Taekwondo Devizes

It's got to be asserted that Taekwondo can be pretty challenging physically, which may intimidate the older and less nimble people in Devizes from taking this up. To be fair, the most common people participating in Taekwondo classes are children and younger people, but obviously older people who are in excellent physical condition can easily take part and get benefits from this activity.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently created of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some schools which they called "kwans", combining many different martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was ultimately called, mostly entails kicking manoeuvres, especially head kicks, turning/jumping kicks and fast kicking strategies.

Taekwondo has grown to be extremely popular in Devizes and around the globe, with over 60 million participants worldwide. Registering with a local Devizes Taekwondo club or class is an excellent way to get involved in this sporting activity which has even been a part of the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. Although you may not have any aspirations to take part in Olympic competition, there is certainly no reason why you shouldn't become a maestro of this exciting martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

It seems to be the case that the most alluring element of Taekwondo is self-defence. This is no real surprise when you take into account the ever rising levels of violence seen in city and town centres these days. The ability to defend yourself and at the same time respecting others and exercising self-restraint is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo.

These self-defence techniques may sooner or later prove useful in your day to day life, although it's far more likely you will only be testing them within a monitored class setting. However it's an amazing feeling knowing the fact that you will always be able to defend yourself if you have to.

Your First Lesson

If you've just booked your very first Taekwondo lesson, you'll be wondering what to expect. This may vary from class to class but will generally include all or some of the following. A warm up of 15 to 20 minutes to increase your heart rate and reduce stiffness in your muscles, a little technical training including learning some blocks, hand attacks, stances and kicks, a look at some Poomse (or forms), a few ideas on sparring including good timing, movement and targeting attacks, and to round off a warm down to loosen up and stretch muscles.

Anyone who joins a Taekwondo class in Devizes has to also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official governing body of the sport in the British Isles. You will be able to get lots of details about safeguarding and equality, members and clubs, starting a new club, events, news, first aid, health and safety, referees and coaching, coaching courses, and more, by going to British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Mastering Tae kwon do will involve learning many techniques and one of the key elements of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as Poomse or patterns). These are types of direction, stance and technique which need to be mastered in order for participants to move through the various dans (grades/belts).

Taekwondo Belts

The ranking and belt system can get somewhat confusing in Taekwondo as there's no standard system throughout the diverse Taekwondo styles. Likenesses can be found however, and generally there are two distinct belt groups, denoted as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of levels in the junior group varies across the styles but is usually somewhere between 8 and 12 belts, whilst the senior section normally has nine belts or dans.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks which are generally known as "Kup", these ranks go from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, like most of the martial arts is portrayed by a number of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Devizes will start out with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and progress through the various coloured belts until they reach the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

Once this training has been completed, Devizes Taekwondo trainees are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they then need to progress through an additional 9 Dans if they are to achieve the title of Taekwondo "Black Belt", which is the ultimate distinction. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into 3 groupings; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Junior division Taekwondo Belts comprise; 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 dedicated training. (Tags: Taekwondo Promotion Devizes, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Devizes, Order of Belts in Taekwondo).

Taekwondo - The Benefits

When getting started with Taekwondo classes in Devizes you'll be intending to get some benefits to make the whole venture worth the effort. So let us take a look at some of the many benefits that you may get through learning and doing Taekwondo. Grow in confidence by inspiring you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Empower your body and mind by way of improved mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Supercharge stamina, agility and flexibility through extreme cardiovascular effort, Learn self-defence by showing you how to recognize circumstances in which self-defence may be needed, and allowing you to turn these kinds of situations to your advantage, Lessen stress and anxiety using advanced breath control, Increase concentration and self-esteem by raising your physical and mental fitness, Develop discipline by thoroughly training your mind and body in the strategies and doctrines of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

Tournaments regulated by British Taekwondo rules demand that various items of protective gear be used, these include: blue or red body armour (hogu), a blue/red head guard, a gum shield, shin pads, hand guards, forearm protectors and a groin protector. This is important due to the powerful kicking attacks being employed.