Taekwondo Torpoint

Taekwondo is typically much more physically demanding than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty agile and fit you might prefer to find something a little bit gentler to improve your fitness levels in Torpoint. Children are definitely the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Torpoint, with lots of fast paced movements going on and plenty of high kicking.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some schools known as "kwans", incorporating a number of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which was eventually called, largely entails high-kicking manoeuvres, particularly fast kicking styles, turning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks.

Nowadays an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million followers all around the world, and even though you may not have any aspirations to be an Olympic Games medalist, you are still able to sign up for a Taekwondo class or club to master what will no doubt prove to be a fascinating and rewarding activity.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and obviously this is one of the main reasons that folks in Torpoint join classes and take up the sport. There has been a troubling escalation of violent conduct in recent years and this is particularly prevalent in town and city centres throughout Cornwall and the British Isles in general. The good thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also promotes self-discipline and a deep respect for others, not such widespread attributes in Torpoint these days.

There is a very good chance that your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will never see the light of day in your day to day life, but it will unquestionably give you self-confidence knowing that they're there should you need them.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you elect to register for a Taekwondo club in Torpoint, the very first thing you'll need to know is what will happen on the very first lesson and what exactly will the instructor be expecting of you. Different Taekwondo masters in Torpoint will contrive diverse routines for this initial lesson but you should be expecting to do a 15 minute warm-up to loosen your muscles and get the blood coursing, learn several forms (Poomse), go through some technical training (stances, blocks, kicks and hand attacks), do a small amount of sparring, and to finish, a warm-down.

Everybody who is a member of a Taekwondo class in Torpoint or anywhere else in Great Britain, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the regulating body of the sport. You can get a lot of information regarding safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, safe practices, events, coaches and tournament referees, news, clubs and members, first aid, beginning a new club, and more, by checking out the British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In relation to promotion, ranking and belts there isn't actually any uniformity in Taekwondo, as there are various styles of Taekwondo which each have their own specific system. There are however parallels and they generally consist of 2 groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" represented by black and coloured belts respectively. The senior levels normally have nine tiers and the junior, eight to twelve tiers.

In the UK there are a sequence of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo which are called "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is Tenth Kup and the highest rank is First Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, similar to most of the martial arts is indicated by a range of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate 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 novices in Torpoint will start off with, they can then move up through the colours, eventually achieving the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), after around 3-4 years of dedicated training.

Once this training regime has been successfully completed, Torpoint Taekwondo students become known as "black belt candidates", and they then have to earn an additional 9 ranks if they are to achieve the title of Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the ultimate distinction in this sport. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into 3 sections; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. 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 group 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 involves many years of dedication and training.

Taekwondo for Beginners

Even the finest exponents of Taekwondo in Torpoint set out as newbies, therefore there's no disgrace in being a complete beginner at Tae kwon do, or for that matter any other activity. The goal of a Taekwondo beginner class is to teach a few basics, improve confidence and build a solid foundation moving forward. Most importantly of all is that it should be fun, trainees having a great time will learn faster and be more engaged.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all competitions, matches and events being staged under the control of British Taekwondo, safety equipment like a groin guard, a gum shield, shin guards, forearm guards, hand guards, a blue/red head guard and blue/red trunk armour is obligatory. The fast kicking moves used in Taekwondo may cause injuries and these safety measures help to make the sport less risky for its competitors.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You'll no doubt be intrigued to discover precisely what type of benefits might be achieved by taking part in Torpoint Taekwondo lessons and engaging fully in its practices. You may expect that you will: Better self-discipline by comprehensively training your mind and body in the concepts and tactics of Taekwondo, Improve stamina, flexibility and agility through intense cardiovascular exertion, Reduced stress and anxiety by doing deep breathing exercises, Toughen up your mind and body through increased physical coordination and mental discipline, Improve self-esteem and concentration by maximizing both mental and physical health, Grow in confidence by pushing you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Teach self-defence by helping you to identify situations where self-defence may be required, and allowing you to control these types of situations to your advantage.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are loads of different Taekwondo kicking techniques, here are just a few of them: Push Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Crescent Kick, Back Kick, Front Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Axe Kick, Side Kick. Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to repulse the various attacks, are known as Makgi. Held in particular positions, they employ the hands and different sections of the arm. Each type of attack necessitates a specific type of block, counter-attacks can be produced by combining a block with a retaliatory kick or punch. The primary "blocks" (makgi) include: Knife Hand Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Single Forearm Block, Low Block, Upper Block, Palm Block and Nine Block.

In Summary

So, what are you looking to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's a great question, and the answer will be different for individual people. The majority of participants will simply wish to meet new people, improve their fitness and gain more self-confidence. We are not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, you never know?