Taekwondo South Normanton

The mere mention of Taekwondo, brings to mind images of sprightly young children performing punching and kicking exercises. Whilst the physical demands of Taekwondo perhaps make it more suitable for the younger and fitter generation, it can be practiced by people of all ages. However, so as to fully enjoy all the ins and outs of Taekwondo, it helps to be fairly fit and agile.

Taekwondo started in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", combining various martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mostly involves kicking manoeuvres, especially rapid kicking styles, turning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks.Today South Normanton Taekwondo classes follow this tradition.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of South Normanton and with more than 60 million others around the globe. Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo is accessible to everyone, and heading along to your local South Normanton Taekwondo class or club is the best way to get yourself involved. Whilst the chances of you getting to Olympic standard are pretty slim, there's no reason at all why you can't master this fascinating martial art.

For a lot of folks in South Normanton, it is the self-defence element of Taekwondo that holds the most appeal. And in these times of increasing violence, particularly in city and town centres, it really is little surprise that this aspect sits high up on people's list of priorities. It is a key factor of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your capacity to defend yourself while at the same time learning to respect others and learn self-restraint.

While it will instill you with self-confidence knowing that you have such self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the likelihood is that you will never have to use them outside of an organized Taekwondo class.

Your First Taekwondo Class

For those of you who have never done Taekwondo before, you will no doubt be interested to know what to expect from your first class. The following will give you an idea, but this could vary from school to school. A warm up of 15 to 20 minutes to increase heart rate and loosen the muscles, a bit of technical training which will involve learning some hand attacks, stances, kicks and blocking techniques, a look at some Poomse (or forms), a look at sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and to finish off a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping,

The governing body for Taekwondo in the UK is British Taekwondo and anybody wishing to join a Taekwondo class in South Normanton must also register with British Taekwondo. By visiting British Taekwondo's website you will be able to discover information on coaching courses, members and clubs, establishing a new Taekwondo club, events, safeguarding and equality, news, first aid, referees and coaching, health and safety, and many more Taekwondo related issues.

Competitions and Tournaments

A standard Taekwondo competition incorporates patterns, sparring and breaking, as far as the Olympics is concerned only sparring is included. With that being said there can also be a few unique categories in specific tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT tournaments are strictly soft-contact affairs, whilst International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) tournaments allow some hand attacks aimed at the head. There are also several multi-discipline tournaments.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The belt and ranking system can get pretty complicated in Taekwondo because there's no uniform arrangement across the different Taekwondo disciplines. Likenesses can be found though, and generally there are 2 distinct belt groups, signified as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of levels in the junior groupings varies over the styles but is commonly somewhere between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior's group usually has nine dans or belts.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are called "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. As is the case with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is indicated by a number of different colours, so that the ranks can be 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. Beginners in South Normanton starting out in Taekwondo will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and advance through the colours until they earn the 1st Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe).

After this training regime has been completed, South Normanton Taekwondo students are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they must then earn an additional nine Dans (ranks) if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the supreme accolade in this sport. So, the bottom line is, there are 3 main groupings in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior group are; 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 qualification process that will take a number of years. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts South Normanton, Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Rankings South Normanton).

Taekwondo Forms

Forms are a key part of Taekwondo and are important if you're going to excel at this thrilling sport. Several basic "forms" need to be grasped from the beginning and more challenging forms must be perfected so as to progress through the various belts. A Taekwondo form is distinguished by a number of factors such as stance, direction and technique.

The Eight Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Kicking techniques play a major role in Taekwondo, here are a selection of the more basic ones: Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi). Blocks: To stop and avert an inbound Taekwondo attack, "blocks" (called Makgi) are used. Held in particular positions, they involve the hand and different parts of the arm. Certain attacks call for particular "blocks", but "blocks" can also be changed into counter-attacks by linking retaliatory punches or kicks. The principal blocks (makgi) in Taekwondo include: Double Forearm Block, Palm Block, Low Block, Rising Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Single Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block and Nine Block.

Safety Gear

In all competitions, events and contests being staged under the control of British Taekwondo, safety gear such as a gum shield, forearm guards, a red/blue body protector (hogu), shin guards, a blue/red head protector, a groin guard and hand protectors is compulsory. The kicking manoeuvres used in Taekwondo can cause injuries and this safety measure helps make this sport less hazardous for its competitors.

Conclusion

We cannot all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I guess that we wouldn't all want to be. Taekwondo isn't purely about National Championships and Olympic titles. Most of us are content to improve our fitness levels, make new friends and meet different people, and that is precisely how it ought to be. Yet, as with many things in life, what you get out of it will be based upon what you invest in it. Enjoy! 👊