Taekwondo St Albans

Due to its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is perhaps more suited to the younger person in St Albans and is particularly suitable for children as it is great for developing self-discipline and respect for others. It can sometimes be too taxing for older adults unless they are exceptionally fit and active. However those who take up Taekwondo in St Albans 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.

With its beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently established of the martial arts and entails mostly kicking movements such as head-height kicks, jumping/turning kicks and fast kicking methods. It started when schools called "kwans" were founded by a bunch of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Taekwondo has grown to become extremely popular in St Albans and all around the world, with over 60 million participants worldwide. Getting started with a local St Albans Taekwondo club or class is an excellent way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. Though you might not have any dreams to get involved in Olympic competition, there's no reason why you shouldn't become a master of this remarkable martial art and have a bit of fun in the process.

It would seem that the most alluring aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. This isn't difficult to believe when you think about the high levels of violence witnessed in city centres on a daily basis. Being able to defend yourself is a key principle of Taekwondo, but this is tempered by exercising self-restraint and respecting others.

These self-defence techniques may at some point prove to be useful in your everyday life, though it is far more likely you will solely be using them within a regulated class setting. Yet it is an amazing feeling knowing that you will always be able to successfully defend yourself when you have to.

Your First St Albans Taekwondo Class

If you have never dome Taekwondo before, you may be interested to know exactly what is likely to happen on your first class. This may vary depending on which St Albans school you go to, but will usually involve the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, a bit of technical training comprising some kicks, blocking techniques, hand attacks and stances, learning your the basic forms or patterns, a few tips on sparring including timing, movement and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to prevent cramping and muscle spasms.

British Taekwondo is the regulating body of the sport within Britain, and membership of this organization is compulsory should you wish to join any Taekwondo club in St Albans or nearby. By checking out British Taekwondo's website you will be able to discover details about health and safety, news, beginning a new club, first aid, safeguarding and equality, coaches and referees, clubs and members, events, coaching courses, and lots more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

The benefits which may be acquired by taking part in Taekwondo instruction in St Albans are many and varied, among the most advantageous are: Reduced stress with controlled breathing, Help with self-defence by helping you identify circumstances in which self-defence could be necessary, and allowing you to manipulate these circumstances in your favour, Empower your mind and body via enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Improve self-esteem by raising your physical and mental health, Beef up your confidence by motivating you to succeed and to seize control of your life, More discipline and willpower by thoroughly schooling your body and mind in the principles and strategies of Taekwondo, Supercharge agility, flexibility and stamina by way of intensive cardiovascular exertion.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Mastering the art of Taekwondo will involve getting to grips with a number of techniques and one of the pivotal aspects of Taekwondo is its forms (also called Poomse or patterns). These are types of direction, technique and stance which need to be mastered in order for students to progress through the various dans (belts/grades).

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

The belt and ranking structure can get rather bewildering in Taekwondo because there's no standard arrangement across the different Taekwondo styles. Parallels do exist though, and typically there are two separate belt groupings, denoted as "seniors" (black belts) and "juniors" (coloured belts). The number of ranks in the junior section varies over the styles but is generally somewhere between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior's section typically has nine dans or belts.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo that are called "Kup". The lowest is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, just like many of the martial arts is indicated by a range of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in St Albans will begin with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and advance through the various colours until they attain the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (First Kup)

After this training regime has been completed, St Albans Taekwondo trainees become known as "black belt candidates", and they then have to progress through a further 9 Dans (ranks) if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the ultimate distinction in this sport. So, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the three main classifications in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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.

To Summarize

So, what are you hoping to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's an excellent question, and the answer will be different for individual people. The majority of participants will purely look to meet new people, gain more self-confidence and improve their fitness levels. We are definitely not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though maybe you will, who knows? 👊