Taekwondo Herne Bay

Taekwondo is typically much more physically demanding than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and nimble you might prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness in Herne Bay. Younger children are clearly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Herne Bay, with a lot of fast paced movements taking place and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mostly involves high-kicking moves and manoeuvres, most notably rapid kicking methods, head-height kicks and turning/jumping kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a group of martial arts enthusiasts established schools known as "kwans", which mixed together a number of martial arts techniques.

With more than 60 million fitness enthusiasts engaged in Taekwondo classes all around the globe, this has definitely become a popular and worthwhile activity, and if you become really good at the martial art you may even one day qualify for the Olympic Games, of which it's been a part ever since the 2000 Sydney Games.

In these days of increasing violence, it's no surprise that folks in locations like Herne Bay are getting involved in self-defence training like Taekwondo to enable them to feel safer and more secure in their everyday life. The self-defence element is one of the key benefits of Taekwondo but it also teaches self-restraint and a deep respect for those around us, which are traits that are often missing in 21st century living.

While its nice to know that you can defend yourself when you need to, it's hoped that you never need to do this outside of your local Taekwondo club environment.

Your First Class

If you've never done Taekwondo before, you might be intrigued to know exactly what is likely to occur on your first lesson. The following will give you a good idea, but this may vary from school to school. An initial warm up lasting 15-20 minutes, a bit of technical training including learning some stances, hand attacks, kicks and blocking techniques, some work on patterns or forms, some ideas on sparring including timing, movement and the targeting of attacks, and finally a warm down with muscle stretching and loosening up to prevent cramping and spasms.

If you would like to join a Taekwondo club in Herne Bay, you will also have to register with the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. By visiting British Taekwondo's official website you can discover information on clubs and members, events, establishing a new Taekwondo club, equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, coaches and competition referees, safe practices, news, first aid, and lots more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

There are of course, many benefits to be had from taking part in Taekwondo, and the following are just some which might be of interest to you: Lower stress using advanced breath control, More discipline and willpower by comprehensively schooling your body and mind in the strategies and principles of Taekwondo, Teach you self-defence by showing you how to recognize occasions where self-defence might be required, and enabling you to manipulate such scenarios to your advantage, Increase your self-esteem by heightening both mental and physical health, Turbocharge agility, stamina and flexibility through intense cardiovascular work-outs, Build confidence by inspiring you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Empower your mind and body via enhanced physical coordination and mental discipline.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Mastering Tae kwon do will involve getting to grips with many disciplines and one of the pivotal elements of Taekwondo is its forms (also known as Poomse or patterns). These are types of stance, technique and direction which must be mastered in order for pupils to move through the various dans (belts/grades).

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In Tae kwon do there is really no form of uniformity in regards to belts and ranking. It is all dependent on what style you happen to be reviewing, because there are so many different Taekwondo styles and rules. However, they are usually split into 2 groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The colour/junior ranks range from white to red, with from eight to twelve ranks, while the black/senior belts typically have 9 levels.

Tournaments

Taekwondo competitions and tournaments are staged across the globe in all the diverse styles. There's normally not a whole lot of hard contact but breaking, patterns and sparring. Olympic and WT (World Taekwondo) contests consist only of sparring, in International Taekwon-Do Federation competitions specified hand attacks are permitted to the head. Various other associations hold multi-discipline tournaments.

Beginners Classes

It doesn't matter what you're capable of or who you are in Taekwondo, at some time you were a total novice, fearing failure and knowing nothing. We have all started like this and can only develop and learn through practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Herne Bay are the place to begin that learning process and to acquire the basic principles so you can gain self-confidence and move forward in your exciting Taekwondo experience. Nearly all beginner classes are geared up to be fun and friendly, offering a slow introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo principles and building a solid base for the future.

Safety Gear

In all events, matches and competitions being staged under the patronage of British Taekwondo, safety equipment like a mouth protector, forearm protectors, a groin guard, a blue/red head guard, hand guards, a blue/red trunk protector (hogu) and shin protectors is mandatory. The fast kicking techniques which are part of Taekwondo can easily cause serious injuries and this helps make this activity less dangerous for its competitors.