Taekwondo Easington

It's got to be said that Taekwondo can be quite demanding physically, which can intimidate the older and less nimble folks in Easington from becoming involved. To be truthful, the most frequent people participating in Taekwondo classes are children and younger people, but unquestionably older people who're in great physical condition can easily be involved and benefit considerably from this sport.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly comprises high-kicking moves and manoeuvres, most notably jumping/spinning kicks, head-height kicks and fast kicking methods. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a number of martial arts specialists founded schools known as "kwans", which blended various martial arts techniques.

With over 60 million fitness enthusiasts engaged in Taekwondo classes all around the globe, this has unquestionably become an extremely popular and beneficial pastime, and if you really master the martial art you might possibly one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it has been an integral part ever since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and naturally this is one of the primary reasons that people in Easington sign up to classes and engage with the sport. There's been a disconcerting increase in violent practices in recent years and this is particularly common in city and town centres around County Durham and Great Britain as a whole. The fantastic thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also teaches self-discipline and respect for other people, not such common attributes in Easington these days.

Such self-defence techniques may at some point come in handy in your day to day life, although it is more likely that you will only be testing them within a supervised class environment. However it is a reassuring feeling knowing that you can always successfully defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Lesson

If you have never done Taekwondo before you may be a little concerned as to what to expect on your first lesson. This may vary depending on which Easington school you go to, but will usually involve the following. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase heart rate and loosen your muscles, some technical training which will involve learning some hand attacks, stances, kicks and blocking techniques, an introduction to some Poomse (or forms), some tips on sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down with muscle stretching and relaxing.

British Taekwondo is the regulating body of the sport within Great Britain, and membership of this organization is compulsory if you would like to join any Taekwondo club in Easington or nearby. You will be able to read about health and safety, first aid, coaches and referees, establishing a new club, coaching courses, clubs and members, news, events, equality and safeguarding, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, and get the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Some Taekwondo Kicks

There are many different Taekwondo kicks, here are just a few of them: Axe Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Back Kick, Side Kick, Front Kick, Crescent Kick, Push Kick, Hook or Whip Kick. Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to defend against the different attacks, are called Makgi. Held in specific positions, they employ the hands and sections of the arm. Each kind of attack calls for a specific sort of block, counter-attacks can be produced by integrating a block with another kick or punch. The principal blocks used in Taekwondo include: Single Forearm Block, Palm Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Nine Block and Double Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Belts

In relation to promotion, ranking and belts there isn't actually any uniformity in Taekwondo, because there are various styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own unique arrangement. There are however likenesses and they typically consist of a couple of groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior levels generally have nine levels and the junior, between 8 and 12 levels.

In the UK Taekwondo has a set of ranks (belts) that are referred to as "Kup", these ranks range from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, just like most of the martial arts is denoted by a range of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate 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. The 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo novices in Easington will start off with, they will then progress through the colours, eventually reaching the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will take about 3-4 years.

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo students in Easington are considered to be "black belt candidates" which entails them moving through an additional 9 ranks (Dans) up until they achieve the ultimate accolade of "Black Belt" status. Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be put into 3 sections; Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group comprise; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior group 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 a number of years. (Tags: Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Ranks Easington, Taekwondo Belts Easington).

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Taekwondo forms (also referred to as Poomse or patterns) are identified by specific activities such as stance, direction and technique. From the start you are going to get to grips with some of the basic forms, and so as to advance through the grades (belts) you will have to learn some more complicated ones.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

When you are getting started with Taekwondo classes in Easington you'll be looking to get a few benefits to make the entire project worthwhile. Therefore let's consider some of the benefits that you could get from learning and doing Taekwondo. Toughen up your body and mind via improved physical coordination and mental discipline, Build up confidence by encouraging you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Help with self-defence by helping you recognise situations in which self-defence could be needed, and empowering you to manipulate these circumstances to your advantage, Enhance concentration and self-esteem by sharpening your mental and physical powers, Improve agility, stamina and flexibility through extreme cardiovascular work-outs, Greater discipline and willpower by comprehensively educating your mind and body in the principles and tactics of Taekwondo, Reduced stress with controlled breathing.