and city centres throughout South Yorkshire and the country in general. The fantastic thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also teaches self-discipline and a deep respect for others, not such common qualities in Sheffield nowadays.

These self-defence techniques may in due course prove to be useful in the outside world, although it is much more likely that you'll only be using them within a supervised class setting. However it is a wonderful feeling knowing that you can always defend yourself if you have to.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you elect to register for Taekwondo training in Sheffield, the first thing you will want to know is what will transpire on the first lesson and what will the teacher expect to see from you. Different Taekwondo masters in Sheffield will put together differing routines for this initial lesson but you can anticipate doing a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up to get the blood pumping and loosen your muscles, learn some basic Poomse (forms, cover some practical training (kicks, hand attacks, blocks and stances), do a certain amount of sparring, and to finish, warm-down.

British Taekwondo is the official governing body of the sport within Great Britain, and membership of this organisation is mandatory if you want to sign up with any Taekwondo club in Sheffield or nearby. You can get lots of details of coaching courses, events, health and safety, members and clubs, news, first aid, equality and safeguarding, coaches and referees, establishing a new club, and more, by exploring the official British Taekwondo website.

Safety Equipment

Safety equipment like a mouth protector, a groin protector, shin guards, a blue or red head protector, forearm guards, a red or blue trunk guard (hogu) and hand guards are used in all contests regulated by British Taekwondo. Protection from injury is imperative because of the vigorous kicks that are part and parcel of this sport.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In relation to promotion, ranking and belts there isn't actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, since there are various styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own specific system. There are however likenesses and they normally consist of a couple of groups of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior ranks usually have nine levels and the junior, eight to twelve levels.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks (belts) that are known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). If you are curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a range of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Sheffield will begin with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and advance through the different colours until they accomplish the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

Once this training has been successfully completed, Sheffield Taekwondo trainees advance to "black belt candidates", and they must then earn a further nine Dans if they're to achieve the Taekwondo "Black Belt", which is the ultimate distinction. So, putting it simply, there are 3 principal groups in the Taekwondo belt order, namely 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 division 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 group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of dedicated training. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Sheffield, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Promotion Sheffield, Taekwondo Belt Order).