Taekwondo Stranraer

Taekwondo is an ideal sport for children in Stranraer, because it teaches self-discipline and a respect for others. Its more physical aspects make it more suited to younger people. It can sometimes be too taxing for older adults unless they are exceptionally fit and active. People in Stranraer who take up Taekwondo when they are young find it easy to continue when they get older. Tai Chi or something similarly softer might be more suitab le for the less agile of you.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily involves high-kicking manoeuvres, in particular spinning/jumping kicks, head-height kicks and fast kicking strategies. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts founded schools called "kwans", which merged a variety of martial arts practices.

The number of Taekwondo students globally, now exceeds sixty million. Signing up for a local Taekwondo class or club in Stranraer is a good way to get involved with this activity which is now an Olympic sport. Whilst noone would expect you to get to Olympic standard, you could certainly be one of the best Taekwondo exponents in Stranraer.

It would seem that the most interesting element of Taekwondo is self-defence. And its no real surprise that this sits prominently on people's list of priorities when you take into account the ever increasing amounts of violence seen these days in town and city centres throughout Britain. In fact one of the main benefits of Taekwondo is learning to defend yourself whilst exercising a degree of self-restraint and having respect for others.

While its good to know that you're able to defend yourself whenever you need to, it's hoped that you never need to test this outside of your local Taekwondo club environment.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

Different Taekwondo schools in Stranraer will have different guidelines for what pupils should be covering on their very first lesson, however to give you a perception of what you can expect most initial Taekwondo lessons will involve a warm-up, some sparring, learning forms (Poomse), an introduction to blocks, hand attacks, kicks and stances (technical training) and a warm-down to stretch weary muscles and return the body to a state of equilibrium.

Everybody who is a member of a Taekwondo club in Stranraer or anywhere else in the United Kingdom, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the regulating body of the sport. By exploring British Taekwondo's website you'll be able to read details about clubs and members, safe practices, news, establishing a new Taekwondo club, referees and coaching, events, first aid, coaching courses, safeguarding and equality, and many more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Belts

In Taekwondo there's not really any standardization in relation to grades and belts. It all depends on which style you are considering, as there are so many different Taekwondo styles and rules. They are however, typically separated into two groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour rankings consist of white to red, with from 8 to 12 ranks, whilst the black/senior belts typically have 9 ranks.

Ranks (belts) in Taekwondo in the UK are symbolized by what are referred to as "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, just like the vast majority of the martial arts is denoted by a number of different 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 Stranraer will commence with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and proceed through the different colours until they achieve the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (First Kup)

As soon as this training has been accomplished, Stranraer Taekwondo trainees are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they then need to earn an additional 9 Dans or ranks if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which is the supreme accolade in this sport. Therefore, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into 3 groupings; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior division Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior group of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and will involve many years of dedicated training.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

There are of course, lots of benefits to be had from practicing Taekwondo, and here are just a few that may be attractive to you: Enhance feelings of self-esteem by intensifying your mental and physical fitness, Learn self-defence by helping you to identify occasions where self-defence may be required, and enabling you to control these scenarios in your favour, Reduced stress with controlled breathing, Augment flexibility, stamina and agility by way of strenuous cardiovascular effort, Better discipline and willpower by exhaustively educating your body and mind in the doctrines and techniques of Taekwondo, Toughen up your mind and body through increased mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Build up your confidence by encouraging you to take control of your life and succeed.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

British Taekwondo tournaments require specific safety equipment to be worn to protect competitors from personal injury due to the vigorous kicks that occur. This safety equipment includes: a mouth guard, a groin protector, a red/blue head guard, forearm protectors, shin protectors, red or blue body armour (hogu) and hand guards.

Taekwondo Tournaments

There are an array of competitions and tournaments in Taekwondo involving all the various styles. They mostly include patterns, breaking and sparring with hardly any "hard contact". ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) competitions don't allow disproportionate contact but sometimes permit hand attacks to the head. World Taekwondo and Olympic tournaments only allow sparring. Multi-style contests also take place.

Taekwondo Kicks

There are lots of different Taekwondo kicks, listed here are just a few of them: Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to defend against the different attacking movements, are known as Makgi. They are held in various positions and use the hands with different parts of the arm. Specific attacks require specified blocks, but "blocks" can also be transformed into counter-attacks by linking reciprocal kicks or punches. The principal blocks include: Nine Block, Single Forearm Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Low Block and Palm Block.

In Conclusion

We can't all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I reckon that we don't all want to be. Taekwondo is not solely about Olympic medals and National Championships. Most of us are content to meet different people, improve our fitness levels and make new friends, and that is how it should be. However, as with most things in life, what you get from it will be determined by what you put into it. Good luck!