Taekwondo Dumfries

On account of its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is possibly more suited to the younger person in Dumfries and is especially suitable for children as it is excellent for developing self-discipline and respect for other people. More elderly individuals might find it somewhat too challenging unless they're particularly fit and active. Even so, those who persue Taekwondo in Dumfries from a young age will discover that they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less nimble of you could consider participating in something gentler like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily comprises kicking manoeuvres, most notably fast kicking techniques, jumping/turning kicks and head-height kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts specialists established schools called "kwans", which merged a number of martial arts techniques.

With more than sixty million people engaged in Taekwondo instruction all around the globe, this has certainly become an extremely popular pastime, and if you really master this martial art you may possibly one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it's been a part ever since the 2000 Sydney Games.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and naturally this is one of the principal reasons that individuals in Dumfries join classes and take up the sport. There's been a worrying escalation of violent conduct in recent years and this is especially rife in city and town centres around Scotland and the UK in general. The good thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also promotes self-discipline and respect for others, not such familiar attributes in Dumfries nowadays.

Your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will more than likely never need to be tested outside the regulated atmosphere of a dedicated Taekwondo class, however knowing that you've got them will instill you with confidence.

What to Expect From Your First Class

If you have made up your mind to learn Taekwondo and are heading to your first lesson, you will be wondering what will happen. The following will give you an example, but this will vary depending on which Dumfries school you attend. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, some technical training involving learning some kicks, stances, blocking techniques and hand attacks, learning some Poomse (or forms), a few ideas on sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down with muscle stretching and relaxing.

Everybody who's a registered member of a Taekwondo class in Dumfries or any place else in Great Britain, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the regulating body of the sport. By heading to British Taekwondo's official website you can read facts about beginning a new Taekwondo club, coaches and competition referees, news, members and clubs, events, coaching courses, safeguarding and equality, health and safety, first aid, and lots more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Novices just starting their journey in Taekwondo do not need to fret too much about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, but they will get to grips with some basic ones to begin with and move forward to more complicated "forms" as they move up the various belts (grades/dans). A "form" is indicated by certain areas of Taekwondo including direction, technique and stance. Getting to grips with such techniques is a vital part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Competitions and Tournaments

Contests are a significant part of the Taekwondo experience, and all of the different styles across the world stage tournaments where Taekwondo masters band together to battle it out. Hard contact is hardly ever allowed in any of these competitions which primarily comprise patterns, breaking and sparring. Sparring only is permitted in Olympic and WT (World Taekwondo) tournaments, while certain hand attacks are tolerated in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) events.

Taekwondo for Beginners

Even the finest exponents of Taekwondo in Dumfries began their journey as newbies, so it's no disgrace to be a beginner at this sport, or in fact any other activity. The aim of a Taekwondo beginner class is to teach a few of the basics, raise confidence and build a firm base for the future. Most importantly of all is that it must be enjoyable, trainees having fun will learn quicker and be more engaged.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Since there are various kinds of Taekwondo there's never been any uniform system for allocating belts (ranks). What does exist however is fairly similar and involves 2 belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groupings is divided into grades, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and nine "blacks" for seniors.

In the UK there are a sequence of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo which are called "Kup". The lowest is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, much like many of the martial arts is denoted by a number of colours, these colours are 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Dumfries will start out with the White Belt (10th Kup), and progress through the various coloured belts until they attain the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo trainees in Dumfries are considered to be "black belt candidates" which sees them moving through yet another nine ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". Therefore, Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts are the three principal groups in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Junior Taekwondo Belts are; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts are; 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. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Ranks Dumfries, Taekwondo Belts Dumfries, Belt Order Taekwondo).

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

In all events, contests and tournaments being held under the supervision of British Taekwondo, safety equipment such as a groin guard, a mouth guard, hand guards, red/blue trunk armour (hogu), forearm guards, shin pads and a blue or red head protector is compulsory. The kicking moves which are part of Taekwondo may cause harm and this all helps make this activity less dangerous for its competitors.