Taekwondo Chipping Ongar

As a result of its rather more physical attributes, Taekwondo is possibly more suitable for the younger generation in Chipping Ongar and is especially suited to kids as it's great for developing respect for others and self-discipline. Older adults could find it somewhat too challenging unless they're particularly active and fit. Even so, those folks who take up Taekwondo in Chipping Ongar at a young age will find that they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less agile of you might consider something gentler like Tai Chi.

The sport was developed in Korea in 1945, though it was not named Taekwondo until the 1950's. In Seoul, a group of Korean martial arts fanatics established some innovative new schools which they called "kwans", practicing a blend of martial arts techniques. In Taekwondo the focus is on kicking, in particular jumping/spinning kicks, head kicks and fast kicking strategies. These days Chipping Ongar Taekwondo classes stick to this tradition.

Taekwondo has grown to be extremely popular in Chipping Ongar and around the globe, with over sixty million practitioners worldwide. Becoming a member of a local Chipping Ongar Taekwondo club or class is a great way to get involved in this sport which has even been a part of the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games in 2000. Whilst you might not aspire to Olympic competition, there's certainly no reason why you shouldn't become a maestro of this remarkable martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

For a lot of people in Chipping Ongar, it is the self-defence element of Taekwondo which holds the most appeal. And in these times of ever increasing violence, especially in city and town centres, it really is little surprise that this aspect features high up on people's priority lists. 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 those around you and learn self-restraint.

Even though you will spend a lot of time learning these vital self-defence skills, with luck you will not ever need to apply them except within your local Taekwondo club environment.

Your First Chipping Ongar Taekwondo Class

If you have never tried Taekwondo before, you may be a little anxious as to what should be expected on your very first class. This will vary from club to club but will generally comprise some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen up muscles, a bit of practical training involving learning some kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocking techniques, learning some forms (or Poomse), an overview of sparring including the timing of attacks, movement and timing, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch tired muscles.

If you wish to join a Taekwondo club in Chipping Ongar, you will also have to become a member of the sport's official governing body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to get loads of details about clubs and members, coaching courses, launching a new Taekwondo club, coaches and referees, health and safety, first aid, news, events, equality and safeguarding, and more, by visiting British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Kicks

Among the best known Taekwondo kicks you will learn to begin with include: Hook or Whip Kick, Axe Kick, Front Kick, Side Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Back Kick, Push Kick, Crescent Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To fend off the various hand attacks and kicks there are an equally diverse assortment of blocks (Makgi). Engaging the hand and sections of the arm, they are held in diverse positions. Every "block" can be coordinated with a kick or punch to produce a counter-attacking manoeuvre, and each one is appropriate for a certain type of attack. The most used blocks (makgi) include: Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Low Block, Single Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Nine Block, Rising Block and Double Forearm Block.

Beginners Classes

Even the top exponents of Taekwondo in Chipping Ongar began their journey as novices, therefore it's no disgrace to be a total beginner at Taekwondo, or any other activity for that matter. The goal of a Taekwondo beginners class is to provide just a few basics, raise confidence and build a firm base for the future. Most important of all is that it needs to be fun, trainees having fun are going to learn faster and be better engaged.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Perfecting Taekwondo necessitates learning many disciplines and techniques and one of the pivotal elements of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as Poomse or patterns). These are sequences of stance, technique and direction which have to be mastered in order for students to progress through the various dans (grades/belts).

Safety Equipment

Safety equipment like shin protectors, a groin guard, forearm protectors, a red or blue head guard, blue/red body armour, hand guards and a gum shield have to be used in all matches regulated by British Taekwondo. Protection from injury is needed on account of the forceful kicking which is part and parcel of this sport.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Because there are a number of disciplines of Taekwondo there has never been any standardized arrangement for assigning belts (promotion). What exists is however fairly similar and consists of 2 belt groups "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each one of these groups is divided into levels, eight to twelve colours for juniors and 9 for seniors.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks which are generally known as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, much like the vast majority 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. The White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo beginners in Chipping Ongar will begin with, they will then advance through the different colours, eventually attaining the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will take around three to four years of training and lessons.

As soon as this training has been successfully completed, Chipping Ongar Taekwondo students become known as "black belt candidates", and they then need to earn an additional nine Dans (ranks) if they're to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which is the supreme accolade. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three divisions; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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 will take many years to successfully progress through.

Competitions and Tournaments

A standard Taekwondo competition features sparring, breaking and patterns, in the Olympics only sparring is included. That said there are also some special categories in specific tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. World Taekwondo competitions are solely soft-contact affairs, whilst ITF contests permit some hand attacks towards the head. There are in addition a number of multi-discipline contests.