Taekwondo Stornoway

While in no way intending to be ageist, Taekwondo can be pretty physical and is generally more appropriate for younger people in Stornoway, it's especially good for children who will become self-disciplined and respecting of others. Older adults might find it somewhat too challenging unless they are particularly fit and active. However people who take up Taekwondo in Stornoway at a young age will find they can comfortably carry it on into older adulthood. The less nimble of you might like to consider something less demanding like Tai Chi.

Based largely around high-kicking manoeuvres and moves like head kicks, turning/jumping kicks and fast kicking methods, Taekwondo was devised from the practices of different martial arts, by a number of Seoul martial arts experts in new schools known as "Kwans" in the 1940's and 1950's. These "Kwans" were given the names Chungdo Kwan, Mooduk Kwan, Songmu Kwan, Jido Kwan and Changmu Kwan.

Taekwondo now has over sixty million practitioners worldwide and has become really popular in Stornoway and throughout the UK. This sport has even featured in the Olympic Games since 2000, and if you would like to get involved, joining a local Stornoway Taekwondo club or class is an excellent place to start. There isn't any reason why you cannot become a master of this thrilling martial art, even if you don't aspire to Olympic competition.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and undoubtedly this is one of the main reasons that individuals in Stornoway get involved in classes and take up the sport. There has been a worrying increase in violent practices in recent years and this is especially rampant in city and town centres throughout Scotland and the UK in general. The beauty of Taekwondo though, is that it also encourages self-discipline and a deep respect for other people, not such familiar attributes in Stornoway these days.

Though you will take a lot of trouble learning these essential self-defence skills, hopefully you will not ever need to implement them except within your local Taekwondo club environment.

What to Expect From 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 lesson. The following will give you an example, but this will vary depending on which Stornoway school you attend. A warm up of fifteen to twenty minutes to increase heart rate and loosen your muscles, a bit of technical training involving learning some kicks, blocks, stances and hand attacks, an introduction to some Poomse (or forms), some ideas on sparring including good timing, movement and targeting attacks, and lastly a warm down to stretch tired muscles and relax.

The United Kingdom official governing body of the sport is British Taekwondo and if you want to sign up with a Taekwondo club in Stornoway, you'll also be required to become a member of this organization. You'll be able to find out about coaches and competition referees, safe practices, clubs and members, first aid, events, coaching courses, news, safeguarding and equality, beginning a new Taekwondo club, and more on British Taekwondo's website, or find out the latest news stories on their Facebook or Twitter page.

The Eight Basic Taekwondo Kicks

Among the best known Taekwondo kicks that you'll learn to begin with include: Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi). Blocks: To defend against and stop an incoming attack, blocks (known as Makgi) are implemented. Engaging the hands and areas of the arm, they are held in various positions. Each form of attack calls for a specific style of block, counter-attacking movements can be created by integrating a block with another punch or kick. The main blocks (makgi) include: Single Forearm Block, Double Forearm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Upper Block, Rising Block and Nine Block.

Taekwondo Tournaments and Competitions

A typical Taekwondo competition includes breaking, patterns and sparring, where the Olympics is concerned only sparring is involved. Having said that there can also be a few unique categories in certain competitions such as team demonstrations and self-defence. WT (World Taekwondo) contests 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 contests.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Taekwondo forms (also known as patterns or Poomse) are characterised by particular facets like technique, stance and direction. From the beginning you are going to get to grips with a few of the important forms, and in order to progress through the levels (belts) you'll have to learn some more advanced ones.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

Because there are a number of disciplines of Taekwondo there has never been any standardized arrangement for allocating belts (ranks). What exists is however quite similar and is made up of 2 belt groupings "junior" and "senior" ("colour" and "black"), each of these groups is divided into levels, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and nine for the seniors.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo which are known as "Kup". The lowest is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. If you're interested in the Taekwondo belt order, it is as follows, and is indicated 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 newbies in Stornoway will start out with, they can then proceed through the different coloured belts, eventually achieving the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which will take around 3-4 years of lessons and training.

As soon as this training regime has been successfully completed, Stornoway Taekwondo students advance to "black belt candidates", and they then have to earn a further 9 ranks if they're to achieve the title of Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the ultimate distinction in this sport. Therefore, putting it simply, there are 3 principal sections in the Taekwondo belt order, namely Junior Belts, Senior Belts and Black Belts. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior group are; 10th (White), 9th (White With Yellow Stripe), 8th (Yellow), and 7th (Yellow With Green Stripe). The Taekwondo Belts in the Senior group 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 range from 1st to 9th Dan, a qualification process which will take a number of years.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

When getting started with Taekwondo classes in Stornoway you'll be wanting to get some benefits to make the whole adventure worth the effort. And so let's look at some of the positive benefits that you may gain by doing and learning Taekwondo. Increase feelings of self-esteem by sharpening both physical and mental health, Develop discipline by extensively educating your mind and body in the strategies and principles of Taekwondo, Empower your mind and body by way of enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Supercharge agility, stamina and flexibility by way of intense cardiovascular work-outs, Lessen anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Build confidence by inspiring you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Help with self-defence by showing you how to recognise situations where self-defence may be required, and empowering you to manipulate these types of circumstances in your favour.