Taekwondo Princes Risborough

Whilst not wanting to discourage any particular age group, it has to be said that Taekwondo is more suited to younger people in Princes Risborough, being rather physically demanding. Its teachings of self-discipline and respect for others make it especially appropriate for children. Seniors may find it a bit too challenging unless they are particularly active and fit. However those that take up Taekwondo in Princes Risborough at a young age will find they can easily carry it on into older adulthood. The less agile of you might like to consider something less strenuous like Tai Chi.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mainly features kicking manoeuvres, in particular head-height kicks, rapid kicking techniques and spinning/jumping kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts founded schools known as "kwans", which blended various martial arts practices.

Now an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has over sixty million enthusiasts all around the world, and though you might not aspire to be an Olympic Games sportsman, you are still able to enroll in a Taekwondo class or club to master what will no doubt prove to be a fascinating and advantageous pastime.

For many people in Princes Risborough, it is the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that has the most appeal. And its not surprising that this is on people's list of priorities when you consider the rising levels of violence seen these days in town and city centres throught the United Kingdom. Learning to defend yourself while at the same time applying self-restraint and a respect for others is a key benefit of Taekwondo.

While it will instill you with self-confidence being aware that you have these self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the likelihood is that you'll never have to test them outside the controlled setting of a dedicated Taekwondo class.

What to Expect From Your First Class

Different Taekwondo schools in the Princes Risborough area will have different guidelines for what learners should cover on their first class, but to give you an understanding of what you should expect most initial Taekwondo lessons will incorporate a warm-up, a bit of sparring, learning Poomse (forms), a brief introduction to kicks, hand attacks, blocking techniques and stances (practical training) and a warm-down to stretch weary muscles and return the body to a state of equilibrium.

Anyone wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Princes Risborough must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official regulating body of the sport in the United Kingdom. By exploring British Taekwondo's official website you can obtain info regarding safe practices, referees and coaching, clubs and members, coaching courses, news, events, safeguarding and equality, launching a new Taekwondo club, first aid, and a lot more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Tournaments

A typical Taekwondo competition incorporates patterns (forms), sparring and breaking, in the Olympics only sparring is involved. That said there can also be some special categories in specific tournaments such as team demonstrations and self-defence. World Taekwondo tournaments are solely soft-contact events, while ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) tournaments allow some hand attacks to be aimed at the head. There are also some multi-discipline competitions.

Taekwondo Belts

When it comes to promotion, ranking and belts there isn't actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, because there are various styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own specific arrangement. There are however parallels and they generally consist of 2 groups of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior rankings usually have nine tiers and the junior, 8 to 12 grades.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo which are generally known as "Kup". The lowest rank is 10th Kup and the highest is 1st Kup. As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of colours, so the ranks can be easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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 Princes Risborough will start out with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and proceed through the different colours until they reach the First Kup (Red With Black Stripe Belt)

Taekwondo trainees in Princes Risborough are known as "black belt candidates" once they've worked their way through these rankings, and they'll then have to move through yet another 9 ranks (or Dans) if they plan to achieve the consummate distinction of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. So, Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt are the 3 primary groups in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. 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 group comprise; 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 that will take a considerable number of years.

Beginners Classes

Trainees starting out on their Taekwondo adventure in Princes Risborough will first of all register for a beginners class. Beginners classes are terrific, since there's no pressure and everything's done at a slow and relaxed pace. Learning and having fun are the primary aims initially and students who are having a good time tend to learn a lot quicker and absorb significantly more of what they're being shown. Even Taekwondo masters started off as clueless newbies, so take that initial step and you never know where you'll finish up!

In Conclusion

We can't all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I guess we don't all want to be. Taekwondo is not purely about Olympic titles and National Championships. Most of us are content to make new friends, improve our fitness and meet different people, and that is exactly how it should be. However, as with most things in life, what you get from it will depend upon what you put into it. Enjoy! 👊