Taekwondo Dalkeith

Taekwondo is generally a lot more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty nimble and fit you may prefer to partake in something a bit gentler to improve your fitness in Dalkeith. Children and younger people are definitely the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Dalkeith, with a lot of fast paced movements taking place and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo originated in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial arts enthusiasts in Seoul founded some schools called "kwans", where they practiced a mix of martial arts techniques. The focus of Taekwondo, as it later became known, is on kicking manoeuvres, in particular turning/jumping kicks, head-height kicks and fast kicking techniques. Nowadays Dalkeith Taekwondo classes adhere to this tradition.

Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than 60 million enthusiasts all around the world, and though you might not aspire to be an Olympic Games athlete, you're still able to sign up for a Taekwondo club or class to learn what will no doubt turn out to be a fascinating and advantageous pastime.

For the people of Dalkeith who would like to learn a martial art, a major priority is the element of self-defence. Considering that this is a pivotal concept of Taekwondo, it isn't difficult to appreciate the attraction of this particular sport. With the additional bonus of developing self-restraint and having a degree of respect for those around you, getting involved in a local Dalkeith Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

Your newly learned Taekwondo skills will more than likely never have to be put to the test outside the regulated setting of a dedicated Taekwondo class, however knowing that you have them will give you peace of mind.

Your First Dalkeith Taekwondo Class

For those of you who have never done Taekwondo before, you will no doubt be interested to know what to expect from your first lesson. Most Taekwondo schools in Dalkeith follow a similar pattern, but there may be variations to the following. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase heart rate and loosen your muscles, a little technical training which will involve learning some kicks, blocking techniques, hand attacks and stances, learning some Poomse (or forms), a look at sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to stretch tired muscles and relax.

If you wish to sign up to a Taekwondo class in Dalkeith, you'll also have to become a member of the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You can find a lot of details about clubs and members, safe practices, safeguarding and equality, launching a new club, coaching courses, coaches and competition referees, news, events, first aid, and more, by popping along to British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Tournaments

Taekwondo contests are held across the globe in all of the diverse styles. There's normally not a whole lot of hard contact but patterns (forms), sparring and breaking. Olympic and WT competitions comprise only sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation competitions specified hand attacks are permitted to the head. Other organisations stage multi-discipline tournaments.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Newcomers just beginning their journey in Taekwondo do not need to worry too much about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, but they will have to familiarise themselves with some standard ones to begin with and move forward to more complicated forms as they move through the belts (grades/dans). A "form" is denoted by particular elements of Taekwondo including technique, direction and stance. Learning such techniques is a crucial part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

With regards to promotion, ranking and belts there is not actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, because there are many different styles of Taekwondo which each have their own specific system. There are however parallels and they typically consist of a couple of groupings of belts "seniors" and "juniors" symbolized by black and coloured belts respectively. The senior ranks generally have nine grades and the junior, eight to twelve levels.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo which are referred to as "Kup". The lowest rank is Tenth Kup and the highest rank is First Kup. If you're eager to know the Taekwondo belt order, it is as follows, and is portrayed by a number of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary belts with stripes, 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. Students in Dalkeith getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and proceed through the colours until they achieve the 1st Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt).

When this training has been accomplished, Dalkeith Taekwondo trainees become "black belt candidates", and they then have to earn an additional 9 Dans (ranks) if they're to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate accolade. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three sections; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts are; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior division of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and involves many years of dedication and training.

Beginners Classes

Trainees starting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Dalkeith will at first enroll in a beginners class. Beginners classes are awesome, as there are no serious demands and everything's carried out at a slow, casual pace. Learning and having fun are the main aims in the early stages and trainees who are having a great time tend to learn a lot faster and digest significantly more of what they are being told. Even Taekwondo masters started off as inexperienced novices, so take that very first step and you never know where you will finish up!

The Popular Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is famous for its powerful kicking moves, listed here are the standard ones: Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to fend off the various attacking moves, are called Makgi. Using the hand and sections of the arm, they are held in diverse positions. Each block can be coupled with a kick or punch to create a counter-attack, and each one is suitable for a particular attack. The principal blocks (makgi) include: Nine Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block and Palm Block.

Final Thoughts

We cannot all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I reckon that we don't all want to be. Taekwondo isn't just about Olympic medals and National Championships. The majority of of us are content to improve our levels of fitness, meet different people and make new friends, and that's how it should be. However, as with most things in life, what you get out of it will depend on what you put into it. Good luck! 👊