Taekwondo Hull

It has to be said that Taekwondo can be quite demanding physically, which may unnerve the older and less nimble people in Hull from taking this up. To be fair, the most common people participating in Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but of course older people who are in decent physical health can easily take part and benefit from this sport.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly features kicking moves and manoeuvres, most notably jumping/turning kicks, rapid kicking styles and head-height kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts established schools called "kwans", which merged a number of martial arts practices.

Taekwondo is popular with the people of Hull and with over 60 million others worldwide. Joining a local Hull Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. While you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you cannot become a master of this exciting martial art and have some fun along the way.

The thing about Taekwondo that appears to most appeal to people in Hull is the self-defence aspect of it. And if you consider the increased levels of violence in town and city centres nowadays, this is not surprising. Actually one of the primary benefits of Taekwondo is learning to defend yourself whilst exercising self-restraint and a respect for others.

There is a pretty good likelihood that your newly learned Taekwondo skills will never see the light of day in the outside world, but it will unquestionably give you reassurance knowing that they are there should you ever be in need of them.

Your First Class

If you make your mind up to register for a Taekwondo club in Hull, the very first thing you'll be thinking about is what is going to happen on the first lesson and what will the coach expect to see from you. Different Taekwondo masters in Hull will develop differing routines for this initial introductory lesson but you can count on doing a 20 minute warm-up to get the blood circulating and loosen your muscles, learn some simple forms (Poomse), cover some technical training (blocking techniques, hand attacks, kicks and stances), do a certain amount of sparring, and finally, warm-down.

If you wish to join a Taekwondo class in Hull, you will also have to become a member of the sport's official regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You can get loads of details about events, health and safety, news, coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, clubs and members, coaches and referees, launching a new Taekwondo club, first aid, and more, by going to British Taekwondo's official website.

Some Taekwondo Kicks

One of the key parts of Taekwondo is kicking, here is a small selection of the best known kicking moves: Side Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Back Kick, Crescent Kick, Front Kick, Axe Kick, Push Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to defend against the different attacking moves, are called Makgi. They're held in particular positions and use the hand with different areas of the arm. Every "block" can be merged with a kick or punch to create a counter-attack, and each one is suitable for a specific attack. The key blocks include: Rising Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Double Forearm Block, Upper Block, Low Block, Nine Block, Palm Block and Knife Hand Block.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Forms are a key element of Taekwondo and are important to learn if you're to master this intriguing sport. Several basic Taekwondo forms need to be grasped from the beginning and more complicated forms have to be perfected in order to advance through the various levels. A Taekwondo form is distinguished by various variables such as technique, stance and direction.

Taekwondo Belts

In Tae kwon do there is really no form of standardisation in relation to grades and belts. It's all dependent upon what style you're looking at, since there are so many different Taekwondo styles and rules. However, they are usually separated into two groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The colour/junior rankings range from white to red, with anything from eight to twelve levels, while the black/senior belts normally have nine grades.

Hull Taekwondo for Beginners

Even the top exponents of Taekwondo in Hull had to start as novices, therefore there's no shame in being a beginner at Taekwondo, or any other activity for that matter. The objective of a Taekwondo beginner class is to teach just a few basics, raise confidence and develop a firm base for the future. Most importantly of all is that it must be fun, students having fun are going to learn quicker and be more committed.

Safety Equipment

Contests controlled by British Taekwondo rules require various items of protective gear to be used, these include things like: a groin protector, forearm protectors, a mouth protector, shin guards, hand guards, blue or red body armour (hogu) and a red/blue head guard. This is vital due to the powerful kicking actions being practiced.

Final Thoughts

Precisely what you get from Taekwondo are going to be directly related to what you put into it (as is the case with life on the whole). Many of you will merely want to improve your fitness, make new friends and meet different people, some might want to move on to competitions or tournaments or perhaps even the Olympic Games. But bear in mind, we cannot all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.