Taekwondo Chigwell

Owing to its more physical aspects, Taekwondo is perhaps more appropriate for the younger person in Chigwell and is especially suited to children as it's wonderful for developing self-discipline and respect for others. Older adults may find it somewhat too strenuous unless they are especially fit and active. However, those folks who persue Taekwondo in Chigwell from a young age will discover that they can easily continue with it when they're older. The less nimble of you could think about something softer like Tai Chi.

The sport was first practiced in Korea in around 1945, though the name Taekwondo was not used until the 1950's. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", combining various martial arts techniques. Kicking manoeuvres, especially head-height kicks, spinning/jumping kicks and fast kicking styles are the main emphasis of Taekwondo, as it eventually became known.

With more than sixty million individuals taking part in Taekwondo classes all over the world, this has certainly become an extremely popular and worthwhile activity, and if you really master this sport you may possibly one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been a part ever since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

For the men, women and children of Chigwell who would like to learn a martial art, a top priority is the element of self-defence. Since this is an important principle of Taekwondo, it is easy to see the attraction of this unique sport. With the extra bonus of learning self-restraint and having a degree of respect for other people, registering for a local Chigwell Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

Although it will give you peace of mind being aware that you have these self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the odds are that you'll never need to test them outside of an organized Taekwondo class.

What to Expect From Your First Class

If you have never had a go at Taekwondo previously, you could be a bit concerned as to what should be expected on your first class. This varies from school to school but will generally comprise all or some of these. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, a little practical training including learning some blocks, hand attacks, stances and kicks, learning some Poomse (forms), an overview of sparring including timing, movement and attack timing, and finally a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

The UK governing body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you would like to sign up to Taekwondo club in Chigwell, you'll also be required to register with this organization. You will be able to learn about first aid, referees and coaching, members and clubs, news, events, launching a new Taekwondo club, equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, health and safety, and more on the official British Taekwondo website, or get the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Competitions

Taekwondo tournaments are held all over the world in all of the diverse styles. There's normally not much hard contact but sparring, breaking and patterns (forms). Olympic and WT tournaments only consist of sparring, in ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) tournaments certain hand attacks are permitted to the head. Other bodies stage multi-discipline competitions.

Taekwondo Kicks

Of all the martial arts, Taekwondo has the widest variety of kicking manoeuvres. Among them are: Push Kick, Front Kick, Side Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Axe Kick, Back Kick, Crescent Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To stop and deflect an incoming attack, "blocks" (known as Makgi) are used. They're held in various positions and use the hands with parts of the arm. Certain attacks require particular blocks, but "blocks" can also be changed into counter-attacks by combining reciprocal kicks or punches. The most used blocks (makgi) include: Nine Block, Upper Block, Palm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Rising Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block and Double Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

In regards to ranking, promotion and belts there is not actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, since there are various different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own unique arrangement. There are however similarities and they usually comprise 2 groups of belts "juniors" and "seniors" symbolized by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior levels generally have nine ranks and the junior, between 8 and 12 ranks.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo that are generally known as "Kup". The lowest is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, just like most of the martial arts is indicated by a number of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, 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. Beginners in Chigwell getting started in Taekwondo will begin with the White Belt (10th Kup), and proceed through the colours until they earn the 1st Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe).

Taekwondo trainees in Chigwell become known as "black belt candidates" after they have succeeded with this challenge, and they'll then be faced with progressing through another nine ranks (Dans) if they aspire to achieve the supreme accolade Taekwondo Black Belt. Therefore, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three sections; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. 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 a number of years to progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Chigwell, Taekwondo Ranks Chigwell, Taekwondo Belt Order, Order of Belts in Taekwondo).

Taekwondo for Beginners

As with any sport or activity we need to start someplace, and Taekwondo is just the same. Even the the most brilliant Chigwell Taekwondo masters were total novices at one time. So, what should you expect as a complete novice at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its pupils sufficient training to teach them the basic principles and allow them to build confidence as they move forward. An ideal beginners class should be fun as well as instructional, when people are having fun they are much more committed and are going to learn faster.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

In all competitions, contests and events being held under the control of British Taekwondo, safety gear such as hand protectors, a groin protector, forearm guards, a red/blue head protector, a mouth guard, shin pads and blue/red trunk armour is compulsory. The fast kicking moves which are part of Taekwondo may cause injuries and this preventative measure helps make this activity less dangerous for its competitors.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Taekwondo forms (also known as Poomse or patterns) are categorized by particular aspects like direction, stance and technique. From the outset you will learn a few of the important forms, and so as to move through the grades (belts) you will need to learn some more technical ones.