Taekwondo Honiton

Images of young children doing rapid punches and energetic kicking manoeuvres, are what spring to mind at the mere mention of Taekwondo. There is no doubt that the younger generation are more equipped to cope with the physical demands of this high energy sport, but this isn't to say that people of any age cannot get involved. It does however help if you are relatively agile to fully enjoy all the ins and outs of Taekwondo.

With its root beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts and entails primarily kicking moves such as jumping/spinning kicks, head kicks and fast kicking techniques. It started when schools called "kwans" were founded by a group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

With over 60 million individuals participating in Taekwondo sessions all around the globe, this has certainly become an extremely popular and beneficial activity, and if you become really expert at the martial art you might even one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

For the men, women and children of Honiton who like the idea of learning a martial art, a top priority is the element of self-defence. Considering that this is a key concept of Taekwondo, it isn't difficult to appreciate the appeal of this unique sport. With the added benefit of learning self-restraint and having a degree of respect for others, registering for a local Honiton Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

There is a fairly good chance that your eagerly learned Taekwondo skills will never have to be proven in your day to day life, but it will undoubtedly give you reassurance knowing that they are sitting in the background should you need them.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you've just booked your very first Taekwondo class, you will be wondering what to expect. The following will give you an illustration, but this could vary subject to which Honiton school you go to. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, a bit of technical training which will involve learning some blocking techniques, stances, kicks and hand attacks, an introduction to some Poomse (or forms), a look at sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and to finish off a warm down to prevent cramping and muscle spasms.

If you want to sign up to a Taekwondo club in Honiton, you'll also have to register with the sport's official regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. By going to the official British Taekwondo website you will be able to read details of health and safety, coaching courses, coaches and referees, first aid, news, safeguarding and equality, launching a new Taekwondo club, members and clubs, events, and many more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

Tournaments are an important aspect of the overall Taekwondo experience, and all the different styles across the world hold competitions where Taekwondo masters come together to battle it out. Hard contact is hardly ever permitted in any of these competitive events which primarily comprise breaking, sparring and patterns (forms). Sparring only is allowed in Olympic and World Taekwondo (WT) tournaments, while certain hand attacks are tolerated in ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) events.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

Because there are various disciplines of Taekwondo there's never been any recognised system for assigning belts (promotion). What does exist however is relatively similar and is made up of 2 belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groups is divided into grades, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and nine "blacks" for seniors.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are represented by what are known as "Kup". The top rank is First Kup and the lowest (beginners) is Tenth Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, much like the vast majority of the martial arts is denoted by a range of colours, these colours are 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 of Taekwondo in Honiton will start out with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and progress through the different colours until they earn the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

Taekwondo trainees in Honiton become known as "black belt candidates" after they have worked their way through these rankings, and they will then have to proceed through yet another nine ranks (or Dans) if they wish to achieve the ultimate distinction Taekwondo Black Belt. Therefore, putting it simply, there are 3 primary sections in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior 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 takes a number of years to progress through. (Tags: Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Promotion Honiton, Taekwondo Belts Honiton).

Beginners Taekwondo Honiton

Students setting out on their Taekwondo experience in Honiton will first of all register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are awesome, since there are no rigid demands and everything's carried out at a relaxed, slow pace. Learning and having fun are the primary objectives at first and students who are enjoying themselves are inclined to learn much quicker and digest more of what they are being shown. Even Taekwondo masters began as clueless newbies, so take that first step and who knows where you'll end up!