Taekwondo Chafford Hundred

As Taekwondo has quite high physical demands, it's possibly more suitable for the younger people of Chafford Hundred. That's not to say that older individuals cannot take part in this activity, but just that there could be other martial arts which are more appropriate for the less agile among us. Tai Chi would be a perfect example.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly comprises high-kicking moves and manoeuvres, most notably jumping/turning kicks, fast kicking techniques and head kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts founded schools called "kwans", which mixed together a variety of martial arts practices.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of Chafford Hundred and with over 60 million others worldwide. Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo is accessible to everyone, and joining a local Chafford Hundred Taekwondo club or class is the best way to get yourself involved. 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.

For the men, women and children of Chafford Hundred who like the idea of learning a martial art, a major priority is the element of self-defence. Since this is a central concept of Taekwondo, it is easy to see the appeal of this unique sport. With the added reward of developing self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for those around you, registering for a local Chafford Hundred Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

These self-defence techniques may in due course prove to be useful in the outside world, though it's far more likely that you'll solely be testing them within a regulated class environment. Nevertheless it's a nice feeling knowing the fact that you will always be able to successfully defend yourself if you need to.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If you have never tried Taekwondo before, you may be a bit anxious as to what should be expected on your first class. This will be different from club to club but will typically involve some or all of these. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase the heart rate, a bit of technical training including learning some kicks, blocks, hand attacks and stances, studying some forms (or Poomse), an introduction to sparring which will include timing, attack timing and movement, and finally a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

Anybody wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Chafford Hundred must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official governing body of the sport in the British Isles. You will be able to learn about health and safety, first aid, equality and safeguarding, events, establishing a new club, clubs and members, coaching courses, news, referees and coaching, and more on the British Taekwondo website, or find the latest Taekwondo news reports on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Taekwondo Belts

Because there are many different disciplines of Taekwondo there has never been any standardized arrangement for allocating belts (promotion). What does exist however is relatively similar and comprises 2 belt groups "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groupings is divided into levels, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and nine "blacks" for the seniors.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are called "Kup". The top rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of different colours, so that the ranks are easily recognised. 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 Chafford Hundred will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and progress through the various colours until they achieve the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

Once this training regime has been successfully completed, Chafford Hundred Taekwondo students become known as "black belt candidates", and they then need to progress through a further 9 Dans (ranks) if they are to achieve the Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade in this sport. Therefore, putting it simply, there are three primary groups in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belts. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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 many years to successfully progress through. (Tags: Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belts Chafford Hundred, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Promotion Chafford Hundred).

In Conclusion

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