Taekwondo Burnley

Since Taekwondo has pretty high physical requirements, it is possibly more suitable for the younger people of Burnley. That's not to say that elderly people can't get involved in this popular activity, but merely that there might be other martial arts that are more suited to the less agile among us. Tai Chi is a perfect example.

The name Taekwondo has only been used since the 1950's, although the discipline started life in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts fanatics in Seoul established some new schools called "kwans", where they practiced a combination of martial arts techniques. The emphasis of Taekwondo, as it eventually became known, is on kicking manoeuvres, especially turning/jumping kicks, fast kicking strategies and head kicks.Today Burnley Taekwondo classes follow this tradition.

The total number of Taekwondo practitioners worldwide, now exceeds 60 million. Joining a local Burnley Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. There is no reason why you cannot reach a high standard in this thrilling sport, even if you have no desire to compete in the Olympics.

It is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that generally has the most appeal to people in Burnley. This isn't difficult to believe when you think about the high levels of violence experienced in city centres on a daily basis. The ability to defend yourself and at the same time exercising self-restraint and a respect for others is one of the main benefits of Taekwondo.

Such self-defence techniques may sooner or later prove to be useful in your day to day life, though it is far more likely you'll solely be testing them within a controlled class environment. Yet it is a nice feeling knowing the fact that you will always be able to defend yourself if you have to.

Your First Lesson

If you have never had a go at Taekwondo before, you could be a bit anxious as to what should be expected on your very first class. This can vary from school to school but will normally consist of some or all of the following. A 15-20 minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen up muscles, a little technical training including learning some blocking techniques, hand attacks, stances and kicks, studying some Poomse (forms), a quick introduction to sparring including attack timing, movement and timing, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch tired muscles.

If you would like to sign up to a Taekwondo club in Burnley, you will also have to register with the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to get plenty of details about equality and safeguarding, events, news, coaches and competition referees, health and safety, coaching courses, first aid, members and clubs, establishing a new club, and more, by viewing the British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Since there are various different styles of Taekwondo there has never really been any uniform system for assigning belts (ranks). What does exist is however relatively similar and comprises a couple of belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groupings is split into ranks, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and nine "blacks" for seniors.

Tournaments

Taekwondo competitions are held internationally in all the various styles. There's generally not much hard contact but breaking, sparring and patterns. Olympic and WT (World Taekwondo) tournaments comprise only sparring, in ITF competitions specified hand attacks are allowed to the head. Some other organizations stage multi-discipline tournaments.

Beginners Taekwondo Burnley

With any activity or sport we have to begin someplace, and Taekwondo's no different. Even the leading Burnley Taekwondo exponents were complete newbies at one time. So, what should you be expecting as a total beginner at Taekwondo? Beginner classes should give their pupils enough instruction to give them the fundamentals and enable them to gain confidence as they move forward. An ideal beginners class ought to be fun as well as educational, when students are enjoying themselves they're much more committed and will learn faster.

In Conclusion

So, what do you want from doing Taekwondo? Well, that is a good question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. The majority of participants will purely look to improve their fitness levels, meet new people and gain more confidence. We are not all going to scale the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though maybe you will, you never know?