Taekwondo Banstead

On account of its more physical attributes, Taekwondo is maybe more suited to the younger generation in Banstead and is particularly suited to children because it's excellent for developing self-discipline and respect for others. More elderly individuals might find it somewhat too strenuous unless they are particularly fit and active. Even so, those folks who take up Taekwondo in Banstead at a young age will find that they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less nimble of you might consider something softer like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily involves kicking moves and manoeuvres, most notably fast kicking strategies, head kicks and jumping/turning kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a group of martial arts specialists founded schools called "kwans", which combined a variety of martial arts techniques.

The total number of Taekwondo practitioners worldwide, now exceeds 60 million. Since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to give it a go, joining a local Banstead Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved. There is no reason why you cannot become a master of this exciting martial art, even if you do not aspire to Olympic competition.

The thing about Taekwondo that seems to most appeal to people in Banstead is the self-defence aspect of it. This isn't hard to believe when you think about the elevated levels of violence witnessed in town centres day after day. The ability to defend yourself while still exercising self-restraint and a respect for others is one of the main principles of Taekwondo.

Such self-defence techniques may sooner or later come in useful in your day to day life, although it's far more likely you'll only be using them within a regulated class setting. However it's a nice feeling knowing that you can always defend yourself when you need to.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you have never done Taekwondo before you may be a little concerned as to what to expect on your first lesson. The following will give you an idea, but this may vary from school to school. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to loosen your muscles and increase your heart rate, some technical training including learning some stances, blocking techniques, hand attacks and kicks, learning some Poomse (or forms), a look at sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and lastly a warm down to prevent cramping and muscle spasms.

British Taekwondo is the official governing body of the sport within the British Isles, and membership of this organisation is compulsory if you would like to sign up with any Taekwondo class in Banstead or nearby. By visiting British Taekwondo's website you will be able to read facts about clubs and members, safe practices, equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, events, first aid, news, starting a new club, referees and coaching, and lots more Taekwondo related issues.

Benefits to be Gained From Taekwondo

There are of course, plenty of benefits to be gained from participating in Taekwondo, and here are just some which might be of interest to you: Augment agility, flexibility and stamina through intense cardiovascular work-outs, Help with self-defence by helping you recognise occasions in which self-defence might be necessary, and enabling you to control such circumstances to your advantage, Grow in confidence by helping you to seize control of your life and succeed, Lower anxiety with controlled breathing, Improve self-esteem by intensifying your physical and mental health, Empower your body and mind thru enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Better self-discipline by thoroughly training your mind and body in the doctrines and tactics of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Belts

Since there are many different kinds of Taekwondo there's never really been any uniform arrangement for allocating belts (ranks). What exists is however fairly similar and involves two belt groupings "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groupings is split into grades, eight to twelve colours in the case of juniors and 9 for the seniors.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks (belts) that are referred to as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of colours, so that the ranks are easily identified. 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Banstead will begin with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and move up through the different colours until they accomplish the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Banstead become "black belt candidates" which involves them proceeding through yet another nine ranks (Dans) until they achieve the ultimate accolade of "Black Belt" status. Therefore, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the three main groupings in the Taekwondo belt order. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior division are; 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 process that will take a considerable number of years. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Ranks Banstead, Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Belts Banstead).