Taekwondo Brockworth

As a result of its rather more physical attributes, Taekwondo is maybe more suitable for the younger person in Brockworth and is especially suitable for kids because it is great for developing self-discipline and respect for other people. Older adults could find it a bit too strenuous unless they're particularly fit and active. However, those folks who persue Taekwondo in Brockworth from a young age will discover they can easily carry it on when they are older. The less agile of you might consider participating in something softer like Tai Chi.

The name Taekwondo was only coined in the 1950's, although the sport started life in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts devotees in Seoul founded some schools called "kwans", where they practiced a mixture of martial arts techniques. This ultimately became known as Taekwondo and the primary focus of the discipline was on kicking movements, in particular jumping/spinning kicks, head-height kicks and rapid kicking strategies. Nowadays Brockworth Taekwondo classes stick to this tradition.

Taekwondo has become extremely popular in Brockworth and around the globe, with more than 60 million participants worldwide. Signing up for a local Brockworth Taekwondo club or class is a good way to become involved in this sporting activity which has even been a feature of the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games in 2000. Although you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you should not become a master of this exhilarating martial art and have some fun in the process.

It seems that the most appealing aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. You should not be surprised by this, when you take into account the high incidence of violence seen in today's town and city centres. It is a key factor 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.

These self-defence techniques may sooner or later prove to be useful in the outside world, though it is far more likely you will only be testing them within a monitored class setting. However it's a nice feeling knowing that you'll always be in a position to defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Class

If you decide to register for Taekwondo training in Brockworth, the first thing you will need to know is what is going to happen on the very first lesson and just what will the instructor be expecting of you. Different Taekwondo masters in the Brockworth area will devise differing routines for this first lesson but you can anticipate doing a 15 minute warm-up to loosen your muscles and get the blood flowing, learn some basic Poomse (forms, go through some practical training (hand attacks, stances, blocks and kicks), do some sparring, and to finish, warm-down.

British Taekwondo is the official governing body of the sport within the United Kingdom, and membership of this organization is compulsory should you wish to sign up with any Taekwondo class in Brockworth or nearby. By going to British Taekwondo's official website you will be able to read facts about coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, coaches and competition referees, starting a new Taekwondo club, first aid, news, safe practices, events, members and clubs, and a lot more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

In the art of taekwondo there's not really any form of uniformity with regards to ranking and belts. It all depends upon which style you happen to be considering, since there are such a diversity of Taekwondo styles. However, they're generally divided into two groups "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour ranks consist of white to red, with anything from 8 to 12 grades, whilst the black/senior belts commonly have nine rankings.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks that are generally known as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). As with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of colours, so the ranks can be 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. Students in Brockworth getting started in Taekwondo will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and proceed through the colours until they attain the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

After this has been completed, Taekwondo students in Brockworth are considered to be "black belt candidates" which entails them proceeding through a further 9 ranks (Dans) up until they achieve the ultimate distinction of "Black Belt". Therefore, putting it simply, there are 3 main sections in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior division 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 division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of dedication and training. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Brockworth, Taekwondo Rankings Brockworth, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order).

The Taekwondo Kicks

Kicks play an important role in Taekwondo, here are a small selection of the more basic ones: Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to fend off the different attacking moves, are known as Makgi. Employing the hand and areas of the arm, they are held in particular positions. Specific attacks necessitate specified blocks, but blocks can also be transformed into counter-attacks by combining reciprocal kicks or punches. The principal "blocks" (makgi) include: Double Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Palm Block, Double Forearm Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block and Knife Hand Block.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Competitions governed by British Taekwondo policies demand that specific items of protective equipment be worn, these include: a blue or red head protector, forearm guards, a groin guard, shin pads, hand guards, red or blue body armour and a gum shield. This is important on account of the potent kicking moves being practiced.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Novices just starting out Taekwondo don't have to stress too much about forms (patterns, Poomse) initially, but they will have to get to grips with some standard ones to begin with and move on to more difficult forms as they progress up the various belts (grades/dans). A "form" is indicated by specified aspects of Taekwondo including direction, stance and technique. Learning such sequences is a vital part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Competitions

There are an array of tournaments in Taekwondo involving all the various styles. They primarily include patterns, sparring and breaking with not much "hard contact". ITF contests don't permit substantial contact but may allow hand attacks to the head. WT and Olympic tournaments only allow sparring. Multi-style contests also take place.