Taekwondo Epping

Images of young children doing energetic kicks and rapid punching manoeuvres, are what spring to mind at the mere mention of Taekwondo. Keeping up with the physical demands of the sport may be easier for the younger and fitter generation, but this doesn't mean that people of any age can participate in, and enjoy the many benefits of this activity. You will however get a lot more enjoyment out of Taekwondo if you are relatively agile and fit.

The name Taekwondo has only been used since the 1950's, although the discipline started life in Korea in 1945. Some new schools called "kwans" were established in Seoul by a group of Korean martial arts fanatics, combining a number of various martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mostly involves kicking manoeuvres, especially head kicks, turning/jumping kicks and fast kicking techniques.Today Epping Taekwondo classes follow this tradition.

Taekwondo has become extremely popular in Epping and all around the world, with more than 60 million practitioners worldwide. This sport has even featured in the Olympic Games since 2000, and if you want to get involved, heading along to your local Epping Taekwondo class or club is a great place to start. Whilst nobody would seriously expect you to get to Olympic standard, you could certainly be one of the best Taekwondo exponents in Epping.

It seems that the most appealing aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. And its not surprising that this is on people's list of priorities when you consider the rising levels of violence seen these days in town and city centres throught the United Kingdom. The ability to defend yourself and at the same time exercising self-restraint and a respect for others is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo.

Even though you'll take a lot of trouble learning these vital self-defence skills, hopefully you'll never need to implement them apart from within your local Taekwondo club environment.

Your First Class

Different Taekwondo schools in Epping will have different guidelines for what learners should cover on their initial lesson, however to give you an understanding of what you should expect most initial Taekwondo lessons will include things like a warm-up, some sparring, learning basic Poomse (forms), an overview of blocking techniques, stances, hand attacks and kicks (practical training) and a final warm-down to stretch weary muscles and return the body to a state of harmony.

The official body regulating Taekwondo in the United Kingdom is British Taekwondo and any person wanting to join a Taekwondo club in Epping has to also become a member of British Taekwondo. You'll be able to learn about news, safeguarding and equality, first aid, clubs and members, health and safety, starting a new Taekwondo club, events, coaching courses, coaches and referees, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, and get the latest news on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo for Beginners

As with any activity or sport we have to start somewhere, and Taekwondo is just the same. Even the best Epping Taekwondo exponents were complete rookies at one time. So, what should you expect as a complete beginner at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its students ample coaching to give them the basics and enable them to develop confidence as they progress. The ideal beginners class should be enjoyable as well as instructional, when folks are having fun they're more invested and will learn much faster.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

When you're enrolling in Taekwondo classes in Epping you'll be expecting to get a few benefits to make the whole adventure worth the effort. So we should look into some of the many benefits that you could get from practicing and learning Taekwondo. Develop discipline and willpower by extensively training your mind and body in the tactics and principles of Taekwondo, Increase self-esteem and concentration by elevating both mental and physical health, Lower anxiety using advanced breath control, Strengthen your mind and body by means of enhanced physical coordination and mental discipline, Improve flexibility, stamina and agility through strenuous cardiovascular exertion, Build up confidence by helping you to take control of your life and succeed, Teach self-defence by helping you recognise scenarios in which self-defence may be needed, and allowing you to manipulate these circumstances to your advantage.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

In the art of taekwondo there is really no form of uniformity in regards to grades and belts. It all depends on which style you are considering, because there are so many different Taekwondo styles. However, they're generally divided into a couple of groupings "junior (colour) belts and "senior" (black) belts. The colour/junior rankings consist of white to red, with from eight to twelve ranks, while the black/senior belts generally have nine ranks.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what generally known as "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is indicated by a number of different colours, so that the ranks are easily recognised. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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 Epping will commence with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and progress through the different coloured belts until they attain the Red With Black Stripe Belt (First Kup)

Taekwondo trainees in Epping are called "black belt candidates" after they have worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then be faced with progressing through yet another nine ranks (Dans) if they want to achieve the consummate distinction Taekwondo Black Belt. Therefore, the bottom line is, there are 3 main groupings in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior, Senior 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 group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and will involve many years of dedicated training. (Tags: Taekwondo Rankings Epping, Taekwondo Belt Order, Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belts Epping).

Summary

Precisely what you get out of Taekwondo are going to be directly related to what you put into it (as applies with life in general). Many of you will simply want to meet different people, make new friends and improve your fitness, some may wish to take part in tournaments and competitions or perhaps even the Olympic Games. But bear in mind, we can't all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.