Taekwondo Danbury

Taekwondo is typically much more physically demanding than for example Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty fit and nimble you may prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness in Danbury. Children are certainly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Danbury, with a lot of fast paced movements going on and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently created of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", combining many different martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it ultimately became known as, mainly consists of kicking manoeuvres, especially rapid kicking strategies, head kicks and turning/jumping kicks.

Taekwondo now has more than sixty million enthusiasts worldwide and has become very popular in Danbury and throughout the UK. Heading along to a local Taekwondo club or class in Danbury is an easy way to get involved with this activity which is now an Olympic sport. While the odds of you reaching Olympic standard are fairly slim, there isn't any reason at all why you can't master this thrilling martial art.

It seems that the most appealing aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. This is not surprising when you consider the rising levels of violence seen in town and city centres these days. Being able to defend yourself is a key factor of Taekwondo, but this is tempered by learning self-restraint and a respect for others.

While it is great to practice and master these self-defence skills in the controlled environment of your local Danbury Taekwondo club, with any luck you'll never be required to use them in the outside world.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

If you've never done Taekwondo before, you might be a little concerned as to what can be expected on your very first class. This will vary from school to school but will usually consist of all or some of these. A 15-20 minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase your heart rate, some technical training including learning some hand attacks, blocking techniques, stances and kicks, discovering some forms (or Poomse), a brief introduction to sparring which will include timing, attack timing and movement, and finally a warm down to stretch and relax tired muscles.

British Taekwondo is the governing body of the sport within the British Isles, and membership of this organisation is mandatory if you would like to sign up with any Taekwondo club in Danbury or nearby. You will be able to find loads of information regarding events, coaching courses, health and safety, beginning a new club, clubs and members, first aid, news, safeguarding and equality, referees and coaching, and more, by heading to British Taekwondo's official website.

Tournaments and Competitions

Taekwondo tournaments and competitions are held across the globe in all the different styles. There's usually not much hard contact but patterns (forms), breaking and sparring. Olympic and World Taekwondo (WT) tournaments consist only of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) tournaments specified hand attacks are permitted to the head. Various other bodies stage multi-discipline competitions.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

In the art of taekwondo there is really no form of standardisation in regards to belts and grades. It all depends upon what style you are considering, because there are so many different Taekwondo styles and rules. They are however, normally divided into 2 groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The colour/junior ranks range from white to red, with anything from 8 to 12 rankings, while the senior/black belts generally have 9 rankings.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks (belts) which are referred to as "Kup", these ranks range from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). As with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a number 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Danbury will start out with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and move up through the coloured belts until they earn the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

Taekwondo students in Danbury become known as "black belt candidates" once they've successfully completed this process, and they'll then need to move through a further 9 ranks (Dans) if they plan to achieve the supreme distinction Taekwondo Black Belt. So, to put it simply, there are 3 main groups in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior, Senior and Black Belts. The Junior division Taekwondo Belts are; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior group 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 group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of training and dedication. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Danbury, Taekwondo Ranks Danbury, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order).

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Learners setting out on their Taekwondo experience in Danbury will initially enroll in a beginners class. Beginners classes are terrific, since there is no pressure and everything's carried out at a slow, relaxed pace. Learning and having fun are the primary aims to start with and trainees who are having fun tend to learn a lot faster and digest considerably more of what they're being shown. Even Taekwondo masters began as naive novices, so take that first step and you never know where you will end up!

Benefits to be Gained From Taekwondo

The benefits that can be gained by taking part in Taekwondo sessions in Danbury are countless, amongst the most noteworthy are: More self-discipline by extensively training your body and mind in the techniques and concepts of Taekwondo, Enhance self-esteem by heightening your mental and physical fitness, Strengthen your body and mind thru increased mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Improve agility, stamina and flexibility through strenuous cardiovascular work-outs, Lower stress and anxiety using advanced breath control, Teach self-defence by helping you realize instances where self-defence might be necessary, and enabling you to control these types of scenarios in your favour, Build confidence by pushing you to seize control of your life and succeed.

The Main Taekwondo Kicks

One of the main features of Taekwondo is kicking, listed here is a small selection of the essential kicks: Hook or Whip Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Front Kick, Axe Kick, Crescent Kick, Back Kick, Push Kick, Side Kick. Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to fend off the various attacking movements, are called Makgi. Employing the hands and parts of the arm, they are held in various positions. Each kind of attack calls for a particular kind of block, counter-attacks can be created by integrating a block with another punch or kick. The main blocks include: Single Forearm Block, Upper Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Rising Block, Nine Block and Double Knife Hand Block.