Taekwondo Hadleigh

Many people in Hadleigh would imagine that the fast punching, high kicking movements demanded by Taekwondo are more appropriate for younger children. While the younger and fitter generation may find the physical demands of Taekwondo easier to contend with, there is nothing at all to stop people of all ages taking part. You will however get a lot more enjoyment out of Taekwondo if you are relatively agile.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily consists of kicking moves and manoeuvres, in particular fast kicking strategies, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a group of martial arts specialists founded schools called "kwans", which blended a number of martial arts techniques.

Since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity worldwide with some sixty million people routinely taking classes. And it's by enrolling in a Taekwondo class or club that you are able to commence your journey of mastering this fascinating art.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and of course this is one of the main reasons that individuals in Hadleigh get involved in classes and get involved in the sport. There's been a disturbing increase in violent conduct in recent years and this is especially widespread in city and town centres throughout Essex and the country as a whole. The fantastic thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also promotes self-discipline and respect for others, not such widespread qualities in Hadleigh these days.

There's a very good chance that your newly learned Taekwondo skills will never need to be tested in your everyday life, but it will certainly give you a secure feeling knowing that they're there should you ever need them.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If Taekwondo isn't a sport that you have ever had a go at previously, you will most likely be wondering what you should be expecting from your initial lesson should you make your mind up to join. Different Taekwondo schools in Hadleigh have different thoughts on this but roughly; you'll take part in a 15-20 minute warm-up, you will do a certain amount of technical training, you will learn some forms, you will practice sparring tactics and finally you'll warm-down to help your body get back into a relaxed state once more.

Taekwondo also of course has got its own regulating body, and in the United Kingdom it is British Taekwondo. Everyone wishing to sign up with a Taekwondo club in Hadleigh have to become members of this organisation. You'll be able to learn about events, health and safety, clubs and members, coaching courses, referees and coaching, starting a new club, first aid, news, safeguarding and equality, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and find out the latest news on their Twitter or Facebook page.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

When you are getting involved in Taekwondo classes in Hadleigh you will be hoping to get a few benefits to make the entire undertaking worth the effort. So we should look into a few of the positive benefits that you could gain from practicing and learning Taekwondo. Better discipline and willpower by methodically training your mind and body in the techniques and concepts of Taekwondo, Increase self-esteem and concentration by heightening both mental and physical powers, Grow in confidence by motivating you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Lessen stress using advanced breath control, Toughen up your mind and body through improved physical coordination and mental discipline, Augment stamina, flexibility and agility by means of intense cardiovascular exertion, Teach self-defence by helping you recognise instances where self-defence could be required, and allowing you to manipulate such circumstances in your favour.

Taekwondo Belts

With regards to ranking, promotion and belts there's not actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, because there are various styles of Taekwondo which each have their own system in place. There are however similarities and they usually comprise two groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" represented by black and coloured belts respectively. The senior grades typically have 9 levels and the junior, eight to twelve tiers.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are known as "Kup". The top rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. If you're curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it is as follows, and is denoted by a number of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with "in-between" 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Hadleigh will start out with the White Belt (10th Kup), and proceed through the various coloured belts until they accomplish the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

When this training regime has been successfully completed, Hadleigh Taekwondo students advance to "black belt candidates", and they then need to progress through an additional 9 Dans if they are to achieve the Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade. So, putting it simply, there are 3 main groups in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts are; 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 will take a considerable number of years to successfully progress through.

Taekwondo Forms

Taekwondo forms (also called patterns or Poomse) are categorized by certain aspects like technique, stance and direction. From the outset you'll get to grips with a few of the important forms, and so as to progress through the rankings (belts) you'll have to learn some more technical ones.

Taekwondo Kicks

There are quite a lot of different Taekwondo kicks, here are just a few of them: Front Kick, Axe Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Crescent Kick, Push Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Back Kick, Side Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to fend off the different attacking movements, are called Makgi. Held in specific positions, they employ the hand and sections of the arm. Every block can be combined with a kick or punch to establish a counter-attacking movement, and each is meant for a particular attack. The most used "blocks" (makgi) include: Single Forearm Block, Double Forearm Block, Rising Block, Nine Block, Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Palm Block and Double Knife Hand Block.

To Summarize

So, what do you want from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's an excellent question, and the answer will be different for individual people. Most participants will just look to gain more confidence, improve their fitness levels and meet new people. We are not all going to scale the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, you never know?