Taekwondo Ardeer

While not wanting to discourage any particular age group, it has to be said that Taekwondo is more suited to younger people in Ardeer, being quite physically demanding. Its teachings of self-discipline and respect for others make it especially appropriate for children. It can sometimes be too taxing for older adults unless they are exceptionally fit and active. People in Ardeer who take up Taekwondo when they are young find it easy to continue when they get older. Something a bit softer like Tai Chi might be more suitable for the less agile of you.

With its beginnings in 1940's Korea, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts and entails mostly high-kicking moves such as head-height kicks, turning/jumping kicks and fast kicking techniques. It started when schools called "kwans" were founded by a group of Korean martial artists in Seoul, South Korea.

Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million practitioners all over the world, and even though you might not have any ambitions to be an Olympic Games medalist, you're still able to register for a Taekwondo class or club to learn what will no doubt prove to be a rewarding and fascinating activity.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and doubtless this is one of the main reasons that folks in Ardeer get involved in classes and take up the sport. There has been a disconcerting escalation of violent behaviour in recent times and this is especially common in city and town centres around Scotland and the country in general. The good thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also encourages self-discipline and respect for other people, not such widespread qualities in Ardeer these days.

Your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will more than likely never have to be tried and tested outside of an actual Taekwondo class, however being aware of the fact that you've got them will give you peace of mind.

What to Expect From Your First Class

For those of you who have never done Taekwondo before, you'll no doubt be intrigued to know just what to expect from your first class. The following will give you an example, but this can vary subject to which Ardeer school you go to. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen the muscles, a bit of technical training covering some blocks, hand attacks, stances and kicks, some work on patterns or forms, a few ideas on sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and finally a warm down to loosen up and stretch muscles.

Everyone who is a member of a Taekwondo class in Ardeer or any place else in the UK, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the official regulating body of the sport. By going to the official British Taekwondo website you can read info regarding coaches and referees, first aid, safe practices, events, news, clubs and members, coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, beginning a new Taekwondo club, and many more Taekwondo related facts.

The Eight Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are loads of different Taekwondo kicking moves, here are just a sample of them: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To fend off the numerous kicks and hand attacks there are a similarly diverse array of "blocks". Held in diverse positions, they involve the hand and parts of the arm. Each and every block can be merged with a punch or kick to create a counter-attacking move, and each one is meant for a particular attack. The primary "blocks" include: Double Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Rising Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Upper Block, Double Forearm Block and Single Forearm Block.

Beginners Classes

Trainees setting out on their Taekwondo experience in Ardeer will at first register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are excellent, as there is no pressure and everything's carried out at a slow and casual pace. Learning and having fun are the key objectives to start with and trainees who are enjoying themselves are inclined to learn a lot quicker and digest significantly more of what they are being taught. Even Taekwondo masters began as inexperienced newbies, so take that first step and you never know where you will wind up!

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

Tournaments and competitions are a significant element of the overall Taekwondo experience, and all of the diverse styles across the globe hold tournaments and competitions where Taekwondo masters band together to battle it out. Hard contact is rarely allowed in any of these contests which mostly comprise patterns, breaking and sparring. Sparring only is permitted in Olympic and World Taekwondo (WT) tournaments, while specified hand attacks are tolerated in ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) events.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

Since there are various different types of Taekwondo there's never been any standard system for allocating belts (ranks). What exists however is pretty similar and comprises two belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each one of these groupings is split into ranks, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and 9 for seniors.

In the UK there are a set of ranks in Taekwondo which are referred to as "Kup". The lowest rank is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is indicated by a range of different colours, so the ranks are 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Ardeer will start out with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and progress through the different colours until they accomplish the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After this has been completed, Taekwondo students in Ardeer become "black belt candidates" which requires them to move through a further 9 ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". So, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the three main divisions in the Taekwondo belt order. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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 takes many years to progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Ardeer, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Ranks Ardeer).

In Summary

So, what are you looking to get from Taekwondo? Well, that is a great question, and the answer will vary for different people. Most participants will simply look to gain more self-confidence, improve their levels of fitness and meet new people. We're certainly not all going to scale the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although maybe you will, who knows?