Taekwondo Yaxley

It should be said that Taekwondo can be pretty physically demanding, which may discourage the less agile and more elderly people in Yaxley from taking this up. To be truthful, the most frequent people participating in Taekwondo classes are kids and younger people, but unquestionably older individuals who are in good physical health can easily be involved and get benefits from this sport.

The sport was first practiced in Korea in around 1945, though the name Taekwondo was not used until the 1950's. 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 head-height kicks, rapid kicking styles and spinning/jumping kicks.Today Yaxley Taekwondo classes follow this tradition.

With over 60 million fitness enthusiasts engaged in Taekwondo classes all over the world, this has certainly become an extremely popular and worthwhile activity, and if you become really expert at the sport you may possibly one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it has been a part ever since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

It seems that the most alluring aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. And in these times of increased violence, particularly in city centres, it's not surprising that this sits on top of people's priority list. The ability to defend yourself and at the same time exercising self-restraint and a respect for others is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo.

While it is great to practice and master these self-defence techniques in the controlled environment of your local Yaxley Taekwondo club, with any luck you'll never be required to use them in the wider world.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you have never tried Taekwondo before, you could be a little anxious as to what should be expected on your very first lesson. This may vary from club to club but will normally involve all or some of the following. A 15-20 minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase your heart rate, a bit of practical training involving learning some hand attacks, kicks, stances and blocking techniques, learning a few forms (or Poomse), an overview of sparring which will include attack timing, timing and movement, and finally a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

Everyone who is a registered member of a Taekwondo club in Yaxley or anywhere else in Britain, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the governing body of the sport. You can get lots of details on news, events, coaching courses, first aid, health and safety, safeguarding and equality, beginning a new club, members and clubs, coaches and competition referees, and more, by visiting British Taekwondo's website.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

There are of course, a lot of benefits to be gained from doing Taekwondo, and here are just a hint of the ones that could be appealing to you: Improve flexibility, stamina and agility by means of intensive cardiovascular exertion, Learn self-defence tactics by helping you to recognise situations where self-defence may be needed, and enabling you to turn these types of circumstances to your advantage, Lessen stress and anxiety with controlled breathing, Enhance self-esteem and concentration by elevating both physical and mental health, Toughen up your mind and body through improved physical coordination and mental discipline, Grow in your confidence by encouraging you to seize control of your life and succeed, Greater self-discipline by methodically training your mind and body in the principles and tactics of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Belts

Because there are various kinds of Taekwondo there's never really been any standardized system for assigning belts (ranks). What does exist however is fairly similar and involves a couple of belt groups "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groupings is split into levels, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and nine "blacks" for the seniors.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks that are generally known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). If you are curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is indicated by a number 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 Yaxley starting out in Taekwondo will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and move up through the colours until they accomplish the 1st Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe).

As soon as this training regime has been completed, Yaxley Taekwondo students are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they must then progress through an additional nine Dans if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the ultimate distinction. Therefore, Junior, Senior and Black Belt are the three main sections in the Taekwondo belt order. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior division comprise; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior group comprise; 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 go from 1st to 9th Dan, a qualification process which takes many years. (Tags: Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Belts Yaxley, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Promotion Yaxley).

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Safety equipment like blue or red body armour (hogu), forearm protectors, a blue or red head protector, shin protectors, a groin protector, a gum shield and hand protectors have to be worn in all competitions controlled by British Taekwondo. Protection from injury is crucial because of the formidable kicking which is part and parcel of this activity.

In Conclusion

We can more or less guarantee that if you participate in Taekwondo you'll gain self-confidence, improve your fitness levels and make new friends. If that's all that you get out of it, then that is amazing, you can call it a success! We aren't all vying to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you who are, need to start with the very first step. Good luck on your quest!