Taekwondo Patchway

Taekwondo is generally a lot more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty nimble and fit you may prefer to find something a little bit gentler to improve your fitness levels in Patchway. Children are certainly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Patchway, with a lot of fast paced movements taking place and plenty of high kicking.

With its origins in 1940's Korea, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently developed of the martial arts and consists of primarily high-kicking moves such as rapid kicking styles, jumping/turning kicks and head kicks. It started when schools known as "kwans" were set up by a bunch of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has made it even more popular all over the world with some 60 million people or more actively attending classes. And it's by signing up to a Taekwondo club or class that you are able to commence your journey of mastering this exciting martial art.

For the men, women and children of Patchway who like the idea of learning a martial art, a big priority is the element of self-defence. As this is a key concept of Taekwondo, it's not difficult to see the attraction of this unique sport. With the additional benefit of developing self-restraint and having a deep respect for other people, signing up for a local Patchway Taekwondo class seems to be a no brainer.

There is a fairly good chance that your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will never see the light of day in your everyday life, but it will unquestionably give you self-confidence knowing that they are there should you need them.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you've never tried Taekwondo before, you might be intrigued to find out just what is going to occur on your first class. The following will give you an idea, but this could vary from school to school. A warm up of 15 to 20 minutes to increase heart rate and loosen the muscles, some technical training which will involve learning some kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocking techniques, a look at some forms, a look at sparring including movement, timing and the targeting of attacks, and last but not least a warm down to prevent muscle spasms and cramping,

Everyone who's a member of a Taekwondo class in Patchway or any place else in the British Isles, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the official regulating body of the sport. You can find loads of details about health and safety, events, news, coaches and referees, safeguarding and equality, starting a new club, clubs and members, first aid, coaching courses, and more, by popping along to British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo Tournaments

Taekwondo tournaments and competitions are staged all over the world in all the various styles. There is normally not a whole lot of hard contact but breaking, sparring and patterns. Olympic and World Taekwondo tournaments comprise only sparring, in ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) competitions specified hand attacks are allowed to the head. Various other bodies hold multi-discipline competitions.

Patchway Taekwondo for Beginners

Learners starting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Patchway will at first register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are fantastic, as there is no pressure and everything's carried out at a casual, slow pace. Learning and having fun are the principal objectives to start with and students who are having a good time have a tendency to learn a lot quicker and digest more of what they are being taught. Even Taekwondo masters started out as clueless newbies, so take that initial step and you never know where you'll end up!

Safety Gear

British Taekwondo contests require specific safety equipment to be worn to safeguard contenders from injury as a result of the powerful kicking that occurs. These safety products include: forearm protectors, a blue/red head protector, a groin guard, hand guards, a blue or red trunk guard (hogu), shin pads and a gum shield.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

The ranking and belt system can get very bewildering in Taekwondo as there is no recognised structure across the various Taekwondo disciplines. Similarities do exist however, and normally there are two separate belt groups, denoted as "seniors" (black dans) and "juniors" (colours). The number of levels in the junior section varies through the styles but is usually somewhere between 8 and 12 belts, while the senior's section usually has 9 belts or dans.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks that are known as "Kup", these ranks go from Tenth (lowest) to First (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, like most of the martial arts is denoted by a range of different colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate belts with stripes, 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. Students in Patchway getting started in Taekwondo will commence with the White Belt (10th Kup), and progress through the colours until they reach the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

Taekwondo trainees in Patchway are considered as "black belt candidates" after they've worked their way through these rankings, and they will then be faced with progressing through another nine ranks (called Dans) if they wish to achieve the ultimate distinction Taekwondo Black Belt. Therefore, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three divisions; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts are; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior division 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 division of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and involves many years of dedication and training. (Tags: Order of Belts in Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order, Taekwondo Belts Patchway, Taekwondo Ranks Patchway).

In Conclusion

We can more or less guarantee that if you participate in Taekwondo you are going to make more friends, gain self-confidence and improve your fitness levels. If that is all that you take away from it, then all well and good, and you can call it an achievement! We aren't all looking to be Jade Jones's or Lutalo Muhammad's, but those of you that are, need to begin with the initial step. Good luck on your quest! 👊