Taekwondo Lancing

It needs to be asserted that Taekwondo can be fairly demanding physically, which might put off the older and less nimble people in Lancing from taking this up. To be fair, the most frequent participants of Taekwondo classes are children and the younger generation, but obviously older individuals who are in decent physical health can easily get involved and get benefits from this activity.

Taekwondo started in Korea in 1945. Some innovative new schools called "kwans" were established in Seoul by a group of Korean martial arts lovers, merging a number of various martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mainly entails kicking movements, especially jumping/spinning kicks, fast kicking styles and head-height kicks. These days Lancing Taekwondo classes comply with this tradition.

Since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has made it even more popular throughout the world with some sixty million people routinely taking part in classes. And it is by joining a Taekwondo club or class that you are able to start your quest of learning this fascinating martial art.

Of all the many benefits of doing this sport, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that the people of Lancing find most appealing. You should not be surprised by this, when you take into account the high incidence of violence seen in today's town and city centres. Being able to defend yourself is a key factor of Taekwondo, but this is tempered by learning self-restraint and a respect for others.

Such self-defence techniques may in due course come in handy in your everyday life, although it's much more likely you will only be using them within a supervised class environment. Nevertheless it is an amazing feeling knowing that you can always defend yourself when you have to.

What to Expect From Your First Class

Different Taekwondo schools in Lancing will have different guidelines for what learners should be covering on their initial class, but to give you an idea of what you should expect most initial Taekwondo lessons will include a warm-up, some sparring, learning simple Poomse (forms), a brief introduction to blocking techniques, kicks, stances and hand attacks (practical training) and a final warm-down to stretch tired muscles and return the body to a state of balance.

Everybody who's a member of a Taekwondo club in Lancing or anywhere else in the UK, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the regulating body of the sport. You will be able to learn about first aid, members and clubs, news, safe practices, launching a new club, equality and safeguarding, coaches and tournament referees, events, coaching courses, and more on British Taekwondo's website, and get the latest Taekwondo news reports on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Kicks

As martial arts go, Taekwondo shines as the one with the most kicking manoeuvres. These are just some fundamental ones: Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To defend against and stop an inbound Taekwondo attack, "blocks" (known as Makgi) are employed. They're held in specific positions and enlist the hands with parts of the arm. Each kind of attack calls for a specific sort of block, counter-attacks can be created by integrating a block with another kick or punch. The principal "blocks" include: Double Knife Hand Block, Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Low Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block, Palm Block, Upper Block and Double Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Taekwondo forms (also referred to as Poomse or patterns) are distinguished by particular facets like stance, technique and direction. From the beginning of your Taekwondo journey you'll get to grips with a few of the important forms, and in order to advance through the various levels (belts) you'll have to master some more advanced ones.

Competitions and Tournaments

There are a multitude of tournaments and competitions in Taekwondo involving all the diverse styles. They mostly comprise sparring, breaking and patterns (forms) with very little hard contact. International Taekwon-Do Federation contests do not permit substantial contact but may allow hand attacks towards the head. World Taekwondo and Olympic contests only allow sparring. Multi-style contests also take place.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Students setting out on their Taekwondo experience in Lancing will at first register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are fabulous, because there is no pressure and everything is carried out at a slow, casual pace. Learning and having fun are the key goals at the start and students who are having a good time have a tendency to learn much faster and absorb considerably more of what they're being told. Even Taekwondo masters started off as clueless novices, so take that first step and you never know where you'll end up!

In Conclusion

The benefits that you acquire from Taekwondo will be proportional to what you put into it (as is the case with life in general). Most of you will purely wish to make new friends, improve your fitness and meet different people, some might want to take part in tournaments and competitions or perhaps even the Olympic Games. But remember, we cannot all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.