Taekwondo Lowestoft

It needs to be asserted that Taekwondo can be fairly demanding physically, which could unnerve the older and less nimble folks in Lowestoft from becoming involved. To be completely fair, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are kids and the younger generation, but certainly older individuals who are in excellent physical health can easily take part and benefit from this sport.

Based mainly around kicking moves and manoeuvres like rapid kicking styles, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks, Taekwondo was developed from the practices of various diverse martial arts, by a number of Seoul martial arts specialists in new schools known as "Kwans" during the nineteen forties and fifties. These "Kwans" were given the names Jido Kwan, Songmu Kwan, Mooduk Kwan, Chungdo Kwan and Changmu Kwan.

Taekwondo has become extremely popular in Lowestoft and around the globe, with more than 60 million practitioners worldwide. Joining a local Lowestoft Taekwondo class or club is a good way to get involved with this sporting activity which has even been a feature of the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. Although you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is certainly no reason why you cannot become an expert at this intriguing martial art and have some fun along the way.

In these times of escalating violence, it's little surprise that individuals in locations like Lowestoft are attending self-defence techniques such as Taekwondo to enable them to feel safer and more secure in their everyday life. The self-defence element is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo but at the same time it also promotes self-restraint and a respect for others around us, which are traits that are frequently absent in 21st century living.

Hopefully, outside your local Taekwondo club environment, you won't ever need to apply your newly acquired skills to defend yourself.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If you have never had a go at Taekwondo previously, you may be somewhat apprehensive as to what you can expect on your very first class. This varies from club to club but will typically comprise some or all of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase heart rate, some technical training including learning some blocks, hand attacks, stances and kicks, studying some forms, an introduction to sparring including timing, the timing of attacks and movement, and lastly a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

Everybody who's a member of a Taekwondo club in Lowestoft or anywhere else in the British Isles, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the regulating body of the sport. You'll be able to read about safeguarding and equality, first aid, safe practices, events, coaching courses, referees and coaching, members and clubs, establishing a new Taekwondo club, news, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and find out the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Perfecting Taekwondo will involve learning a number of disciplines and techniques and one of the pivotal aspects of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as Poomse or patterns). These are types of stance, direction and technique which must be memorized in order for pupils to progress through the different dans (belts/grades).

Taekwondo Belts

In the art of taekwondo there is really no form of uniformity with regards to belts and grades. It is all dependent upon what style you're considering, because there are so many different Taekwondo styles. They are however, generally separated into two groups "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour ranks consist of white to red, with anything from 8 to 12 levels, while the black/senior belts normally have nine grades.

Competitions and Tournaments

A regular Taekwondo competition includes sparring, breaking and patterns, in the Olympics only sparring is involved. Having said that there are also some unique events in particular competitions such as self-defence and team demonstrations. World Taekwondo contests are purely soft-contact affairs, while International Taekwon-Do Federation tournaments allow some hand attacks towards the head. There are also a number of multi-discipline tournaments.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

It does not matter who you are or what you're capable of in Taekwondo, at one time you were a total novice, knowing nothing and fearing failure. We've all started out at that point and can only learn and develop through practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Lowestoft are the best place to begin that learning process and to pick up the basic principles so you can build confidence and move forward in your Taekwondo quest. The majority of beginner classes are set up to be fun and friendly, providing a gradual introduction to the basic Taekwondo principles and developing a firm base moving forward.