Taekwondo Towcester

Taekwondo is generally much more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty nimble and fit you might prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness levels in Towcester. Younger children are certainly an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Towcester, with a lot of fast movements taking place and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea in 1945. This combination of various martial arts techniques were practiced in some new schools in Seoul called "kwans", founded by a group of Korean martial artists. The emphasis of Taekwondo, as it eventually became known, is on kicking manoeuvres, especially head kicks, spinning/jumping kicks and rapid kicking strategies.

The number of Taekwondo practitioners worldwide, now exceeds 60 million. Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo is accessible to everyone, and heading along to your local Towcester Taekwondo club or class is the easiest way to get yourself involved. There's no reason why you cannot reach an advanced standard in this exciting sport, even if you haven't any desire to compete in the Olympics.

While there is much to be gained by doing Taekwondo, it is the self-defence aspect that most Towcester people are interested in. And its not surprising that this is on people's list of priorities when you consider the rising levels of violence seen these days in town and city centres throught the United Kingdom. Being able to defend yourself is a key factor of Taekwondo, but this is tempered by learning self-restraint and a respect for others.

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

Your First Class

Different Taekwondo schools in the Towcester area will have different viewpoints on what pupils should cover on their initial class, however to give you an understanding of what you should expect most initial Taekwondo lessons will involve a warm-up, some sparring, learning Poomse (forms), an overview of kicks, blocking techniques, hand attacks and stances (practical training) and a warm-down to stretch tired muscles and get the body back to a state of balance.

British Taekwondo is the governing body of the sport within the British Isles, and membership of this organisation is mandatory if you want to sign up with any Taekwondo class in Towcester or nearby. You'll be able to learn about first aid, safeguarding and equality, referees and coaching, events, members and clubs, health and safety, news, starting a new Taekwondo club, coaching courses, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and get the latest news on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

Taekwondo tournaments are staged around the world in all the different styles. There's usually not a lot of hard contact but patterns, breaking and sparring. Olympic and World Taekwondo tournaments only consist of sparring, in ITF tournaments specified hand attacks are allowed to the head. Some other organisations stage multi-discipline tournaments.

Taekwondo Forms

Taekwondo forms (also known as patterns or Poomse) are identified by specified aspects such as direction, technique and stance. From the start you will be taught a few of the important forms, and in order to move through the grades (belts) you'll have to master some more advanced ones.

The Main Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the best known Taekwondo kicks that you will learn early on include: Roundhouse Kick, Axe Kick, Side Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Crescent Kick, Front Kick, Push Kick, Back Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To stop and defend against an incoming attack, "blocks" (known as Makgi) are used. Held in various positions, they use the hands and areas of the arm. Certain attacks call for particular blocks, but blocks can also be turned into counter-attacks by combining retaliatory kicks or punches. The key blocks used in Taekwondo include: Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Double Forearm Block, Palm Block, Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Single Forearm Block, Low Block and Nine Block.

Taekwondo Belts

Since there are many different types of Taekwondo there has never really been any standardized arrangement for allocating belts (promotion). What exists is however pretty similar and is made up of a couple of belt groupings "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each one of these groupings is split into levels, eight to twelve colours for juniors and 9 for seniors.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo that are known as "Kup". The lowest rank is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. If you're eager to know the Taekwondo belt order, it is as follows, and is indicated by a range of different colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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. Beginners in Towcester starting out in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and move up through the colours until they earn the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

Taekwondo trainees in Towcester become known as "black belt candidates" once they've successfully completed this process, and they'll then be faced with moving through a further nine ranks (Dans) if they aspire to achieve the consummate distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. So, to put it simply, there are three primary sections in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior Belts, Senior Belts 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 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 group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of training and dedication. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Towcester, Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Promotion Towcester).

The Benefits of Taekwondo

The benefits which may be acquired by participating in Taekwondo lessons in Towcester are countless, among the most significant are: Teach self-defence by helping you to identify occasions in which self-defence could be necessary, and enabling you to control these types of situations in your favour, Improve feelings of self-esteem by raising both physical and mental powers, Empower your mind and body through improved physical coordination and mental discipline, Augment flexibility, stamina and agility through intensive cardiovascular effort, Reduce stress using advanced breath control, More discipline and willpower by thoroughly educating your mind and body in the concepts and tactics of Taekwondo, Grow in your confidence by encouraging you to succeed and to seize control of your life.