Taekwondo Downham Market

Because of its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is perhaps more appropriate for the younger person in Downham Market and is especially suitable for children as it's excellent for developing respect for others and self-discipline. Older adults might find it somewhat too challenging unless they are particularly active and fit. However, those folks who persue Taekwondo in Downham Market from a young age will find that they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less nimble of you might consider something softer like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly consists of high-kicking manoeuvres and moves, in particular rapid kicking methods, head kicks and spinning/jumping kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a number of martial arts specialists founded schools called "kwans", which merged a variety of martial arts practices.

Taekwondo has grown to become very popular in Downham Market and around the globe, with more than sixty million practitioners worldwide. Getting started with a local Downham Market Taekwondo club or class is an excellent way to get involved with this sporting activity which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. Whilst you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you should not become an expert at this exciting martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

For the people of Downham Market who are keen on the idea of learning a martial art, a major priority is the element of self-defence. As this is an important principle of Taekwondo, it's not difficult to appreciate the attraction of this particular sport. With the added benefit of learning self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for others, signing up for a local Downham Market Taekwondo class seems to be an easy decision.

Your newly learned Taekwondo skills will most likely never need to be tried and tested outside the regulated environment of a dedicated Taekwondo class, however being aware that you've got them will instill you with self-confidence.

Your First Downham Market Taekwondo Lesson

Different Taekwondo schools in and around Downham Market will have different viewpoints on what students should cover on their initial lesson, however to give you an idea of what you should expect most initial Taekwondo lessons will include things like a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning simple forms (Poomse), a quick introduction to kicks, blocking techniques, stances and hand attacks (practical training) and a warm-down to relax weary muscles and return the body to a state of equilibrium.

Everybody who is a member of a Taekwondo club in Downham Market or any place else in the United Kingdom, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the official regulating body of the sport. By going to British Taekwondo's website you can find information about news, coaching courses, referees and coaching, clubs and members, equality and safeguarding, launching a new Taekwondo club, events, health and safety, first aid, and many more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In the art of taekwondo there is not really any uniformity with regards to belts and grades. It is all subject to what style you happen to be looking at, as there are such a lot of Taekwondo styles. They are however, normally divided into a couple of groups "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The colour/junior rankings range from white to red, with anything from 8 to 12 levels, while the senior/black belts typically have 9 levels.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks that are known as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, like many of the martial arts is portrayed by a number of different 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Downham Market will commence with the White Belt (10th Kup), and advance through the various coloured belts until they attain the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo students in Downham Market become "black belt candidates" which sees them progressing through a further 9 ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". Therefore, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the three principal divisions in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior division comprise; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior division are; 6th (Green), 5th (Green With Blue Stripe), 4th (Blue), 3rd ( Blue With Red Stripe), 2nd (Red), and 1st (Red With Black Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Black group range from 1st to 9th Dan, a process which will take many years.

Safety Equipment

In all contests, events and tournaments being held under the authority of British Taekwondo, safety equipment like forearm guards, a blue or red head protector, hand guards, a mouth protector, a blue/red trunk guard (hogu), a groin protector and shin protectors is compulsory. The kicking tactics which are part of Taekwondo could cause serious injuries and this preventative measure helps make the sport much safer for its competitors.

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

A standard Taekwondo competition incorporates breaking, patterns and sparring, where the Olympics is concerned only sparring is involved. With that being said there may also be some special events in particular tournaments such as self-defence and team demonstrations. WT (World Taekwondo) competitions are purely soft-contact affairs, whilst ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) competitions allow some hand attacks towards the head. There are also several multi-discipline contests.

The Basic Taekwondo Kicks

There are lots of different Taekwondo kicks, here are just a few of them: Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", which are used to repulse the various attacks, are called Makgi. They're held in various positions and enlist the hand with different sections of the arm. Each block can be combined with a punch or kick to establish a counter-attacking move, and each "block" is suitable for a particular attack. The main blocks (makgi) include: Low Block, Rising Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Nine Block, Double Forearm Block, Upper Block, Palm Block and Knife Hand Block.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Beginners in Taekwondo do not need to stress excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) in the early days, however they'll get to grips with some standard ones to begin with and advance to more complicated forms as they move through the various belts (dans/grades). A "form" is indicated by specific areas of Taekwondo including direction, stance and technique. Learning these techniques is a key part of mastering Taekwondo.

Summary

So, what are you hoping to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that is an excellent question, and the answer to that will be different for individual people. Most participants will purely look to gain more self-confidence, meet new people and improve their fitness levels. We're not all going to scale the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though maybe you will, who knows?