Taekwondo Skelton

Taekwondo is generally much more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and agile you may prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness levels in Skelton. Children and younger people are clearly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Skelton, with a lot of fast movements going on and plenty of high kicking.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mostly features kicking manoeuvres, most notably rapid kicking styles, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a group of martial arts specialists founded schools known as "kwans", which mixed together a variety of martial arts practices.

With over 60 million fitness enthusiasts engaged in Taekwondo sessions all around the globe, this has definitely become a popular and worthwhile pastime, and if you become really expert at the martial art you may even one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it's been a part ever since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

For the men, women and children of Skelton who wish to learn a martial art, a top priority is the element of self-defence. Since this is an important principle of Taekwondo, it isn't difficult to see the attraction of this unique sport. With the added benefit of developing self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for others, signing up for a local Skelton Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

There is a fairly decent chance that your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will never need to be used in your everyday life, but it will undoubtedly give you peace of mind knowing that they are sitting in the background should you ever need them.

Your First Skelton Taekwondo Lesson

Different Taekwondo schools in the Skelton area will have different ideas about what students should cover on their first class, but to give you a concept of what you should expect most first Taekwondo classes will involve a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning patterns (Poomse), a quick introduction to hand attacks, kicks, stances and blocking techniques (technical training) and a warm-down to stretch weary muscles and get the body back to a state of harmony.

The regulating body for Taekwondo in the British Isles is British Taekwondo and anyone wanting to join a Taekwondo class in Skelton must also register with British Taekwondo. You can find loads of info regarding first aid, events, starting a new Taekwondo club, news, safe practices, coaches and referees, members and clubs, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, and more, by heading to British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

In the art of taekwondo there's really no form of standardization when it comes to grades and belts. It's all depending on which style you happen to be looking at, since there are such a diversity of Taekwondo styles. They are however, commonly separated into 2 groups "junior (colour) belts and "senior" (black) belts. The colour/junior rankings range from white to red, with from 8 to 12 ranks, while the senior/black belts generally have nine ranks.

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 rank (beginners) is Tenth Kup. If you're curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a range of different 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. The 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo rookies in Skelton will begin with, they will then proceed through the colours, eventually achieving the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which can take about 3-4 years of training and lessons.

After this has been completed, Taekwondo trainees in Skelton are considered as "black belt candidates" which requires them to move through an additional nine ranks (Dans) up until they achieve the ultimate accolade of "Black Belt". Hence, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into three groupings; Junior, Senior and Black Belts. The Junior group of 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 division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and will involve many years of dedication and training.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Perfecting Taekwondo necessitates learning many techniques and one of the pivotal aspects of Taekwondo is its forms (also called Poomse or patterns). These are sequences of direction, technique and stance which have to be memorized in order for pupils to move through the various dans (grades/belts).

Beginners Classes

With any sport or activity we've got to begin somewhere, and Taekwondo is exactly the same. Even the finest Skelton Taekwondo exponents were total rookies at one time. So, exactly what can you expect as a total beginner at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its pupils enough coaching to teach them the basic principles and enable them to gain self-confidence as they progress. A perfect beginners class must be fun as well as educational, when students are having fun they're far more invested and will learn much faster.

Tournaments and Competitions

There are a multitude of competitions and tournaments in Taekwondo associated with all the diverse styles. They primarily comprise sparring, patterns and breaking with little or no hard contact. ITF competitions don't allow too much contact but may permit hand attacks aimed at the head. World Taekwondo and Olympic competitions allow only sparring. Multi-style contests also take place.