Taekwondo Tilbury

As Taekwondo has pretty high physical requirements, it is possibly more suited to the younger generation in Tilbury. That's not to say that older people can't participate in this particular activity, but merely that there might be other martial arts that are more appropriate for the less agile of us. Tai Chi would be a perfect example.

Based mainly around high-kicking manoeuvres and moves like head-height kicks, rapid kicking strategies and turning/jumping kicks, Taekwondo was developed from the techniques of different martial arts, by a group of Seoul martial arts experts in new schools called "Kwans" in the nineteen forties and fifties. These "Kwans" were given the names Chungdo Kwan, Songmu Kwan, Changmu Kwan, Jido Kwan and Mooduk Kwan.

The total number of Taekwondo enthusiasts globally, now exceeds sixty million. Ever since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to give it a bash, joining a local Tilbury Taekwondo club or class is a great way to get involved. Whilst reaching Olympic standard may be beyond you, there is no reason why you can't become a Taekwondo master.

It is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that generally has the most appeal to people in Tilbury. And when you consider the high levels of violence in town and city centres these days, this is hardly surprising. In fact one of the key principles of Taekwondo is learning to defend yourself whilst exercising self-restraint and a respect for others.

There is a fairly good likelihood that your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will never need to be proven in the outside world, but it will unquestionably give you peace of mind knowing that they are sitting in the background should you ever need them.

What to Expect From Your First Class

If you make your mind up to register for Taekwondo training in Tilbury, the first thing you'll wish to know is what will occur on the very first class and what will the instructor expect to see from you. Different Taekwondo masters in the Tilbury area will formulate differing routines for this first introductory lesson but you can anticipate performing a 20 minute warm-up to get the blood pumping and loosen your muscles, learn a couple of Poomse (forms, cover some technical training (kicks, stances, blocking techniques and hand attacks), do a bit of sparring, and last but not least, a warm-down.

Everybody who is a member of a Taekwondo club in Tilbury or any place else in the British Isles, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the governing body of the sport. By checking out the official British Taekwondo website you will be able to discover details of coaches and referees, clubs and members, starting a new club, news, safeguarding and equality, safe practices, coaching courses, first aid, events, and lots more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Belts

The belt and ranking system can get pretty complicated in Taekwondo since there's no uniform structure across the various Taekwondo styles. Similarities do exist though, and normally there are two separate belt groupings, denoted as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of rankings in the junior groupings varies through the styles but is typically between 8 and 12 belts, while the senior's groupings usually has nine belts or dans.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what are called "Kup". The top rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. 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 "in-between" 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 Tilbury will begin with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and advance through the various coloured belts until they achieve the First Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt)

Taekwondo trainees in Tilbury are considered to be "black belt candidates" once they have worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then be faced with moving through another nine ranks (Dans) if they aspire to achieve the ultimate accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into three sections; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior division Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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 training and dedication. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Tilbury, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Promotion Tilbury, Taekwondo Belt Order).

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Safety gear like a red/blue head guard, hand guards, a groin protector, shin pads, forearm protectors, a mouth protector and blue or red trunk armour (hogu) must be used in all contests controlled by British Taekwondo. Protection from injuries is imperative due to the potent kicks which are part and parcel of this sport.

To Summarize

The benefits that you get out of Taekwondo will be proportional to what you put into it (as is the case with life in general). Most of you will only wish to improve your fitness levels, meet different people and make new friends, some may wish to progress to tournaments and competitions or possibly even the Olympics. But bear in mind, we cannot all end up being a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.