Taekwondo Strathaven

Taekwondo is typically much more physically demanding than for example Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty agile and fit you may prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness in Strathaven. Younger children are clearly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Strathaven, with lots of fast paced movements going on and a great deal of high kicking.

Based primarily around kicking manoeuvres and moves like head kicks, rapid kicking styles and spinning/jumping kicks, Taekwondo was formulated from the techniques of various martial arts, by a number of Seoul martial arts specialists in new schools known as "Kwans" in the 1940's and 1950's. These "Kwans" were given the names Jido Kwan, Mooduk Kwan, Chungdo Kwan, Songmu Kwan and Changmu Kwan.

With over sixty million individuals participating in Taekwondo classes all over the world, this has unquestionably become an extremely popular and worthwhile activity, and if you become really expert at the sport you might possibly one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it's been an integral part since the 2000 Sydney Games.

For the men, women and children of Strathaven who are keen on the idea of learning a martial art, a top priority is the element of self-defence. As this is a pivotal principle of Taekwondo, it is easy to appreciate the appeal of this unique sport. With the additional bonus of learning self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for other people, registering for a local Strathaven Taekwondo class would seem to be a no brainer.

Your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will most likely never need to be tried and tested outside the regulated setting of an actual Taekwondo class, however being aware that you have them will give you peace of mind.

Your First Class

If Taekwondo isn't an activity that you have ever had a go at before, you'll most likely be wondering what you should expect from your first lesson should you make up your mind to sign up. Different Taekwondo schools in the Strathaven area have different ideas about this but roughly; you'll participate in a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up, you'll do a certain amount of technical training, you'll learn some patterns (forms), you'll practice sparring techniques and lastly you'll warm-down to help your body get back into a state of relaxation once more.

The United Kingdom governing body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you wish to sign up with a Taekwondo class in Strathaven, you will also be required to register with this organization. By heading to the British Taekwondo website you will be able to find info regarding launching a new Taekwondo club, news, equality and safeguarding, events, coaching courses, members and clubs, health and safety, coaches and competition referees, first aid, and lots more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

The ranking and belt system can get rather bewildering in Taekwondo as there's no standardized arrangement throughout the various Taekwondo styles. Likenesses can be found however, and typically there are 2 separate belt groups, represented as "seniors" (black belts) and "juniors" (coloured belts). The number of rankings in the junior section varies over the disciplines but is normally between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior's groupings generally has 9 belts or dans.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are known as "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. As is the case with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a range of different colours, so that the ranks can be easily recognised. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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. Students in Strathaven getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the White Belt (10th Kup), and advance through the colours until they attain the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

Once this training has been accomplished, Strathaven Taekwondo trainees are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they then have to progress through a further 9 Dans (ranks) if they're to achieve the title of Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the supreme accolade. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into 3 groupings; Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; 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 will take a number of years to successfully progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Belts Strathaven, Taekwondo Rankings Strathaven).

Tournaments and Competitions

Competitions and tournaments are an important aspect of the overall Taekwondo legacy, and all the diverse styles across the globe stage tournaments where Taekwondo masters gather together to compete. Hard contact is rarely allowed in any of these competitive events which primarily comprise sparring, breaking and patterns (forms). Sparring only is allowed in Olympic and WT tournaments, whilst some hand attacks are tolerated in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) events.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

Contests regulated by British Taekwondo guidelines demand that specific items of protective gear be used, these include things like: red or blue trunk armour (hogu), hand guards, forearm protectors, shin pads, a red/blue head guard, a groin protector and a mouth guard. This is crucial due to the vigorous kicking movements being employed.

Taekwondo Kicks

Kicks play a major role in Taekwondo, here are a selection of the best known ones ones: Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to fend off the various attacks, are known as Makgi. Held in particular positions, they use the hands and different parts of the arm. Each form of attack necessitates a particular kind of block, counter-attacks can be produced by integrating a block with a retaliatory punch or kick. The primary blocks include: Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Double Forearm Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block, Low Block, Rising Block and Palm Block.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Mastering the art of Taekwondo calls for getting to grips with many techniques and one of the key aspects of Taekwondo is its forms (also called Poomse or patterns). These are sequences of stance, direction and technique which need to be memorized in order for students to progress through the various dans (grades/belts).

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

When you're getting started with Taekwondo classes in Strathaven you'll be wanting to get some benefits to make the entire thing worthwhile. Therefore we should look into some of the benefits that you could get by practicing and learning Taekwondo. Teach self-defence by showing you how to recognise instances where self-defence could be necessary, and allowing you to manipulate such circumstances to your advantage, Enhance your self-esteem by elevating both mental and physical fitness, Reduced stress and anxiety by doing deep breathing exercises, Strengthen your body and mind via enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Build confidence by inspiring you to succeed and to seize control of your life, More discipline and willpower by exhaustively training your mind and body in the tactics and concepts of Taekwondo, Improve stamina, flexibility and agility by way of intensive cardiovascular exertion.

Summary

So, what are you looking 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 simply look to meet new people, gain more confidence and improve their fitness. We are not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although perhaps you will, who knows? 👊