Taekwondo Lochgelly

Taekwondo is generally far more physically demanding than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty fit and agile you may prefer to find something a little gentler to improve your fitness levels in Lochgelly. Children are definitely an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Lochgelly, with lots of fast paced movements taking place and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mostly features kicking moves and manoeuvres, in particular jumping/spinning kicks, rapid kicking strategies and head kicks. It started in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts specialists established schools known as "kwans", which combined a variety of martial arts techniques.

With more than sixty million people participating in Taekwondo instruction all over the world, this has unquestionably become a popular pastime, and if you become really expert at the martial art you might possibly one day be eligible for the Olympic Games, of which it's been an integral part ever since the Sydney Games in the year 2000.

In these days of escalating violence, it is hardly surprising that folks in areas like Lochgelly are getting involved in self-defence training like Taekwondo to help them feel safer and more secure in their everyday life. The self-defence aspect is one of the primary factors of Taekwondo but at the same time it also teaches self-restraint and a respect for others around us, which are disciplines that are largely absent in this modern age.

These self-defence techniques may sooner or later come in useful in your everyday life, though it is more likely that you'll only be putting them to the test within a regulated class setting. Nevertheless it's an amazing feeling knowing that you'll always be in a position to successfully defend yourself when you have to.

Your First Lochgelly Taekwondo Class

If you decide on registering for a Taekwondo club in Lochgelly, the very first thing you will be thinking about is what is going to occur on the first lesson and what will the trainer expect to see from you. Different Taekwondo masters in the Lochgelly area will formulate differing routines for this first introductory lesson but you should be expecting to do a 15 minute warm-up to get the blood pumping and loosen your muscles, learn a couple of Poomse (forms, cover some technical training (hand attacks, kicks, blocking techniques and stances), do a certain amount of sparring, and last of all, a warm-down.

Anybody who joins a Taekwondo class in Lochgelly must also register with British Taekwondo which is the governing body of the sport in Britain. You will be able to find lots of facts about members and clubs, coaching courses, beginning a new Taekwondo club, first aid, safeguarding and equality, health and safety, events, coaches and referees, news, and more, by popping along to British Taekwondo's website.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is widely recognized for its powerful kicking techniques, listed here are the basic ones: Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi). Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to repulse the various attacking moves, are called Makgi. Held in specific positions, they use the hand and different areas of the arm. Every "block" can be coordinated with a kick or punch to create a counter-attacking movement, and each one is suitable for a certain type of attack. The most important blocks include: Upper Block, Palm Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Rising Block and Single Forearm Block.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

Since there are a number of disciplines of Taekwondo there has never been any standardized arrangement for assigning belts (promotion). What exists however is pretty similar and involves two belt groups "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each one of these groupings is split into ranks, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and nine for seniors.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are symbolized by what are referred to as "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is denoted by a range of colours, so the ranks can be easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, specifically - 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Lochgelly will start out with the Tenth Kup (White Belt), and proceed through the colours until they reach the First Kup (Red Belt With Black Stripe)

After succeeding with this challenge, Taekwondo students in Lochgelly are considered as "black belt candidates" which entails them moving through another nine ranks (Dans) until they eventually achieve the distinction of "Black Belt". Therefore, Junior, Senior and Black Belts are the 3 main groups in the Taekwondo belt order. The Junior Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (10th), White With Yellow Stripe (9th), Yellow (8th), and Yellow With Green Stripe (7th). The Senior Taekwondo Belts comprise; Green (6th), Green With Blue Stripe (5th), Blue (4th), Blue With Red Stripe (3rd), Red (2nd) and Red With Black Stripe (1st). The Black Taekwondo Belts go from 1st to 9th Dan which can take many years to successfully progress through. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Lochgelly, Taekwondo Promotion Lochgelly, Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order).

The Benefits of Taekwondo

There are of course, plenty of benefits to be had from taking part in Taekwondo, and the following are just an idea of the ones that might be interesting for you: Teach you self-defence by helping you to understand instances in which self-defence could be necessary, and empowering you to manipulate such situations in your favour, Enhance feelings of self-esteem by elevating both mental and physical health, Toughen up your mind and body by accelerated physical coordination and mental discipline, Augment stamina, flexibility and agility through intense cardiovascular effort, Build confidence by helping you to take control of your life and succeed, Lessen anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Greater discipline by exhaustively schooling your body and mind in the doctrines and tactics of Taekwondo.

Competitions and Tournaments

There are a whole host of competitions in Taekwondo involving all the different styles. They mostly involve breaking, patterns (forms) and sparring with little or no "hard contact". International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF) contests don't allow disproportionate contact but do allow hand attacks to be aimed at the head. World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic competitions only allow sparring. Multi-style tournaments also take place.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Taekwondo forms (also referred to as Poomse or patterns) are identified by certain aspects such as direction, technique and stance. From the beginning of your Taekwondo journey you'll be taught a few of the standard forms, and in order to progress through the grades (belts) you'll have to learn some more complex ones.

Conclusion

So, what do you want from doing Taekwondo? Well, that's a great question, and the answer to that will vary for different people. The majority of participants will simply look to gain more self-confidence, meet new people and improve their levels of fitness. We're certainly not all going to scale the dizzy heights of Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, though perhaps you will, who knows?