Taekwondo Biggleswade

While not wanting to discourage any particular age group, it has to be said that Taekwondo is more suited to younger people in Biggleswade, being quite physically demanding. Its teachings of self-discipline and respect for others make it especially appropriate for children. Older adults trying Taekwondo for the first time often find it too taxing, unless they have kept themselves active. However those who take up Taekwondo in Biggleswade at a young age will find they can easily carry it on into older adulthood. If you consider yourself among the less agile, you could try something like Tai Chi which is much softer.

Taekwondo was only developed fairly recently in Korea (1945). A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", combining various martial arts techniques. In Taekwondo the emphasis is on kicking, especially rapid kicking strategies, turning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks.Today Biggleswade Taekwondo classes follow this tradition.

With more than sixty million people participating in Taekwondo sessions all around the globe, this has certainly become an extremely popular and worthwhile activity, and if you become really good at the martial art you may possibly one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it's been a part ever since the 2000 Sydney Games.

For the people of Biggleswade who would like to learn a martial art, a top priority is the element of self-defence. As this is a pivotal concept of Taekwondo, it isn't difficult to see the attraction of this particular sport. With the extra benefit of learning self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for those around you, signing up for a local Biggleswade Taekwondo class would seem to be an easy decision.

Your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will more than likely never have to be proven outside the regulated environment of an organized Taekwondo class, however being aware of the fact that you have them will give you peace of mind.

Your First Lesson

For those of you who've never done Taekwondo before, you'll no doubt be intrigued to know what to expect from your first lesson. There may be variations to the following, subject to which Biggleswade Taekwondo school you attend, but you can more or less expect; A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to loosen the muscles and increase your heart rate, some technical training involving learning some stances, hand attacks, kicks and blocking techniques, some work on patterns or forms (Poomse in Korean), a look at sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and last but not least a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping,

The UK's governing body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you want to sign up with a Taekwondo club in Biggleswade, you'll also be required to become a member of this organization. You can get a lot of info regarding news, clubs and members, equality and safeguarding, referees and coaching, establishing a new Taekwondo club, first aid, health and safety, coaching courses, events, and more, by visiting the British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all matches, events and tournaments being held under the supervision of British Taekwondo, safety gear such as a red/blue head protector, a groin protector, a red/blue body guard (hogu), shin pads, a mouth guard, forearm protectors and hand guards is obligatory. The kicking tactics used in Taekwondo could potentially cause injury and this all helps make the sport less hazardous for its competitors.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Mastering the art of Taekwondo calls for getting to grips with many disciplines and one of the key elements of Taekwondo is its forms (also called Poomse or patterns). These are types of technique, direction and stance which have to be memorized in order for students to progress through the various dans (grades/belts).

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In relation to promotion, ranking and belts there is not actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, as there are a number of styles of Taekwondo which each have their own arrangement in place. There are however likenesses and they generally consist of two groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" represented by black and coloured belts respectively. The senior ranks typically have nine tiers and the junior, 8 to 12 tiers.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks which are known as "Kup", these ranks go from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). If you are interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a number of 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. The 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo newbies in Biggleswade will start off with, they can then proceed through the colours, finally achieving the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), after around three to four years of dedicated training.

After this training regime has been accomplished, Biggleswade Taekwondo students are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they then have to earn an additional nine Dans or ranks if they are to achieve the Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the supreme accolade. Therefore, Junior, Senior and Black Belt are the three main classifications in the Taekwondo belt order. The Junior group of 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 division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and involves many years of training and dedication.

Final Thoughts

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 purely look to gain more self-confidence, meet new people and improve their fitness levels. We are certainly not all going to scale the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though perhaps you will, who knows? 👊