Taekwondo Dumbarton

It needs to be asserted that Taekwondo can be pretty demanding physically, which might unnerve the older and less agile folks in Dumbarton from taking this up. To be completely honest, the most common people participating in Taekwondo classes are children and younger people, but of course older people who're in good physical health can easily participate and get benefits from this sport.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently developed of the martial arts, with its early beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A number of Korean martial artists in Seoul founded some schools known as "kwans", combining a number of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it ultimately became known as, largely consists of kicking manoeuvres, especially rapid kicking techniques, head kicks and jumping/turning kicks.

Taekwondo has become really popular in Dumbarton and all around the world, with over sixty million students worldwide. If you would like to get involved in this activity, which is now an Olympic sport, heading along to a Taekwondo club or class in Dumbarton is a great place to start. Whilst you might not aspire to Olympic competition, there isn't any reason why you can't become a master of this exhilarating martial art and have an amazing time along the way.

For a lot of folks in Dumbarton, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo which holds the most appeal. And in these times of increasing violence, particularly in city and town centres, it's little surprise that this sits high on people's list of priorities. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you are able to gain more confidence in your ability to defend yourself while at the same time learning to respect those around you and learn self-restraint.

There's a fairly good likelihood that your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will never need to be proven in the outside world, but it will most certainly give you self-confidence knowing that they're there should you ever be in need of them.

Your First Dumbarton Taekwondo Class

If Taekwondo isn't something that you've ever done previously, you'll likely be wondering what to expect from your first class if you make up your mind to sign up. Different Taekwondo schools in Dumbarton have varying thoughts on this but in brief; you'll participate in a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up, you'll do a certain amount of technical training, you'll learn some forms, you are going to practice sparring strategies and last but not least you'll warm-down to help your body get back into a relaxed state once more.

If you would like to join a Taekwondo class in Dumbarton, you'll also have to become a member of the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You'll be able to find out about safeguarding and equality, health and safety, news, members and clubs, events, coaching courses, starting a new club, coaches and referees, first aid, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, and find the latest news on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Beginners Taekwondo Dumbarton

Students setting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Dumbarton will at first enroll in a beginners class. Beginners classes are fabulous, because there's not any pressure and things are carried out at a slow, casual pace. Learning and having fun are the principal aims at the start and students who are having fun have a tendency to learn much faster and absorb significantly more of what they're being shown. Even Taekwondo masters started off as naive novices, so take that initial step and you never know where you will finish up!

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

Safety equipment like shin guards, hand protectors, forearm guards, a blue or red head guard, a red or blue trunk protector (hogu), a mouth protector and a groin guard must be used in all matches controlled by British Taekwondo. Protection from injuries is paramount on account of the formidable kicking that is an integral part of this activity.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Novices just starting out Taekwondo do not have to worry excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) initially, however they will have to get to grips with some important ones to start with and progress to more difficult "forms" as they progress through the belts (dans/grades). A "form" is signified by certain aspects of Taekwondo including direction, technique and stance. Learning such techniques is an important part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Belts

In regards to belts, promotion and ranking there is not actually any real standardisation in Taekwondo, because there are many different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own unique arrangement. There are however analogies and they typically consist of 2 groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior ranks generally have 9 grades and the junior, eight to twelve tiers.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks that are known as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). If you are curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is indicated by a range of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate 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. Beginners in Dumbarton starting out in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and proceed through the coloured belts until they earn the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo students in Dumbarton are considered to be "black belt candidates" which sees them proceeding through another nine ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three sections; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; Green (6th), Green With Blue Stripe (5th), Blue (4th), Blue With Red Stripe (3rd), Red (2nd) and Red With Black Stripe (1st). The Black Taekwondo Belts go from 1st to 9th Dan which takes a considerable number of years to progress through.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You will no doubt be intrigued to discover precisely what sort of benefits could be obtained by attending Dumbarton Taekwondo training and engaging fully in its practices. You may expect to: More discipline and willpower by comprehensively educating your mind and body in the techniques and principles of Taekwondo, Strengthen your body and mind by means of enhanced physical coordination and mental discipline, Teach self-defence by training you to understand scenarios where self-defence could be needed, and enabling you to manipulate these kinds of situations in your favour, Reduces anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Augment agility, flexibility and stamina through intense cardiovascular work-outs, Grow in confidence by motivating you to take control of your life and succeed, Improve your self-esteem by heightening both mental and physical powers.