Taekwondo Hawick

Taekwondo is generally far more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty fit and nimble you may prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness levels in Hawick. Younger children are definitely the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Hawick, with lots of fast paced movements taking place and plenty of high kicking.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea in 1945. A number of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul established some schools known as "kwans", merging many different martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it ultimately became known as, largely entails high-kicking manoeuvres, especially fast kicking methods, head-height kicks and jumping/turning kicks.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been a competitive Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity throughout the world with some sixty million people actively taking classes. And it's by joining a Taekwondo class or club that you can commence your quest of mastering this exciting martial art.

It would seem that the most appealing aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence. And in these times of increased violence, especially in city and town centres, it is no real surprise that this features high on people's priority list. Being able to defend yourself is a key principle of Taekwondo, but this is balanced by respecting others and exercising self-restraint.

While it will give you peace of mind being aware that you have those self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the chances are that you will never be required to use them outside the regulated setting of an actual Taekwondo class.

Your First Class

If you've never had a go at Taekwondo before, you may be a little apprehensive as to what should be expected on your first lesson. This varies from club to club but will normally consist of all or some of these. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase your heart rate, a little technical training including learning some kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocking techniques, studying some Poomse (forms), an introduction to sparring which will include timing, movement and the timing of attacks, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch weary muscles.

Taekwondo of course also has its own official governing body, and in Great Britain it is British Taekwondo. Everyone wishing enroll with a Taekwondo club in Hawick must become members of this organisation. You will be able to find plenty of facts about coaching courses, health and safety, beginning a new club, first aid, members and clubs, events, news, safeguarding and equality, coaches and referees, and more, by checking out the official British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

In Taekwondo there is not really any kind of standardisation in relation to belts and grades. It's all depending on which style you are reviewing, because there are so many different Taekwondo styles and rules. However, they are typically separated into two groups "junior (colour) belts and "senior" (black) belts. The junior/colour ranks consist of white to red, with anything from eight to twelve rankings, while the senior/black belts generally have 9 levels.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks (belts) which are generally known as "Kup", these ranks go from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). If you're curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is portrayed by a range of different colours i.e. 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Hawick will begin with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and move up through the different coloured belts until they accomplish the First Kup (Red Belt With a Black Stripe)

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo students in Hawick become "black belt candidates" which involves them proceeding through a further 9 ranks (Dans) until they achieve the ultimate distinction of "Black Belt" status. Therefore, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the 3 primary divisions 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 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 can take many years to successfully progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Hawick, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Ranks Hawick, Order of Belts in Taekwondo).

Taekwondo - The Benefits

There are needless to say, a lot of benefits to be gained from participating in Taekwondo, and here are just a selection of the ones which might be attractive to you: Toughen up your mind and body thru accelerated mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Augment agility, flexibility and stamina by means of strenuous cardiovascular work-outs, More discipline and willpower by extensively educating your mind and body in the concepts and tactics of Taekwondo, Enhance self-esteem and concentration by heightening both physical and mental health, Lessen anxiety with controlled breathing, Boost your confidence by inspiring you to take control of your life and succeed, Help with self-defence by training you to recognize circumstances in which self-defence could be necessary, and allowing you to control these circumstances in your favour.

Taekwondo Competitions

Tournaments and competitions are an important part of the overall Taekwondo legacy, and all of the diverse styles around the world stage tournaments where Taekwondo exponents come together to battle it out. Hard contact is hardly ever permitted in any of these contests which primarily comprise breaking, sparring and patterns (forms). Sparring only is permitted in Olympic and WT tournaments, while some hand attacks are permitted in ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) events.

In Summary

We can pretty confidently guarantee that if you participate in Taekwondo you'll gain more confidence, improve your fitness and make more friends. If that's all you get out of it, then all well and good, you can call it a success! We're not all looking to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you that are, still have to begin with that initial step. Good luck with your journey! 👊