Taekwondo Poynton

As Taekwondo has quite high physical demands, it is perhaps more suited to the younger people of Poynton. That's not to say that older individuals can't get involved in this kind of activity, but simply that there could be other martial arts that are more suitable for the less nimble among us. Tai Chi is the perfect illustration.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently created of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A number of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul founded some schools known as "kwans", incorporating various martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, mostly entails high-kicking manoeuvres, especially fast kicking methods, jumping/spinning kicks and head kicks.

Since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity worldwide with some sixty million people or more routinely participating in classes. And it is by enrolling in a Taekwondo class or club that you can start your adventure of learning this unique art.

A key element of Taekwondo is self-defence, and obviously this is one of the primary reasons that folks in Poynton get involved in classes and take up the sport. There's been a worrying escalation of violent practices over the last few years and this is especially rife in town and city centres throughout Cheshire and Britain in general. The good thing about Taekwondo though, is that it also encourages self-discipline and respect for others, not such widespread characteristics in Poynton nowadays.

Such self-defence techniques may at some time prove to be useful in your day to day life, though it is more likely that you will only be putting them to the test within a supervised class environment. However it's a wonderful feeling knowing that you will always be able to defend yourself when you need to.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you have never done Taekwondo before you may be a little concerned as to what to expect on your first lesson. There may be variations to the following, depending on which Poynton Taekwondo school you attend, but you can roughly expect; A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to loosen your muscles and increase your heart rate, a bit of technical training comprising some kicks, blocking techniques, hand attacks and stances, an introduction to some forms (Poomse), a look at sparring including movement, timing and attack targeting, and lastly a warm down to relax and stretch muscles.

If you wish to join a Taekwondo club in Poynton, you'll also have to become a member of the sport's official regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You'll be able to learn about coaching courses, clubs and members, first aid, launching a new Taekwondo club, news, safe practices, equality and safeguarding, coaches and referees, events, and more on the British Taekwondo website, and find the latest news stories on their Twitter or Facebook page.

The Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo has just about the greatest assortment of kicking movements in all of the recognized martial arts. Here are just a few: Front Kick, Push Kick, Axe Kick, Back Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Side Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Crescent Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To fend off the numerous hand attacks and kicks there are a similarly diverse array of "blocks". They are held in various positions and enlist the hands with different parts of the arm. Every "block" can be combined with a punch or kick to create a counter-attack, and each is suitable for a specific attack. The principal "blocks" (makgi) include: Single Forearm Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Low Block, Double Forearm Block, Upper Block and Nine Block.

Competitions and Tournaments

Taekwondo competitions and tournaments are staged across the globe in all the various styles. There's normally not much hard contact but breaking, patterns (forms) and sparring. Olympic and WT (World Taekwondo) competitions only consist of sparring, in ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) competitions specified hand attacks are permitted to the head. Other organisations hold multi-discipline tournaments.

Poynton Taekwondo for Beginners

As with any sport or activity we need to begin someplace, and Taekwondo is not any different. Even the elite Poynton Taekwondo exponents were complete beginners at one point. So, exactly what can you expect as a total novice at Taekwondo? Beginner classes should give their enrollees sufficient instruction to give them the fundamentals and allow them to gain self-confidence as they move forward. An ideal beginners class should be fun as well as educational, when folks are enjoying themselves they're more committed and will learn much faster.