Taekwondo Welwyn Garden City

Taekwondo is typically far more demanding physically than for instance Tai Chi, so unless you are pretty fit and agile you might prefer to partake in something a little gentler to improve your fitness in Welwyn Garden City. Children are certainly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Welwyn Garden City, with lots of fast paced movements going on and a great deal of high kicking.

Taekwondo is a martial art that primarily consists of high-kicking moves and manoeuvres, most notably fast kicking techniques, spinning/jumping kicks and head kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a number of martial arts enthusiasts established schools called "kwans", which blended a number of martial arts techniques.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has added to its popularity throughout the world with some sixty million people or more regularly taking part in classes. And it's by enrolling in a Taekwondo class or club that you can begin your adventure of mastering this thrilling activity.

In these times of escalating violence, it's no surprise that people in areas like Welwyn Garden City are taking up self-defence techniques such as Taekwondo to enable them to feel safer and more secure in their everyday life. The self-defence aspect is one of the primary factors of Taekwondo but it also encourages self-restraint and a deep respect for other people, which are traits that are frequently missing in this modern age.

Although it will instill you with self-confidence knowing that you have those self-defence skills tucked away inside you, the odds are you'll never have to test them outside of an organised Taekwondo class.

What to Expect From Your First Class

If you've never tried Taekwondo previously, you may be a bit anxious as to what should be expected on your first lesson. This can vary from school to school but will usually involve some or all of the following. A 15-20 minute warm up to loosen up muscles and increase your heart rate, a little practical training including learning some hand attacks, kicks, stances and blocking techniques, discovering some forms (or Poomse), an overview of sparring including timing, movement and attack timing, and finally a warm down to relax and stretch weary muscles.

If you want to join a Taekwondo club in Welwyn Garden City, you'll also have to register with the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to find out about equality and safeguarding, coaching courses, news, safe practices, first aid, events, coaches and tournament referees, launching a new club, clubs and members, and more on the British Taekwondo website, or get the latest news stories on their Facebook or Twitter page.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

You will doubtless be fascinated to learn about precisely what type of benefits might be gained by taking part in Welwyn Garden City Taekwondo lessons and engaging 100% in its activities. You may expect to: Learn self-defence techniques by training you to realize instances in which self-defence could be needed, and enabling you to turn these kinds of scenarios to your advantage, Increase agility, stamina and flexibility through extreme cardiovascular exertion, Reduced anxiety and stress with controlled breathing, Empower your mind and body thru increased mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Grow in confidence by motivating you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Greater self-discipline by exhaustively educating your mind and body in the strategies and concepts of Taekwondo, Increase your self-esteem by elevating your physical and mental health.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is well known for its formidable kicks, here are the important ones: Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", that are used to repulse the various attacking moves, are called Makgi. Engaging the hand and sections of the arm, they're held in various positions. Every block can be combined with a kick or punch to produce a counter-attacking manoeuvre, and each is meant for a particular attack. The principal "blocks" (makgi) in Taekwondo include: Nine Block, Double Forearm Block, Palm Block, Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Single Forearm Block, Low Block and Double Knife Hand Block.

Taekwondo Forms

Beginners in Taekwondo don't need to worry too much about forms (Poomse, patterns) at the outset, however they'll learn some standard ones for starters and move on to more complicated "forms" as they progress up the various belts (grades/dans). A "form" is denoted by certain elements of Taekwondo including stance, direction and technique. Getting to grips with such techniques is a vital part of perfecting Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

When it comes to promotion, ranking and belts there's not actually any real standardisation in Taekwondo, as there are many different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own arrangement in place. There are however analogies and they typically comprise two groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively, . The senior levels typically have 9 levels and the junior, 8 to 12 tiers.

Beginners Taekwondo Welwyn Garden City

It does not matter what you're capable of or who you are in the world of Taekwondo, at one time you were a complete novice, knowing nothing and fearing failure. We've all started at that point and can only learn and improve through practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Welwyn Garden City are the best place get started on that learning process and to acquire the necessary basics so you can gain self-confidence and move forward in your exciting Taekwondo quest. Nearly all beginner classes are created to be fun and friendly, delivering a slow introduction to the basic Taekwondo values and developing a solid base moving forward.

Taekwondo Safety Equipment

In all contests, tournaments and events being staged under the patronage of British Taekwondo, safety gear like a gum shield, hand protectors, shin guards, a blue/red head guard, a groin protector, forearm protectors and a red/blue trunk protector (hogu) is obligatory. The fast kicking manoeuvres which are part of Taekwondo may cause injuries and this all helps to make this activity less dangerous for its competitors.