Taekwondo Brierley Hill

Since Taekwondo has pretty high physical requirements, it is possibly more suitable for the younger generation in Brierley Hill. That isn't to say that the older generation cannot be involved in this kind of activity, but just that there could be other martial arts that are more appropriate for the less agile of us. Tai Chi would be a perfect illustration.

With its root beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts and consists of primarily kicking movements such as fast kicking techniques, jumping/turning kicks and head-height kicks. It began when schools known as "kwans" were set up by a group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Taekwondo has grown to become really popular in Brierley Hill and all over the world, with over sixty million practitioners worldwide. Becoming a member of a local Brierley Hill Taekwondo class or club is a good way to become involved with this sporting activity which has even been a part of the Olympic Games ever since the Sydney Games of 2000. Although you might not have any dreams to be involved in Olympic competition, there's no reason why you cannot become a maestro of this remarkable martial art and have some fun in the process.

For many folks in Brierley Hill, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that holds the most appeal. And in these days of increasing violence, especially in town and city centres, it really is no surprise that this sits high on people's list of priorities. It is a key element of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your ability to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect others and learn self-restraint.

While its good to know they're there when you need them, with a bit of luck you will never have the need to use your newly perfected Taekwondo techniques for defending yourself outside of your local club surroundings.

Your First Class

If you have never done Taekwondo previously, you may be a little anxious as to what can be expected on your first lesson. This varies from school to school but will typically comprise some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase the heart rate, some practical training involving learning some stances, kicks, blocking techniques and hand attacks, learning some forms, a quick introduction to sparring including timing, attack timing and movement, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch weary muscles.

Any person who joins a Taekwondo class in Brierley Hill must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official regulating body of the sport in the United Kingdom. You will be able to learn about coaching courses, clubs and members, news, starting a new Taekwondo club, first aid, coaches and referees, safeguarding and equality, health and safety, events, and more on British Taekwondo's website, or find the latest Taekwondo news reports on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Tournaments and Competitions

A standard Taekwondo competition incorporates breaking, sparring and patterns, where the Olympics is concerned only sparring is included. That said there are also some special categories in specific competitions such as team demonstrations and self-defence. WT (World Taekwondo) tournaments are strictly soft-contact affairs, whilst ITF competitions allow some hand attacks aimed at the head. There are also a number of multi-discipline competitions.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The ranking and belt system can get somewhat bewildering in Taekwondo since there's no standard system across the diverse Taekwondo styles. Parallels can be found though, and typically there are 2 distinct belt groupings, represented as "seniors" (black dans) and "juniors" (colours). The number of rankings in the junior group varies through the styles but is usually somewhere between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior section usually has nine dans or belts.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks (belts) that are referred to as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a number 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, 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Brierley Hill will commence with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and proceed through the colours until they accomplish the First Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt)

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo students in Brierley Hill become "black belt candidates" which sees them proceeding through yet another 9 ranks (Dans) right up until they eventually achieve the accolade of "Black Belt". Therefore, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the 3 principal classifications in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior group of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and involves many years of dedication.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is renowned for its powerful kicks, listed here are the basic ones: Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi). Blocks: To defend against the numerous kicks and hand attacks there are an equally diverse assortment of blocks (Makgi). Held in specific positions, they involve the hand and areas of the arm. Certain attacks call for particular blocks, but blocks can also be changed into counter-attacking moves by the combination of retaliatory punches or kicks. The principal "blocks" (makgi) include: Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Nine Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block and Rising Block.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Mastering Taekwondo calls for learning a number of techniques and one of the key parts of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as patterns or Poomse). These are sequences of stance, direction and technique which must be mastered in order for students to progress through the different dans (belts/grades).