Taekwondo Peebles

Due to its rather more physical aspects, Taekwondo is possibly more suited to the younger generation in Peebles and is particularly appropriate for children as it is great for nurturing self-discipline and respect for others. Older adults who are not all that active and fit might find it a tad too tough. However those in Peebles who get involved in Taekwondo at an early age, will find that carrying it on into older adulthood isn't an issue. The less agile of you might like to consider something less strenuous like Tai Chi.

With its beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is obviously one of the more recently established of the martial arts and consists of primarily kicking moves such as head kicks, rapid kicking styles and spinning/jumping kicks. It started when schools known as "kwans" were established by a group of Korean martial artists in Seoul, South Korea.

Popular throughout the world Taekwondo now has more than sixty million students. Heading along to your local Taekwondo club or class in Peebles is an easy way to get involved with this activity which is now an Olympic sport. While you may not aspire to Olympic competition, there's no reason why you can't be a master of this fascinating martial art and have an amazing time in the process.

For many folks in Peebles, it is the self-defence element of Taekwondo which has the most appeal. And in these days of increased violence, especially in town and city centres, it really is no surprise that this features high up on people's priority lists. It is a primary element of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your capacity to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect others and practice self-restraint.

While it is useful to practice and master these self-defence techniques in the controlled environment of your local Peebles Taekwondo club, with luck you'll never have the need to use them in the wider world.

What to Expect From Your First Lesson

For those of you who've never attempted Taekwondo before, you will no doubt be curious to know just what to expect from your first lesson. The majority of Taekwondo schools in Peebles follow a similar pattern, but there may be variations to the following. A 15-20 minute warm up, a bit of technical training comprising some hand attacks, kicks, stances and blocks, learning some forms (or Poomse), a look at sparring including timing, movement and the targeting of attacks, and lastly a warm down to loosen up and stretch tired muscles.

Taekwondo also of course has got its own official governing body, and in Britain it is British Taekwondo. Every person wishing to join a Taekwondo club in Peebles must become members of this organisation. You will be able to get loads of information about coaching courses, health and safety, launching a new club, events, first aid, safeguarding and equality, news, coaches and tournament referees, clubs and members, and more, by viewing British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

The ranking and belt system can get somewhat bewildering in Taekwondo because there is no uniform system across the diverse Taekwondo styles. Similarities can be found however, and typically there are two distinct belt groupings, denoted as "seniors" (black dans) and "juniors" (coloured belts). The number of rankings in the junior groupings varies across the styles but is normally somewhere between eight and twelve belts, whilst the senior groupings generally has nine belts or dans.

In the UK Taekwondo has a series of ranks (belts) which are known as "Kup", these ranks go from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). The Taekwondo belt order, much like many of the martial arts is indicated by a range of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate 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 of Taekwondo in Peebles will start out with the 10th Kup (White Belt), and advance through the various coloured belts until they accomplish the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup).

After successfully completing this challenge, Taekwondo students in Peebles are considered to be "black belt candidates" which involves them moving through another 9 ranks (Dans) right up until they eventually achieve the accolade of "Black Belt". So, the bottom line is, there are 3 primary sections in the Taekwondo belt order, that is Junior, Senior and Black Belt. 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 takes a considerable number of years to successfully progress through.

Summary

Precisely what you get out of Taekwondo will be proportional to what you put into it (as is true of life in general). Many of you will simply wish to make new friends, improve your fitness levels and meet different people, some might aspire to move on to tournaments and competitions or perhaps even the Olympics. But bear in mind, we cannot all end up being a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.