Taekwondo Linwood

When discussing Taekwondo, many people in Linwood assume that this is a pursuit for younger children. While the younger and fitter generation might find it easier to contend with the demands of Taekwondo, people of every age can and do practice the sport. You will however get more enjoyment out of Taekwondo if you are relatively agile.

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 artists in Seoul founded some schools known as "kwans", merging a number of martial arts practices. Taekwondo, which was ultimately called, mainly consists of kicking manoeuvres, especially turning/jumping kicks, rapid kicking methods and head kicks.

Taekwondo now has over 60 million practitioners worldwide and has become very popular in Linwood and throughout the UK. Since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to give it a go, joining a local Linwood Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved. While reaching Olympic standard may be aiming a bit high, there is no reason why you cannot become a Taekwondo master.

For a lot of folks in Linwood, it's the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that holds the most appeal. And in these times of increasing violence, particularly in town and city centres, it is little surprise that this aspect sits high up on people's priority lists. It is a key factor of Taekwondo that you are able to become more confident in your capability to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect others and learn self-restraint.

Your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will most likely never need to be proven outside of a dedicated Taekwondo class, however being aware of the fact that you have them will instill you with self-confidence.

What to Expect From Your First Class

For those of you who have never done Taekwondo before, you'll no doubt be interested to know just what to expect from your first lesson. There might be variations to the following, depending on which Linwood Taekwondo school you attend, but you can more or less expect; A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase heart rate and loosen the muscles, some technical training which will involve learning some kicks, hand attacks, stances and blocking techniques, some work on patterns or forms (Poomse in Korean), a few ideas on sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and to round off a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping,

If you wish to sign up to a Taekwondo club in Linwood, you will also have to register with the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to learn about starting a new Taekwondo club, first aid, coaches and tournament referees, coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, safe practices, members and clubs, events, news, and more on the official British Taekwondo website, or find out the latest news stories on their Twitter or Facebook page.

Competitions and Tournaments

Tournaments are a significant aspect of the overall Taekwondo experience, and all of the diverse styles all over the world stage tournaments and competitions where Taekwondo masters get together to compete. Hard contact is rarely allowed in any of these competitions which primarily incorporate sparring, breaking and patterns (forms). Sparring only is allowed in Olympic and World Taekwondo tournaments, while certain hand attacks are tolerated in International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) events.

Beginners Taekwondo Linwood

Even the top exponents of Taekwondo in Linwood had to start as rookies, so there's no disgrace in being a beginner at this sport, or any other activity for that matter. The aim of a Taekwondo beginners class is to teach just a few basics, increase self-confidence and develop a firm base for the future. Most important of all is that it must be enjoyable, trainees having fun are going to learn faster and be better engaged.

Benefits to be Gained From Taekwondo

There are needless to say, a number of benefits to be gained from taking part in Taekwondo, and the following are just some that may be interesting for you: Better discipline and willpower by thoroughly schooling your mind and body in the strategies and concepts of Taekwondo, Reduces anxiety with controlled breathing, Augment stamina, agility and flexibility through intensive cardiovascular effort, Beef up your confidence by inspiring you to take control of your life and succeed, Teach self-defence by helping you to recognize circumstances in which self-defence might be necessary, and empowering you to control these situations in your favour, Toughen up your mind and body by means of improved mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Improve concentration and self-esteem by elevating your mental and physical powers.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Safety equipment such as a mouth protector, shin guards, hand protectors, a groin guard, a red or blue head guard, blue or red body armour (hogu) and forearm guards must be used in all contests regulated by British Taekwondo. Protection from injury is required thanks to the formidable kicking that is an integral part of this activity.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is renowned for its wide range of kicks, above and beyond any other martial art. The following are just a selection: Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi). Blocks: To fend off the various hand attacks and kicks there are a similarly diverse assortment of blocks (Makgi). Using the hands and areas of the arm, they're held in specific positions. Specific attacks require specified blocks, but blocks can also be turned into counter-attacking manoeuvres by combining retaliatory punches or kicks. The most used "blocks" (makgi) include: Rising Block, Nine Block, Double Forearm Block, Low Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block, Palm Block and Upper Block.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Taekwondo forms (also called patterns or Poomse) are characterized by specified facets such as stance, technique and direction. From the outset you are going to be taught some of the basic forms, and in order to move through the levels (belts) you will need to master some more complex ones.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In the art of taekwondo there's really no uniformity when it comes to belts and ranking. It all depends on which style you're reviewing, as there are so many different Taekwondo styles. They are however, normally split into 2 groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour rankings consist of white to red, with anything from eight to twelve levels, whilst the senior/black belts generally have 9 grades.

In the UK there are a sequence of ranks (belts) in Taekwondo which are generally known as "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. As is the case with many of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a range of colours, so that the ranks can be easily recognised. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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. The White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo newbies in Linwood will start out with, they will then advance through the coloured belts, eventually earning the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), which will take approximately three to four years.

Taekwondo students in Linwood are known as "black belt candidates" after they've successfully completed this process, and they'll then be faced with progressing through a further 9 ranks (Dans) if they aim to achieve the consummate accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, Junior, Senior and Black Belts are the 3 principal divisions in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group comprise; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior group are; 6th (Green), 5th (Green With Blue Stripe), 4th (Blue), 3rd ( Blue With Red Stripe), 2nd (Red), and 1st (Red With Black Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Black group go from 1st to 9th Dan, a process which takes a considerable number of years. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Linwood, Taekwondo Promotion Linwood, Order of Belts in Taekwondo).

In Conclusion

So, what are you looking to get from Taekwondo? Well, that is a good question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. The majority of participants will simply look to improve their fitness, meet new people and gain more self-confidence. We are not all going to reach the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though maybe you will, you never know? 👊