Taekwondo Blantyre

Owing to its rather more physical attributes, Taekwondo is maybe more appropriate for the younger generation in Blantyre and is especially suitable for children because it is great for developing respect for others and self-discipline. More elderly people may find it a bit too challenging unless they are especially fit and active. Even so, those folks who persue Taekwondo in Blantyre at a young age will find they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less agile of you might think about something softer like Tai Chi.

With its early beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently created of the martial arts and consists of primarily high-kicking movements such as head kicks, jumping/spinning kicks and rapid kicking methods. It started when schools called "kwans" were established by a bunch of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Taekwondo has grown to become really popular in Blantyre and all around the world, with more than 60 million participants worldwide. Getting started with a local Blantyre Taekwondo class or club is a great way to get involved in this sporting activity which has even been a feature of the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games in 2000. Whilst you may not have any ambitions to get involved in Olympic competition, there is no reason why you cannot become a maestro of this exciting martial art and have some fun along the way.

In these times of ever-increasing violence, it's little surprise that folks in locations like Blantyre are attending self-defence classes such as Taekwondo to help them to feel safer and more secure in their local environment. The self-defence element is one of the key factors of Taekwondo but it also teaches self-restraint and a deep respect for those around us, which are traits that are frequently missing in this modern age.

While it will instill you with confidence knowing that you have such self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the odds are that you will never need to use them outside of an organized Taekwondo class.

Your First Blantyre Taekwondo Lesson

If you've never attempted Taekwondo before, you will be curious to know exactly what is likely to occur on your first class. This may vary from class to class but will generally include most or all of the following. 15-20 minutes of warm up exercises to loosen stiff muscles and increate your heart rate, some technical training comprising some hand attacks, blocks, stances and kicks, an introduction to some Poomse (or forms), some tips on sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and lastly a warm down to prevent cramping and muscle spasms.

If you wish to sign up to a Taekwondo club in Blantyre, you'll also have to become a member of the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You can learn about health and safety, starting a new club, coaches and referees, coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, clubs and members, events, first aid, news, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and get the latest news stories on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Safety Gear

British Taekwondo competitions call for certain safety equipment to be worn to safeguard competitors from being injured as a result of the potent kicking that takes place. These safety items include: hand guards, shin guards, forearm protectors, a mouth protector, a red or blue head protector, a groin guard and a blue/red body guard (hogu).

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Perfecting the art of Taekwondo will involve getting to grips with many disciplines and techniques and one of the key aspects of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as Poomse or patterns). These are types of technique, direction and stance which need to be mastered in order for pupils to move through the different dans (belts/grades).

Taekwondo - The Benefits

When enrolling in Taekwondo classes in Blantyre you'll be aiming to get a few benefits to make the entire undertaking worth the effort. Therefore why don't we take a look at a few of the many benefits that you might acquire from learning and doing Taekwondo. Supercharge agility, stamina and flexibility through intense cardiovascular effort, Learn self-defence strategies by showing you how to recognise scenarios in which self-defence might be needed, and empowering you to manipulate such circumstances in your favour, Lessen stress and anxiety using advanced breath control, Toughen up your mind and body through accelerated mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Build your confidence by helping you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Better discipline by thoroughly schooling your mind and body in the strategies and concepts of Taekwondo, Increase your self-esteem by raising both physical and mental powers.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

Since there are various disciplines of Taekwondo there has never really been any standardized system for allocating belts (ranks). What exists however is fairly similar and involves 2 belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groupings is divided into levels, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and 9 for seniors.

In the UK there are a sequence of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo that are referred to as "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. If you are curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is indicated by a number of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with "in-between" 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Blantyre will start out with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and advance through the coloured belts until they attain the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (First Kup)

Taekwondo students in Blantyre are considered to be "black belt candidates" once they have succeeded with this challenge, and they will then be faced with moving through a further nine ranks (or Dans) if they aim to achieve the consummate accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. So, Junior, Senior and Black Belts are the three principal groupings 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 a number of years to successfully progress through.

Final Thoughts

The benefits that you acquire from Taekwondo will be directly related to what you put into it (as applies with life in general). The majority of you will just want to make new friends, meet different people and improve your fitness levels, some might wish to take part in competitions or tournaments or maybe even the Olympics. But remember, we cannot all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad. 👊