Taekwondo Up Holland

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

Based largely around kicking moves and manoeuvres like fast kicking strategies, turning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks, Taekwondo was created from the techniques of various martial arts, by a number of Seoul martial arts specialists in new schools known as "Kwans" in the nineteen forties and fifties. These "Kwans" were given the names Songmu Kwan, Chungdo Kwan, Jido Kwan, Mooduk Kwan and Changmu Kwan.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has made it even more popular throughout the world with some sixty million people regularly participating in classes. And it is by joining a Taekwondo club or class that you are able to start your adventure of learning this remarkable activity.

In these times of ever-increasing violence, it is little surprise that individuals in places like Up Holland are taking up self-defence techniques like Taekwondo to help them feel safer and more secure in their everyday life. The self-defence aspect is one of the key factors of Taekwondo but at the same time it also teaches self-restraint and a respect for others around us, which are traits that are often lacking in this modern age.

Such self-defence techniques may in due course come in handy in your everyday life, although it is far more likely that you'll only be using them within a supervised class setting. However it's an amazing feeling knowing the fact that you will always be able to successfully defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you have never done Taekwondo before, you might be somewhat concerned as to what to expect on your first class. This can vary from school to school but will generally consist of some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase the heart rate, some practical training involving learning some kicks, blocking techniques, stances and hand attacks, learning some Poomse (forms), an overview of sparring including timing, movement and attack timing, and lastly a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

The regulating body for Taekwondo in Great Britain is British Taekwondo and anybody wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Up Holland has to also register with British Taekwondo. By visiting British Taekwondo's website you will be able to find details about coaches and tournament referees, health and safety, coaching courses, news, events, equality and safeguarding, beginning a new Taekwondo club, clubs and members, first aid, and a lot more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Forms

Newcomers just starting out Taekwondo do not need to stress excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, however they'll have to acquaint themselves with some standard ones for starters and move forward to more difficult "forms" as they move through the belts (dans/grades). A "form" is denoted by specific areas of Taekwondo including technique, direction and stance. Learning these sequences is a crucial part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Since there are a number of styles of Taekwondo there has never been any uniform system for assigning belts (ranks). What does exist however is fairly similar and is made up of two belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groups is divided into levels, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and nine "blacks" for the seniors.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo which are called "Kup". The lowest rank is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, similar to many of the martial arts is portrayed by a range of different 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. Beginners in Up Holland getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and proceed through the colours until they attain the 1st Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt).

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo students in Up Holland are known as "black belt candidates" which requires them to proceed through an additional 9 ranks (Dans) until they achieve the ultimate distinction of "Black Belt" status. So, to put it simply, there are three principal groups in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; Green (6th), Green With Blue Stripe (5th), Blue (4th), Blue With Red Stripe (3rd), Red (2nd) and Red With Black Stripe (1st). The Black Taekwondo Belts go from 1st to 9th Dan which can take many years to progress through.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

You'll no doubt be interested to find out about exactly what type of benefits might be achieved by attending Up Holland Taekwondo sessions and participating fully in its activities. You could expect to: Reduces anxiety with controlled breathing, Improve concentration and self-esteem by sharpening both physical and mental fitness, Develop self-discipline by exhaustively educating your body and mind in the strategies and concepts of Taekwondo, Boost confidence by helping you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Teach self-defence techniques by showing you how to recognise situations in which self-defence could be necessary, and allowing you to turn these kinds of situations in your favour, Turbocharge flexibility, stamina and agility by way of intensive cardiovascular exertion, Toughen up your body and mind via increased physical coordination and mental discipline.

Final Thoughts

So, what are you looking to get from Taekwondo? Well, that is a great question, and the answer will vary for different people. Most participants will simply wish to meet new people, gain more confidence and improve their levels of fitness. We're definitely not all going to reach the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, who knows?