Taekwondo Stockport

While in no way intending to be ageist, Taekwondo can be quite physical and is generally more suited to younger people in Stockport, it's particularly good for children who will become self-disciplined and respecting of others. Seniors might find it somewhat too challenging unless they are particularly fit and active. Carrying their Taekwondo adventure through into older adulthood should not however be a problem for those who begin when they are younger. Something a bit less strenuous like Tai Chi might be more suitable for the less agile of you.

The sport was first practiced in Korea in around 1945, though the name Taekwondo was not used until the 1950's. This combination of various martial arts techniques were practiced in some new schools in Seoul called "kwans", founded by a group of Korean martial artists. In Taekwondo the emphasis is on kicking, especially head-height kicks, fast kicking styles and jumping/turning kicks.

Popular all over the world Taekwondo now has over 60 million practitioners. Joining a local Stockport Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved in this sport which has even featured in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games of 2000. While reaching Olympic standard may be aiming a bit high, there is no reason why you cannot become a Taekwondo master.

In these days of escalating violence, it's little surprise that folks in locations like Stockport are taking up self-defence training such as Taekwondo to help them feel safer in their local environment. The self-defence element is one of the primary factors of Taekwondo but it also teaches self-restraint and a respect for others around us, which are traits that are frequently missing in 21st century living.

Your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will likely never have to be put to the test outside the monitored environment of an organized Taekwondo class, however knowing that you've got them will instill you with self-confidence.

Your First Class

If you have never dome Taekwondo before, you may be interested to know exactly what is likely to happen on your first class. This will vary from school to school but will usually involve some or all of the following. A fifteen to twenty minute warm up to increase heart rate and loosen muscles, a little technical training covering some blocks, kicks, stances and hand attacks, some work on forms or patterns, a look at sparring including good movement, timing and attack targeting, and lastly a warm down with muscle stretching and relaxing to prevent spasms and cramping.

British Taekwondo is the official governing body of the sport within Britain, and membership of this organisation is compulsory should you wish to sign up with any Taekwondo class in Stockport or nearby. You'll be able to learn about coaching courses, launching a new Taekwondo club, news, referees and coaching, health and safety, events, first aid, safeguarding and equality, clubs and members, and more on British Taekwondo's official website, or get the latest news stories on their Facebook or Twitter page.

Taekwondo Patterns (Forms)

Taekwondo forms (also referred to as patterns or Poomse) are identified by specified aspects like stance, direction and technique. From the start of your Taekwondo journey you are going to learn a few of the important forms, and in order to advance through the levels (belts) you'll have to learn some more advanced ones.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

Since there are many different disciplines of Taekwondo there's never been any recognised system for allocating belts (grades). What exists however is fairly similar and involves a couple of belt groupings "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each of these groups is divided into ranks, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and nine for seniors.

Tournaments

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

In Summary

The benefits that you get out of Taekwondo are going to be directly related to what you invest in it (as is the case with life on the whole). The majority of you will purely want to improve your fitness, make new friends and meet different people, some may aspire to take part in competitions or tournaments or maybe even the Olympics. But remember, we cannot all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.