Taekwondo Whittlesey

It has to be asserted that Taekwondo can be very demanding physically, which may put off the older and less agile folks in Whittlesey from becoming involved. To be completely fair, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are kids and younger people, but of course older people who are in decent physical health can easily take part and benefit considerably from this sport.

With its origins in 1940's Korea, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently created of the martial arts and involves primarily high-kicking movements such as rapid kicking methods, head kicks and turning/jumping kicks. It began when schools called "kwans" were founded by a bunch of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been a competitive Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity around the world with some 60 million people or more routinely attending classes. And it's by enrolling in a Taekwondo class or club that you are able to commence your quest of mastering this unique martial art.

A key element of Taekwondo is self-defence, and of course this is one of the main reasons that people in Whittlesey join classes and engage with the sport. There has been a worrying increase in violent practices in recent times and this is particularly prevalent in town and city centres around Cambridgeshire and the United Kingdom in general. The fantastic thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also encourages self-discipline and a deep respect for others, not such familiar attributes in Whittlesey these days.

While it is great to practice and master these self-defence techniques in the protected environment of your local Whittlesey Taekwondo club, with any luck you will not ever be required to use them in the wider world.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you've made up your mind to learn Taekwondo and are preparing for your first class, you'll be wondering what will happen. The following will give you an example, but this could vary depending on which Whittlesey school you attend. Fifteen to twenty minutes of warm up exercises to increase heart rate and loosen stiff muscles, a bit of technical training which will involve learning some stances, hand attacks, blocks and kicks, an introduction to some Poomse (or forms), a look at sparring including good timing, precise movement and the accurate targeting of attacks, and to round off a warm down to stretch muscles and loosen up.

British Taekwondo is the official governing body of the sport within the United Kingdom, and membership of this organisation is mandatory if you want to sign up with any Taekwondo club in Whittlesey or nearby. You will be able to read about events, beginning a new club, health and safety, coaching courses, news, first aid, members and clubs, equality and safeguarding, referees and coaching, and more on the British Taekwondo website, or get the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In Tae kwon do there is not really any form of uniformity when it comes to ranking and belts. It all hinges on which style you happen to be considering, as there are so many different Taekwondo rules and styles. However, they're typically divided into a couple of groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The colour/junior ranks range from white to red, with anything from 8 to 12 grades, whilst the black/senior belts usually have nine grades.

In the UK there are a series of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo which are generally known as "Kup". The lowest is Tenth Kup and the highest rank is First Kup. As is the case with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of colours, so the ranks are easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, specifically - 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 in Whittlesey starting out in Taekwondo will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and proceed through the colours until they earn the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

After this has been completed, Taekwondo students in Whittlesey become "black belt candidates" which sees them moving through an additional nine ranks (Dans) until they achieve the ultimate distinction of "Black Belt". Therefore, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the 3 main groupings in the Taekwondo belt order. 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 group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and will involve many years of dedication.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Taekwondo forms (also called Poomse or patterns) are characterized by certain elements like technique, direction and stance. From the start of your Taekwondo journey you will get to grips with some of the standard forms, and so as to move through the various grades (belts) you will need to master some more advanced ones.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You will probably be intrigued to understand exactly what sort of benefits could be gained by taking part in Whittlesey Taekwondo instruction and partaking fully in its activities. You could expect to: Boost confidence by motivating you to succeed and to take control of your life, Empower your body and mind thru enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Reduces stress and anxiety with controlled breathing, Improve feelings of self-esteem by elevating both physical and mental powers, Greater discipline and willpower by methodically schooling your mind and body in the techniques and concepts of Taekwondo, Teach self-defence by helping you recognise situations where self-defence might be needed, and empowering you to manipulate such scenarios in your favour, Augment stamina, agility and flexibility through intensive cardiovascular exertion.

Safety Gear

Safety gear like a gum shield, hand guards, shin protectors, forearm guards, a groin protector, a red/blue head guard and a red/blue body protector (hogu) must be used in all contests supervised by British Taekwondo. Protection from injury is needed thanks to the formidable kicking that is an integral element of this activity.

Beginners Classes

Even the best exponents of Taekwondo in Whittlesey set out as newbies, therefore there is no disgrace in being a complete beginner at Tae kwon do, or in fact any other activity. The purpose of a Taekwondo beginner class is to provide just a few basics, increase self-confidence and develop a firm base moving forward. Most importantly of all is that it should be fun, students having a good time will learn faster and be more invested.

Competitions and Tournaments

Taekwondo tournaments are held internationally in all the various styles. There's generally not a whole lot of hard contact but breaking, patterns and sparring. Olympic and WT (World Taekwondo) contests consist only of sparring, in ITF competitions certain hand attacks are allowed to the head. Other bodies stage multi-discipline tournaments.