Taekwondo Coleraine

Because of its more physical attributes, Taekwondo is possibly more appropriate for the younger person in Coleraine and is especially suited to children because it's fantastic for developing self-discipline and respect for other people. Older adults might find it a bit too challenging unless they're especially active and fit. However, those who persue Taekwondo in Coleraine at a young age will discover they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less agile of you could consider something gentler like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul founded some new schools which they called "kwans", combining a variety of martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mainly involves high-kicking manoeuvres, particularly jumping/turning kicks, fast kicking techniques and head-height kicks.

Nowadays an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has over 60 million practitioners worldwide, and although you may not have any aspirations to be an Olympic Games medalist, you're still able to register for a Taekwondo class or club to learn what will no doubt turn out to be a fulfilling and interesting activity.

The thing about Taekwondo that appears to most appeal to people in Coleraine is the self-defence aspect of it. This is not hard to believe when you take into account the elevated levels of violence experienced in city and town centres on a daily basis. In fact one of the main benefits of Taekwondo is learning to defend yourself whilst exercising a degree of self-restraint and having respect for others.

There is a fairly good chance that your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will never have to be proven in your day to day life, but it will most certainly give you self-confidence knowing that they're there should you ever need them.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If you have never tried Taekwondo previously, you could be somewhat anxious as to what to expect on your very first class. This may vary from school to school but will normally involve some or all of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to loosen up muscles and increase your heart rate, a little technical training involving learning some hand attacks, blocks, kicks and stances, discovering some Poomse (forms), a quick introduction to sparring including the timing of attacks, movement and timing, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch weary muscles.

Anybody wanting to join a Taekwondo class in Coleraine must also register with British Taekwondo which is the governing body of the sport in Great Britain. You can learn about health and safety, equality and safeguarding, starting a new club, referees and coaching, events, first aid, members and clubs, news, coaching courses, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and get the latest Taekwondo news on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

When you're getting started with Taekwondo classes in Coleraine you will be aiming to get a few benefits to make the whole venture worth the effort. Therefore let us examine some of the positive benefits that you may get through learning and practicing Taekwondo. Reduced stress and anxiety using advanced breath control, Teach you self-defence tactics by helping you to recognise circumstances where self-defence might be needed, and allowing you to turn these types of scenarios to your advantage, Strengthen your mind and body via accelerated mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Grow in your confidence by helping you to seize control of your life and succeed, Increase your self-esteem by sharpening both physical and mental powers, Augment agility, stamina and flexibility by means of intense cardiovascular effort, Greater self-discipline by methodically educating your mind and body in the tactics and principles of Taekwondo.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are a lot of different sorts of Taekwondo kicks, here are just eight of them: Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to defend against the different attacking movements, are known as Makgi. Held in various positions, they use the hands and different sections of the arm. Certain attacks necessitate specified blocks, but blocks can also be turned into counter-attacking movements by linking reciprocal kicks or punches. The main Taekwondo "blocks" (makgi) include: Palm Block, Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Nine Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Upper Block, Low Block and Single Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Forms are a pivotal part of Taekwondo and are essential to learn if you are to master this fascinating sporting activity. Several basic forms have to be grasped from the beginning and more complex forms have to be perfected so as to move through the various levels. A Taekwondo form is characterised by a number of points such as direction, stance and technique.

Competitions and Tournaments

There are a wide variety of competitions and tournaments in Taekwondo associated with all the different styles. They mostly comprise breaking, sparring and patterns with very little hard contact. International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) competitions do not permit too much contact but may permit hand attacks towards the head. WT (World Taekwondo) and Olympic contests allow only sparring. Multi-style tournaments also take place.

Beginners Classes

As with any sport or activity we need to start someplace, and Taekwondo's not any different. Even the finest Coleraine Taekwondo masters were complete beginners at one time. So, what should you expect as a complete novice at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its enrollees ample training to give them the basic principles and enable them to gain self-confidence as they progress. An ideal beginners class should be fun as well as educational, when folks are enjoying themselves they are much more invested and will learn faster.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

Matches regulated by British Taekwondo rules demand that various items of protective equipment be used, these include: hand protectors, a red or blue head protector, shin guards, a groin protector, a mouth protector, forearm protectors and a blue or red trunk protector (hogu). This is vital because of the formidable kicking actions being practiced.

To Summarize

We cannot all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I guess that we don't all want to be. Taekwondo is not just about National Championships and Olympic medals. The majority of of us are content to meet different people, make new friends and improve our fitness levels, and that is how it should be. Yet, as with most matters in life, what you get from it will hinge on what you invest in it. Good luck!