Taekwondo Sheerness

Taekwondo is typically far more physically demanding than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty nimble and fit you may prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness levels in Sheerness. Children are definitely an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Sheerness, with lots of fast movements going on and plenty of high kicking.

Taekwondo came from Korea in 1945. In Seoul, a group of Korean martial arts devotees established some exciting new schools which they named "kwans", practicing a combination of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mostly involves kicking movements, especially fast kicking styles, turning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks. These days Sheerness Taekwondo classes adhere to this tradition.

With over 60 million fitness enthusiasts participating in Taekwondo classes all around the globe, this has unquestionably become an extremely popular pastime, and if you really master this martial art you may even one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it's been a part ever since the 2000 Sydney Games.

The thing about Taekwondo that seems to most appeal to people in Sheerness is the self-defence aspect of it. This is not surprising when you take into account the ever rising levels of violence seen in town and city centres nowadays. Being capable of defending yourself is a key factor of Taekwondo, but this is tempered by respecting others and exercising self-restraint.

There is a fairly decent likelihood that your eagerly learned Taekwondo skills will never have to be proven in the outside world, but it will most certainly give you a secure feeling knowing that they are sitting in the background should you ever be in need of them.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If you have never attempted Taekwondo before you may be a bit anxious as to what you should expect on your first lesson. The following will give you an illustration, but this will vary subject to which Sheerness school you go to. A 15 to 20 minute warm up, a bit of technical training comprising some hand attacks, blocking techniques, stances and kicks, some work on patterns or forms (Poomse in Korean), a few ideas on sparring including good timing, movement and targeting attacks, and lastly a warm down with muscle stretching and loosening up.

Everyone who is a registered member of a Taekwondo club in Sheerness or anywhere else in the UK, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the official governing body of the sport. By heading to British Taekwondo's website you'll be able to discover info on referees and coaching, coaching courses, members and clubs, launching a new Taekwondo club, safe practices, first aid, safeguarding and equality, events, news, and a lot more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

The belt and ranking system can get very bewildering in Taekwondo since there is no standard arrangement across the diverse Taekwondo disciplines. Analogies do exist however, and generally there are two separate belt groupings, signified as "seniors" (black dans) and "juniors" (colours). The number of levels in the junior section varies across the disciplines but is generally between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior's section commonly has nine belts or dans.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks that are known as "Kup", these ranks go from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). If you are eager to know 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 "in-between" belts with stripes, namely 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 Sheerness will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and advance through the colours until they reach the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

Taekwondo students in Sheerness are known as "black belt candidates" after they have worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then be faced with progressing through another 9 ranks (or Dans) if they plan to achieve the supreme distinction Taekwondo Black Belt. So, Junior, Senior and Black Belt are the 3 primary groupings in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior division 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 process that will take many years.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Competitions regulated by British Taekwondo guidelines demand that certain items of protective equipment be worn, these include things like: red/blue trunk armour (hogu), hand protectors, a groin protector, shin protectors, forearm guards, a gum shield and a red/blue head protector. This is vital due to the powerful kicking actions being employed.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

When you are enrolling in Taekwondo classes in Sheerness you'll be hoping to get a few benefits to make the entire venture worth the effort. And so why don't we look at a few of the benefits that you could get by practicing and learning Taekwondo. Help with self-defence by helping you recognise scenarios where self-defence might be required, and empowering you to turn these kinds of scenarios to your advantage, Beef up your confidence by encouraging you to take control of your life and succeed, Reduces anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Toughen up your mind and body by means of improved mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Increase feelings of self-esteem by raising both physical and mental powers, Develop self-discipline by extensively schooling your mind and body in the strategies and doctrines of Taekwondo, Augment agility, stamina and flexibility through intense cardiovascular work-outs.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Novices just starting out Taekwondo don't need to worry too much about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, but they will have to get to grips with some basic ones to begin with and move forward to more challenging "forms" as they move up the various belts (grades/dans). A form is signified by specified areas of Taekwondo including stance, technique and direction. Learning these sequences is a key part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Sheerness Taekwondo for Beginners

With any activity or sport we've got to start somewhere, and Taekwondo's just the same. Even the uppermost Sheerness Taekwondo masters were total rookies at one point. So, exactly what can you expect as a total beginner at Taekwondo? Beginner classes should give their students enough training to give them the basic principles and allow them to develop confidence as they progress. The perfect beginners class needs to be fun as well as educational, when individuals are enjoying themselves they are a lot more invested and are going to learn quicker.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

Taekwondo competitions and tournaments are held around the world in all of the diverse styles. There's generally not a whole lot of hard contact but breaking, sparring and patterns. Olympic and World Taekwondo tournaments only consist of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) contests specified hand attacks are allowed to the head. Some other bodies stage multi-discipline events.

The Taekwondo Kicks

There are lots of different kicking movements which are used in Taekwondo. The following are a sample of the best known: Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To fend off the numerous kicks and hand attacks there are an equally diverse assortment of "blocks". They are held in specific positions and employ the hands with different sections of the arm. Each form of attack necessitates a particular kind of block, counter-attacking movements can be produced by combining a block with a retaliatory punch or kick. The primary blocks (makgi) include: Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Palm Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Nine Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block and Upper Block.

Final Thoughts

We can more or less guarantee that if you participate in Taekwondo you'll improve your wellbeing, make more friends and gain more confidence. If that's all that you take away from it, then that is great, you can call it an achievement! We're not all striving to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you that are, need to begin with that initial step. Good luck on your quest! 👊