Taekwondo Westcliff-on-Sea

Taekwondo is typically far more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty fit and nimble you might prefer to find something a bit gentler to boost your fitness levels in Westcliff-on-Sea. Younger children are clearly the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Westcliff-on-Sea, with a lot of fast paced movements going on and plenty of high kicking.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mostly features high-kicking moves and manoeuvres, in particular fast kicking methods, turning/jumping kicks and head kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea during the 1940's, when a group of martial arts enthusiasts founded schools known as "kwans", which blended a variety of martial arts techniques.

Ever since the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000, Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport. This has made it even more popular around the world with some sixty million people actively taking part in classes. And it is by enrolling in a Taekwondo class or club that you can begin your quest of learning this remarkable martial art.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and undoubtedly this is one of the main reasons that people in Westcliff-on-Sea join classes and take up the sport. There's been a worrying escalation of violent conduct in recent times and this is especially prevalent in city and town centres throughout Essex and the nation as a whole. The beauty of Taekwondo though, is that it also teaches self-discipline and respect for others, not such widespread attributes in Westcliff-on-Sea nowadays.

Your eagerly mastered Taekwondo skills will more than likely never have to be tested outside of an organized Taekwondo class, however being aware that you have them will give you peace of mind.

Your First Taekwondo Class

If you decide on registering for a Taekwondo club in Westcliff-on-Sea, the very first thing you'll be thinking about is what will transpire on the very first class and just what will the tutor be expecting of you. Different Taekwondo masters in the Westcliff-on-Sea area will formulate diverse routines for this first lesson but you can expect to do a 20 minute warm-up to loosen your muscles and get the blood pumping, learn some basic forms (Poomse), go through some technical training (stances, kicks, hand attacks and blocks), do a certain amount of sparring, and last of all, warm-down.

Any individual wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Westcliff-on-Sea must also become a member of British Taekwondo which is the official governing body of the sport in the United Kingdom. By heading to the British Taekwondo website you'll be able to read info regarding safeguarding and equality, coaching courses, events, news, safe practices, clubs and members, starting a new club, coaches and referees, first aid, and lots more Taekwondo related issues.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

In all matches, events and tournaments being staged under the authority of British Taekwondo, safety equipment like a gum shield, forearm protectors, a blue/red trunk protector (hogu), hand guards, shin guards, a groin guard and a red or blue head guard is mandatory. The kicking techniques used in Taekwondo can cause injuries and this helps to make the activity safer for its competitors.

Beginners Classes

With any activity or sport we've got to start someplace, and Taekwondo is not any different. Even the topmost Westcliff-on-Sea Taekwondo masters were total novices at one point. So, what can you expect as a complete beginner at Taekwondo? A beginners class should give its enrollees sufficient coaching to give them the basic principles and allow them to develop confidence as they progress. The perfect beginners class ought to be fun as well as instructional, when individuals are enjoying themselves they're more engrossed and will learn quicker.

Taekwondo Forms

Forms are a pivotal element of Taekwondo and are important if you're going to excel at this popular sporting activity. Some basic "forms" need to be grasped from the beginning and more complicated forms will have to be mastered so as to advance through the various ranks. A Taekwondo form is characterised by various aspects such as technique, stance and direction.

Taekwondo Belts (Ranking)

When it comes to promotion, ranking and belts there isn't actually any standardisation in Taekwondo, as there are many different styles of Taekwondo each of which has their own system in place. There are however analogies and they usually consist of 2 groups of belts "juniors" and "seniors" symbolized by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior levels normally have nine levels and the junior, eight to twelve levels.

In the UK Taekwondo has a sequence of ranks which are referred to as "Kup", these ranks go from 10th (lowest) to 1st (highest). If you are curious about the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a number 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. Beginners of Taekwondo in Westcliff-on-Sea will start out with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and advance through the colours until they earn the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (First Kup)

After this has been completed, Taekwondo trainees in Westcliff-on-Sea are considered as "black belt candidates" which involves them moving through another 9 ranks (Dans) up until they eventually achieve the accolade of "Black Belt". Thus, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three sections; Junior, Senior and Black Belt. The Taekwondo Belts in the Junior division comprise; 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 go from 1st to 9th Dan, a process that will take many years. (Tags: Taekwondo Belts Westcliff-on-Sea, Taekwondo Black Belts, Taekwondo Promotion Westcliff-on-Sea, Taekwondo Belt Order).