Taekwondo Milngavie

Taekwondo is typically far more demanding physically than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and agile you may prefer to find something a bit gentler to improve your fitness in Milngavie. Children and younger people are certainly an ideal participants for Taekwondo classes in Milngavie, with a lot of fast paced movements taking place and a great deal of high kicking.

Based largely around kicking manoeuvres like fast kicking strategies, head kicks and jumping/turning kicks, Taekwondo was developed from the practices of various martial arts, by a number of Seoul martial arts experts in new schools known as "Kwans" during the 1940's and 1950's. These "Kwans" had the names Changmu Kwan, Mooduk Kwan, Jido Kwan, Songmu Kwan and Chungdo Kwan.

Taekwondo has grown to be really popular in Milngavie and all across the globe, with over 60 million participants worldwide. Getting started with a local Milngavie Taekwondo club or class is an excellent way to become involved in this sport which has even been included in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. While you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there is certainly no reason why you should not become an expert at this exhilarating martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

People in Milngavie take up Taekwondo for many reasons but it is the self-defence aspect that appeals to most. And in these days of increased violence, especially in town and city centres, it is no surprise that this features high on people's list of priorities. In fact one of the key principles of Taekwondo is learning to defend yourself whilst exercising self-restraint and a respect for others.

Your newly learned Taekwondo skills will most likely never need to be put to the test outside the regulated atmosphere of an actual Taekwondo class, however knowing that you have them will instill you with confidence.

Your First Lesson

If you've never tried Taekwondo previously, you may be a bit anxious as to what can be expected on your very first lesson. This may vary from club to club but will generally comprise all or some of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to loosen muscles and increase your heart rate, some practical training involving learning some kicks, blocking techniques, stances and hand attacks, learning a few forms (or Poomse), an overview of sparring including timing, the timing of attacks and movement, and lastly a warm down to relax and stretch weary muscles.

If you wish to sign up to a Taekwondo class in Milngavie, you'll also have to register with the sport's official governing body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to get a lot of details on coaching courses, first aid, clubs and members, news, health and safety, safeguarding and equality, coaches and competition referees, events, beginning a new club, and more, by viewing the official British Taekwondo website.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

British Taekwondo competitions call for specific safety equipment to be worn to safeguard competitors from personal injury as a result of the potent kicks being used. This safety gear includes: forearm protectors, a red/blue body protector (hogu), shin guards, a mouth protector, hand protectors, a red/blue head protector and a groin protector.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The ranking and belt structure can get somewhat confusing in Taekwondo because there's no recognised structure across the different Taekwondo disciplines. Likenesses do exist however, and commonly there are 2 separate belt groups, signified as "juniors" (colours) and "seniors" (black dans). The number of grades in the junior section varies over the disciplines but is typically somewhere between 8 and 12 belts, whilst the senior group usually has 9 belts or dans.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are called "Kup". The top rank is First Kup and the lowest (beginners) is Tenth Kup. If you're curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is indicated by a number of different colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary belts with stripes, 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. Beginners in Milngavie starting out in Taekwondo will commence with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and proceed through the colours until they reach the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

When this training has been completed, Milngavie Taekwondo students are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they then need to earn an additional nine ranks or Dans if they are to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which is the supreme distinction. Therefore, the bottom line is, there are 3 main groupings in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Junior division Taekwondo Belts comprise; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior group of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and will involve many years of dedication and training. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Ranks Milngavie, Taekwondo Belts Milngavie).

Taekwondo - The Benefits

The benefits which can be gained by taking part in Taekwondo lessons in Milngavie are countless, amongst the most advantageous are: Strengthen your body and mind through enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Grow in confidence by encouraging you to take control of your life and succeed, Enhance self-esteem by sharpening your physical and mental powers, Help with self-defence techniques by helping you realize circumstances in which self-defence might be required, and allowing you to manipulate these types of situations in your favour, Lessen anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Develop self-discipline by comprehensively training your body and mind in the principles and strategies of Taekwondo, Augment stamina, agility and flexibility by means of extreme cardiovascular work-outs.

Taekwondo Beginners Classes

Even the finest exponents of Taekwondo in Milngavie set out as novices, therefore it's no disgrace to be a complete beginner at Tae kwon do, or any other activity for that matter. The aim of a Taekwondo beginners class is to provide a few basics, raise self-confidence and develop a firm foundation moving forward. Most importantly of all is that it needs to be fun, trainees having fun are going to learn faster and be better invested.

Conclusion

Precisely what you get out of Taekwondo are going to be proportional to what you invest in it (as is true of life in general). Most of you will just want to improve your fitness, meet different people and make new friends, some might wish to move on to tournaments and competitions or possibly even the Olympics. But bear in mind, we cannot all end up being a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad. 👊