Taekwondo Preston

Owing to its rather more physical attributes, Taekwondo is perhaps more suited to the younger person in Preston and is particularly suited to kids as it's wonderful for developing self-discipline and respect for others. More elderly individuals could find it a bit too strenuous unless they are especially active and fit. Even so, those who take up Taekwondo in Preston at a young age will discover that they can easily continue with it into older adulthood. The less nimble of you might consider something softer like Tai Chi.

With its beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently introduced of the martial arts and consists of primarily kicking movements such as fast kicking techniques, jumping/turning kicks and head-height kicks. It started when schools called "kwans" were established by a group of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Popular across the world Taekwondo now has over sixty million students. Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo is accessible to everybody, and joining a local Preston Taekwondo class or club is the most effective way to get yourself involved. While nobody would expect you to reach Olympic standard, you could certainly be one of the best Taekwondo exponents in Preston.

In these times of increasing violence, it is little surprise that people in areas like Preston are enrolling in self-defence techniques such as Taekwondo to enable them to feel safer in their local environment. The self-defence aspect is one of the primary factors of Taekwondo but at the same time it also encourages self-restraint and a deep respect for those around us, which are characteristics that are largely lacking in modern day life.

These self-defence techniques may in due course prove useful in the outside world, though it's much more likely you'll solely be putting them to the test within a regulated class environment. However it's a wonderful feeling knowing that you will always be able to successfully defend yourself if you need to.

Your First Lesson

Different Taekwondo clubs in the Preston area will have different viewpoints on what students should cover on their very first lesson, but to give you a perception of what you can expect most first Taekwondo lessons will incorporate a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning simple Poomse (forms), an introduction to blocking techniques, hand attacks, stances and kicks (practical training) and a final warm-down to stretch tired muscles and get the body back to a state of equilibrium.

Anybody who joins a Taekwondo class in Preston must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the regulating body of the sport in Britain. You can find lots of details about establishing a new Taekwondo club, referees and coaching, clubs and members, events, first aid, safe practices, coaching courses, news, safeguarding and equality, and more, by checking out British Taekwondo's website.

Taekwondo Tournaments

A standard Taekwondo tournament incorporates sparring, breaking and patterns (forms), as far as the Olympics is concerned only sparring is involved. That being said there can also be a few extraordinary categories in particular tournaments such as team demonstrations and self-defence. World Taekwondo competitions are strictly soft-contact events, while International Taekwon-Do Federation tournaments allow some hand attacks to be aimed at the head. There are also some multi-discipline tournaments.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

The ranking and belt structure can get a bit complicated in Taekwondo since there isn't any uniform arrangement across the different Taekwondo styles. Similarities do exist though, and usually there are two separate belt groupings, represented as "seniors" (black belts) and "juniors" (coloured belts). The number of levels in the junior groupings varies across the styles but is normally somewhere between 8 and 12 belts, whilst the senior's section commonly has nine dans or belts.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are depicted by what are known as "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. If you are curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it is as follows, and is portrayed by a range of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediary 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. The White Belt (10th Kup) is what Taekwondo novices in Preston will commence with, they'll then progress through the different colours, eventually reaching the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (1st Kup), after around 3-4 years of dedicated training.

As soon as this training regime has been completed, Preston Taekwondo students become known as "black belt candidates", and they then have to progress through an additional 9 ranks if they're to become a Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate distinction. So, the bottom line is, there are three main divisions in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group comprise; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior division are; 6th (Green), 5th (Green With Blue Stripe), 4th (Blue), 3rd ( Blue With Red Stripe), 2nd (Red), and 1st (Red With Black Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Black group go from 1st to 9th Dan, a qualification process which will take a number of years.

The 8 Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is widely recognized for its powerful kicks, listed here are the standard ones: Push Kick, Back Kick, Side Kick, Axe Kick, Front Kick, Roundhouse Kick, Hook or Whip Kick, Crescent Kick. Taekwondo Blocks: To stop and defend against an incoming attack, blocks (called Makgi) are implemented. Using the hand and different areas of the arm, they're held in diverse positions. Each type of attack calls for a specific kind of block, counter-attacks can be produced by combining a block with a retaliatory punch or kick. The primary "blocks" (makgi) in Taekwondo include: Double Knife Hand Block, Nine Block, Single Forearm Block, Upper Block, Palm Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Rising Block and Double Forearm Block.