Taekwondo Abram

Taekwondo is quite physically demanding, which means it may be considered more suitable for the younger rather than the older generation in Abram. Its teachings of self-discipline and respect for others make it particularly good for children. It could prove too taxing for some older adults, but shouldn't be a problem for those who are already fit and active. People in Abram who take up Taekwondo when they are young find it easy to continue when they get older. If you are less agile you could always try something a bit softer such as Tai Chi or Yoga.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly features kicking manoeuvres, in particular head kicks, jumping/spinning kicks and fast kicking methods. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a group of martial arts specialists founded schools known as "kwans", which blended a variety of martial arts techniques.

With over 60 million individuals engaged in Taekwondo sessions all over the world, this has definitely become an extremely popular pastime, and if you really master this martial art you might even one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it's been an integral part since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

It seems to be the case that the most appealing element of Taekwondo is self-defence. This is not surprising when you take into account the rising levels of violence seen in city and town centres nowadays. Learning to properly defend yourself while at the same time exercising self-restraint and respect for others is a key principle of Taekwondo.

Although it will give you peace of mind being aware that you have these self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the likelihood is that you will never have to test them outside of an actual Taekwondo class.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you have never done Taekwondo previously, you could be a bit concerned as to what can be expected on your first class. This will vary from school to school but will typically consist of all or some of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, a bit of technical training involving learning some kicks, blocks, stances and hand attacks, studying a few forms, a brief introduction to sparring which will include movement, the timing of attacks and timing, and lastly a warm down to relax and stretch weary muscles.

If you would like to sign up to a Taekwondo class in Abram, you'll also have to register with the sport's official governing body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to get lots of information on safe practices, first aid, events, news, referees and coaching, members and clubs, starting a new Taekwondo club, coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, and more, by popping along to British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

The ranking and belt structure can get somewhat complicated in Taekwondo since there isn't any recognised system across the various Taekwondo styles. Analogies do exist however, and commonly there are two separate belt groupings, denoted as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of ranks in the junior groupings varies across the styles but is normally between eight and twelve belts, while the senior section normally has 9 dans or belts.

In the UK there are a sequence of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo that are generally known as "Kup". The lowest rank is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, just like the vast majority of the martial arts is portrayed by a range of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, 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. The White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo novices in Abram will commence with, they'll then move up through the coloured belts, finally reaching the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which will take around 3-4 years of training and lessons.

Taekwondo trainees in Abram are considered to be "black belt candidates" once they have succeeded with this challenge, and they will then have to move through an additional 9 ranks (or Dans) if they aim to achieve the supreme accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Hence, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into 3 groupings; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior division 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 range from 1st to 9th Dan, a qualification process which takes many years.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Mastering Taekwondo calls for getting to grips with a number of disciplines and one of the key parts of Taekwondo is its forms (also called patterns or Poomse). These are types of technique, stance and direction which need to be mastered in order for participants to move through the various dans (belts/grades).

The Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are lots of different Taekwondo kicking moves, here are just a few of them: Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To defend against the numerous kicks and hand attacks there are a similarly diverse array of "blocks". Held in diverse positions, they use the hand and different sections of the arm. Each form of attack calls for a specific style of block, counter-attacking manoeuvres can be created by combining a block with a retaliatory kick or punch. The main blocks (makgi) include: Upper Block, Nine Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Palm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block and Rising Block.