Taekwondo Westgate-on-Sea

Taekwondo is an ideal sport for children in Westgate-on-Sea, because it teaches self-discipline and a respect for others. Its more physical aspects make it more suited to younger people. Older adults trying Taekwondo for the first time often find it too taxing, unless they have kept themselves active. Carrying their Taekwondo experience through into older adulthood should not however be a problem for those who start when they are younger. If you are less agile you could always try something a bit softer such as Tai Chi or Yoga.

Taekwondo is a martial art that mostly involves kicking moves and manoeuvres, most notably fast kicking styles, jumping/turning kicks and head-height kicks. It began in Seoul, in southern Korea in the 1940's, when a group of martial arts enthusiasts established schools known as "kwans", which combined a variety of martial arts techniques.

Popular all over the world Taekwondo now has over 60 million practitioners. Since the Sydney Games (2000) Taekwondo has been an Olympic sport and if you want to give it a go, joining a local Westgate-on-Sea Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved. There is no reason why you cannot become a master of this exciting martial art, even if you do not aspire to Olympic competition.

In these times of escalating violence, it's hardly surprising that folks in places like Westgate-on-Sea are taking up self-defence training like Taekwondo to help them to feel safer in their everyday life. The self-defence element is one of the primary benefits of Taekwondo but at the same time it also promotes self-restraint and a deep respect for other people, which are qualities that are largely missing in this modern age.

These self-defence techniques may at some point prove to be useful in the outside world, though it is more likely you'll only be using them within a controlled class setting. Yet it is a nice feeling knowing the fact that you can always successfully defend yourself when you need to.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you come to a decision to register for a Taekwondo class in Westgate-on-Sea, the first thing you'll wish to know is what will transpire on the first lesson and what exactly will the teacher be expecting of you. Different Taekwondo masters in Westgate-on-Sea will contrive differing routines for this first lesson but you should be expecting to do a 15-20 minute warm-up to loosen your muscles and get the blood coursing, learn several forms (Poomse), go through some technical training (kicks, hand attacks, blocks and stances), do a small amount of sparring, and last but not least, warm-down.

Everyone who is a registered member of a Taekwondo class in Westgate-on-Sea or anywhere else in the United Kingdom, is also required to join British Taekwondo, which is the governing body of the sport. By going to British Taekwondo's website you can obtain info regarding safe practices, coaching courses, equality and safeguarding, beginning a new Taekwondo club, news, referees and coaching, members and clubs, events, first aid, and many more Taekwondo related facts.

Taekwondo Forms (Patterns)

Perfecting Tae kwon do necessitates getting to grips with a number of disciplines and techniques and one of the pivotal elements of Taekwondo is its forms (also called Poomse or patterns). These are types of stance, direction and technique which have to be memorized in order for pupils to move through the different dans (belts/grades).

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

When it comes to belts, ranking and promotion there's not actually any uniformity in Taekwondo, as there are a number of styles of Taekwondo which each have their own unique arrangement. There are however similarities and they normally consist of 2 groupings of belts "juniors" and "seniors" represented by coloured and black belts respectively. The senior grades normally have 9 levels and the junior, eight to twelve grades.

In the UK there are a series of ranks in Taekwondo that are called "Kup". The lowest (beginners) rank is Tenth Kup and the highest is First Kup. If you are eager to know the Taekwondo belt order, it's as follows, and is denoted by a range of colours i.e. white, yellow, green, blue and red, with "in-between" 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. Beginner students of Taekwondo in Westgate-on-Sea will start out with the White Belt (10th Kup), and proceed through the different coloured belts until they attain the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup).

Taekwondo trainees in Westgate-on-Sea become "black belt candidates" once they have succeeded with this challenge, and they will then have to move through an additional nine ranks (Dans) if they aspire to achieve the ultimate accolade of "Black Belt" in Taekwondo. Therefore, the Taekwondo belt order can be grouped into three sections; Junior Belt, Senior Belt and Black Belt. The Junior group of Taekwondo Belts are; White (Tenth), White With a Yellow Stripe (Ninth), Yellow (Eighth), and Yellow With a Green Stripe (Seventh). The Senior division of Taekwondo Belts are; Green (Sixth), Green With a Blue Stripe (Fifth), Blue (Fourth), Blue With a Red Stripe (Third), Red (Second), and Red With a Black Stripe (First). The Black group of Taekwondo Belts comprise First to Ninth Dan rankings, and demands many years of dedication and training. (Tags: Taekwondo Belt Order, Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Rankings Westgate-on-Sea, Taekwondo Belts Westgate-on-Sea).

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You will undoubtedly be intrigued to understand exactly what type of benefits could be achieved by attending Westgate-on-Sea Taekwondo instruction and partaking 100% in its activities. You can expect to: Empower your body and mind by way of accelerated physical coordination and mental discipline, More discipline by comprehensively schooling your body and mind in the principles and strategies of Taekwondo, Beef up confidence by inspiring you to seize control of your life and succeed, Help with self-defence tactics by helping you to identify situations in which self-defence could be needed, and allowing you to turn these types of situations in your favour, Lessen stress using advanced breath control, Increase concentration and self-esteem by heightening your mental and physical fitness, Turbocharge stamina, agility and flexibility through strenuous cardiovascular exertion.

The Main Taekwondo Kicks

Some of the most widely used Taekwondo kicks that you'll learn initially include: Crescent Kick, Whip or Hook Kick, Push Kick, Back Kick, Side Kick, Front Kick, Axe Kick, Roundhouse Kick. Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", which are used to defend against the various attacks, are known as Makgi. Using the hands and parts of the arm, they're held in particular positions. Certain attacks call for particular blocks, but blocks can also be transformed into counter-attacking movements by the combination of reciprocal kicks or punches. The most important Taekwondo blocks include: Double Forearm Block, Palm Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Nine Block and Single Forearm Block.

Safety Equipment

Tournaments governed by British Taekwondo guidelines require various pieces of protective gear to be used, these include things like: a gum shield, a red or blue head guard, forearm guards, a groin guard, shin protectors, a red/blue body protector (hogu) and hand guards. This is necessary because of the forceful kicking movements being employed.

Beginners Taekwondo Westgate-on-Sea

It doesn't matter who you are or what you're standing is in Taekwondo, at one point you were a complete novice, knowing nothing and fearing failure. We've all started out like this and can only learn and develop through practice. Beginner Taekwondo classes in Westgate-on-Sea are the place to begin that learning journey and to pick up the fundamentals so you can build confidence and move forward in your Taekwondo quest. Almost all beginner classes are created to be friendly and fun, providing a slow introduction to the basic Taekwondo principles and building a firm foundation moving forward.

In Summary

The benefits that you get out of Taekwondo will be directly related to what you put into it (as applies with life in general). Most of you will only wish to improve your fitness levels, meet different people and make new friends, some may aspire to progress to competitions or tournaments or possibly even the Olympic Games. But remember, we can't all be a Jade Jones or a Lutalo Muhammad.