Taekwondo Bramhall

Taekwondo is typically much more physically demanding than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and nimble you might prefer to find something a bit gentler to boost your fitness levels in Bramhall. Younger children are certainly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Bramhall, with a lot of fast paced movements going on and plenty of high kicking.

The sport was first practiced in Korea in around 1945, though the name Taekwondo was not coined until the 1950's. Some exciting new schools called "kwans", incorporating various martial arts techniques were established in Seoul by a group of Korean martial arts fanatics. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mostly entails kicking movements, especially rapid kicking techniques, head kicks and spinning/jumping kicks. Now Bramhall Taekwondo classes comply with this tradition.

Taekwondo has grown to become extremely popular in Bramhall and all across the globe, with over 60 million participants worldwide. Registering with a local Bramhall Taekwondo club or class is a great way to get involved with this activity which has even been included in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games in 2000. Although you might not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you cannot become an expert at this exhilarating martial art and have some fun along the way.

In these days of increasing violence, it's hardly surprising that individuals in areas like Bramhall are enrolling in self-defence classes like Taekwondo to help them feel safer and more secure in their local environment. The self-defence aspect is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo but it also encourages self-restraint and a deep respect for those around us, which are qualities that are often absent in 21st century living.

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

Your First Lesson

If you've booked your first class but have not tried Taekwondo before, you might be wondering what to prepare for. Most Taekwondo schools in Bramhall follow a similar pattern, but there may be some variation to the following. A 15-20 minute warm up, a little technical training covering some stances, blocks, hand attacks and kicks, learning the first forms or patterns, a look at sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and last but not least a warm down to loosen up and stretch weary muscles.

Anybody wishing to join a Taekwondo club in Bramhall must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official regulating body of the sport in the UK. By going to British Taekwondo's official website you'll be able to read details of news, events, health and safety, safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, coaches and referees, first aid, launching a new club, members and clubs, and a lot more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

There are a multitude of contests in Taekwondo associated with all the different styles. They largely comprise breaking, sparring and patterns (forms) with not much "hard contact". ITF tournaments don't permit excessive contact but do allow hand attacks to the head. WT (World Taekwondo) and Olympic tournaments only allow sparring. Multi-style contests are also held.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You'll undoubtedly be fascinated to find out about exactly what sort of benefits might be obtained by attending Bramhall Taekwondo classes and participating fully in its practices. You could expect to: Increase concentration and self-esteem by intensifying your physical and mental health, Better discipline and willpower by extensively educating your mind and body in the principles and techniques of Taekwondo, Learn self-defence by helping you to realize situations where self-defence may be necessary, and enabling you to control these kinds of situations in your favour, Strengthen your mind and body by way of increased physical coordination and mental discipline, Turbocharge stamina, agility and flexibility by way of extreme cardiovascular effort, Build up your confidence by pushing you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Lower anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises.

The Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are loads of different Taekwondo kicks, listed here are just eight of them: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To stop and deflect an incoming attack, "blocks" (known as Makgi) are used. Held in various positions, they involve the hands and parts of the arm. Specific attacks necessitate particular "blocks", but "blocks" can also be turned into counter-attacking moves by linking retaliatory kicks or punches. The main blocks (makgi) include: Upper Block, Rising Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Palm Block and Nine Block.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

British Taekwondo contests require specific safety equipment to be worn to safeguard contenders from personal injury due to the powerful kicks that are used. These safety items include: hand guards, a mouth guard, a groin guard, a blue/red head guard, red/blue trunk armour (hogu), forearm guards and shin protectors.

Taekwondo Belts

In relation to belts, promotion and ranking there isn't actually any standardization in Taekwondo, since there are various styles of Taekwondo which each have their own unique arrangement. There are however analogies and they normally consist of two groups of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior ranks usually have nine tiers and the junior, between 8 and 12 ranks.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks that are referred to as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). If you are interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a number of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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 Bramhall will begin with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and advance through the different coloured belts until they accomplish the Red With Black Stripe Belt (First Kup)

Taekwondo students in Bramhall are considered as "black belt candidates" once they have worked their way through these rankings, and they will then need to proceed through a further nine ranks (or Dans) if they aspire to achieve the ultimate distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three divisions; Junior, Senior and Black Belts. 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 group 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 process that will take a considerable number of years. (Tags: Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Promotion Bramhall, Taekwondo Belts Bramhall, Taekwondo Belt Order).