Taekwondo Grays

It must be said that Taekwondo can be fairly demanding physically, which might intimidate the older and less agile people in Grays from taking this up. To be completely fair, the most common participants of Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but certainly older individuals who're in decent physical condition can easily get involved and get benefits from this activity.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A group of Korean martial artists in Seoul established some new schools known as "kwans", merging a variety of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mostly involves high-kicking manoeuvres, particularly rapid kicking techniques, spinning/jumping kicks and head-height kicks.

Taekwondo has grown to become extremely popular in Grays and around the globe, with more than sixty million practitioners worldwide. Joining a local Grays Taekwondo class or club is a good way to become involved in this sporting activity which has even been a part of the Olympic Games ever since the Sydney Games of 2000. While you may not have any aspirations to be involved in Olympic competition, there's certainly no reason why you shouldn't become a maestro of this exhilarating martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and of course this is one of the principal reasons that people in Grays join classes and take up the sport. There's been a disconcerting escalation of violent practices over the last few years and this is especially rampant in city and town centres throughout Essex and the nation as a whole. The beauty of Taekwondo though, is that it also teaches self-discipline and respect for other people, not such widespread characteristics in Grays these days.

Such self-defence techniques may in due course come in handy in the outside world, though it's much more likely that you'll solely be using them within a regulated class setting. Yet it is an amazing feeling knowing that you can always defend yourself if you have to.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

Different Taekwondo schools in and around Grays will have different guidelines for what learners should be covering on their very first class, however to give you a concept of what you should expect most first Taekwondo classes will include a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning simple Poomse (forms), an introduction to hand attacks, stances, blocking techniques and kicks (technical training) and a warm-down to stretch weary muscles and return the body to a state of relaxation.

Any person who joins a Taekwondo class in Grays has to also register with British Taekwondo which is the regulating body of the sport in the UK. By exploring the official British Taekwondo website you'll be able to discover details on events, coaching courses, news, members and clubs, beginning a new Taekwondo club, safeguarding and equality, first aid, coaches and tournament referees, safe practices, and a lot more Taekwondo related issues.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

There are of course, quite a few benefits to be gained from taking part in Taekwondo, and the following are just some which might be of interest to you: Build up your confidence by pushing you to succeed and to take control of your life, Reduce stress and anxiety by doing deep breathing exercises, Help with self-defence by helping you realize situations where self-defence could be required, and enabling you to turn these circumstances to your advantage, Increase self-esteem and concentration by sharpening your mental and physical fitness, Supercharge agility, flexibility and stamina by means of extreme cardiovascular work-outs, Greater self-discipline by comprehensively schooling your body and mind in the techniques and doctrines of Taekwondo, Strengthen your body and mind through improved physical coordination and mental discipline.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is recognized for its formidable kicks, listed here are the basic ones: Roundhouse Kick, Crescent Kick, Axe Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Push Kick, Front Kick, Back Kick, Side Kick. Blocks: To stop and avert an incoming attack, "blocks" (called Makgi) are used. Held in specific positions, they use the hand and parts of the arm. Specific attacks necessitate specified "blocks", but blocks can also be turned into counter-attacking moves by the combination of reciprocal kicks or punches. The most used blocks in Taekwondo include: Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Upper Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block and Palm Block.

Tournaments

Taekwondo tournaments and competitions are held across the globe in all the various styles. There's usually not a whole lot of hard contact but sparring, breaking and patterns. Olympic and WT tournaments consist only of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) contests specific hand attacks are allowed to the head. Some other bodies hold multi-discipline tournaments.

Grays Taekwondo for Beginners

As with any sport or activity we've got to start somewhere, and Taekwondo's no exception. Even the best Grays Taekwondo exponents were total newbies at one time. So, what should you be expecting as a complete beginner at Taekwondo? Beginner classes should give their enrollees enough instruction to teach them the fundamentals and enable them to build confidence as they progress. The ideal beginners class should be enjoyable as well as educational, when students are having fun they are a lot more invested and will learn quicker.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

Safety equipment like hand guards, shin guards, a groin protector, a blue or red head protector, red/blue trunk armour, a mouth protector and forearm guards must be used in all tournaments supervised by British Taekwondo. Protection from injuries is crucial because of the forceful kicking which is an integral part of this sport.

Final Thoughts

So, what are you looking to get from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's a great question, and the answer to that will be different for individual people. The majority of participants will purely look to improve their levels of fitness, gain more self-confidence and meet new people. We are definitely not all going to reach the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, although maybe you will, who knows? 👊