Taekwondo Lancaster

Taekwondo is generally far more physically demanding than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty agile and fit you might prefer to find something a little gentler to boost your fitness in Lancaster. Younger children are clearly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Lancaster, with lots of fast movements going on and plenty of high kicking.

With its origins in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently created of the martial arts and entails primarily high-kicking moves such as head-height kicks, fast kicking methods and spinning/jumping kicks. It started when schools known as "kwans" were set up by a bunch of Korean martial artists in Seoul, South Korea.

The total number of Taekwondo practitioners worldwide, now exceeds 60 million. Signing up for a local Lancaster Taekwondo club or class is the best way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the 2000 Sydney Games. There isn't any reason why you cannot become a master of this exciting martial art, even if you do not aspire to Olympic competition.

For the people of Lancaster who are keen on the idea of learning a martial art, a big priority is the aspect of self-defence. Because this is a key principle of Taekwondo, it is easy to appreciate the appeal of this unique sport. With the additional bonus of learning self-restraint and having a deep-rooted respect for others, signing up for a local Lancaster Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

These self-defence techniques may at some point prove useful in the outside world, although it's more likely you'll solely be testing them within a controlled class setting. Nevertheless it's a nice feeling knowing that you'll always be in a position to defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you have never done Taekwondo before, you could be a bit anxious as to what you can expect on your first lesson. This varies from club to club but will usually consist of all or some of these. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen up muscles and increase heart rate, a little technical training including learning some hand attacks, blocks, stances and kicks, learning a few forms, an overview of sparring including timing, movement and the timing of attacks, and finally a warm down to stretch and relax weary muscles.

Taekwondo also of course has its own official regulating body, and in Great Britain it is British Taekwondo. Every person wishing to join a Taekwondo club in Lancaster have to become registered members of this organisation. By checking out British Taekwondo's website you will be able to discover details of coaching courses, first aid, beginning a new club, referees and coaching, members and clubs, equality and safeguarding, health and safety, news, events, and a lot more Taekwondo related issues.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

When you're getting involved in Taekwondo classes in Lancaster you'll be aiming to get some benefits to make the whole undertaking worthwhile. So let's take a look at a few of the many positive benefits that you might gain through learning and practicing Taekwondo. Enhance feelings of self-esteem by elevating your mental and physical powers, Toughen up your body and mind by enhanced physical coordination and mental discipline, Reduced anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Supercharge stamina, flexibility and agility through intense cardiovascular effort, More discipline and willpower by extensively training your body and mind in the principles and strategies of Taekwondo, Build confidence by helping you to succeed and to take control of your life, Learn self-defence strategies by helping you to identify circumstances where self-defence could be needed, and allowing you to manipulate these circumstances to your advantage.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Forms are a key element of Taekwondo and are crucial if you are to excel at this exciting activity. Several basic Taekwondo forms have to be grasped at the beginning and more complicated forms must be perfected in order to move through the various belts. A Taekwondo form is categorized by a number of variables such as technique, direction and stance.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Since there are many different disciplines of Taekwondo there has never been any uniform arrangement for assigning belts (grades). What exists is however quite similar and involves 2 belt groupings "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groups is divided into levels, 8 to 12 colours in the case of juniors and 9 "blacks" for the seniors.

Beginners Classes

It doesn't matter who you are or what you're standing is in the world of Taekwondo, at one point you were a complete novice, fearing failure and knowing practically nothing. We have all started like this and can only develop and learn with practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Lancaster are the place get started on that learning journey and to pick up the basic principles so you can gain self-confidence and proceed with your exciting Taekwondo adventure. Nearly all beginner classes are created to be friendly and fun, delivering a slow introduction to the fundamental Taekwondo values and building a solid foundation moving forward.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all events, tournaments and contests being staged under the auspices of British Taekwondo, safety gear such as a gum shield, shin protectors, a red/blue head guard, a red/blue body guard (hogu), hand guards, forearm protectors and a groin guard is mandatory. The kicking tactics used in Taekwondo may cause harm and these preventative measures help to make this activity much safer for its competitors.

Conclusion

So, what do you want from Taekwondo? Well, that is an excellent question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. The majority of participants will purely wish to improve their fitness, gain more confidence and meet new people. We're definitely not all going to scale the heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though maybe you will, you never know? 👊