Taekwondo Windsor

Taekwondo is generally a lot more demanding physically than for example Tai Chi, so unless you're pretty agile and fit you may prefer to find something a bit gentler to boost your fitness levels in Windsor. Younger children are definitely the perfect participants for Taekwondo classes in Windsor, with lots of fast paced movements taking place and plenty of high kicking.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its beginnings in Korea in 1945. A number of Korean martial artists in Seoul founded some schools which they called "kwans", merging various martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, primarily involves kicking manoeuvres, particularly head kicks, rapid kicking strategies and jumping/turning kicks.

Nowadays an Olympic sport, Taekwondo has more than sixty million practitioners all around the world, and while you may not have any ambitions to be an Olympic Games medalist, you can still enroll in a Taekwondo club or class to learn what will undoubtedly turn out to be a rewarding and interesting pastime.

For many people in Windsor, it's the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo that holds the most appeal. And in these times of increased violence, especially in city and town centres, it really is no surprise that this sits high on people's list of priorities. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you're able to become more confident in your capability to defend yourself and at the same time learn to respect those around you and practice self-restraint.

Your newly mastered Taekwondo skills will most likely never need to be put to the test outside of an organised Taekwondo class, however being aware that you've got them will instill you with confidence.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If Taekwondo is not something that you've ever done before, you'll doubtless be wondering what to expect from your first lesson if you decide to sign up. Different Taekwondo schools in Windsor have varying thoughts on this but roughly; you'll take part in a fifteen to twenty minute warm-up, you will do some technical training, you'll learn some forms (patterns), you'll practice sparring techniques and finally you'll do a warm-down to get your body back into a state of relaxation once more.

British Taekwondo is the regulating body of the sport within the United Kingdom, and membership of this organisation is mandatory if you want to sign up with any Taekwondo class in Windsor or nearby. By checking out British Taekwondo's official website you'll be able to obtain details of safe practices, referees and coaching, first aid, events, safeguarding and equality, news, clubs and members, coaching courses, beginning a new club, and lots more Taekwondo related facts.

The Benefits of Taekwondo

You'll doubtless be intrigued to find out about precisely what type of benefits might be gained by attending Windsor Taekwondo instruction and engaging 100% in its activities. You can expect to: Build up confidence by pushing you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Reduces anxiety with controlled breathing, Improve your self-esteem by heightening your mental and physical health, Better self-discipline by comprehensively schooling your mind and body in the doctrines and tactics of Taekwondo, Teach you self-defence tactics by showing you how to recognize circumstances where self-defence might be necessary, and empowering you to turn these kinds of scenarios in your favour, Improve stamina, agility and flexibility by way of extreme cardiovascular effort, Toughen up your body and mind by way of enhanced mental discipline and physical co-ordination.

Taekwondo Belts (Rank)

With there being various different kinds of Taekwondo there has never been any standard system for allocating belts (promotion). What exists however is pretty similar and comprises 2 belt groups "senior" and "junior" (black and colour), each one of these groups is divided into grades, 8 to 12 colours for juniors and nine for the seniors.

Rankings in Taekwondo in the UK are symbolized by what are called "Kup". The highest rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. The Taekwondo belt order, much like many of the martial arts is indicated by a range of colours, these colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with intermediate 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 Windsor will start out with the White Belt (Tenth Kup), and move up through the various coloured belts until they attain the Red Belt With a Black Stripe (First Kup)

Tournaments and Competitions

There are a wide variety of competitions in Taekwondo involving all the diverse styles. They mainly involve breaking, patterns (forms) and sparring with little or no hard contact. ITF (International Taekwon-Do Federation) competitions do not allow disproportionate contact but do allow hand attacks to the head. World Taekwondo (WT) and Olympic contests allow only sparring. Multi-style competitions are also held.

Safety Equipment

British Taekwondo tournaments require certain safety equipment to be worn to protect competitors from being injured due to the powerful kicks being used. This safety equipment includes: hand protectors, blue/red body armour, forearm protectors, a red or blue head protector, a mouth guard, shin protectors and a groin protector.

Beginners Taekwondo Windsor

With any sport or activity we need to start somewhere, and Taekwondo's not any different. Even the highest ranking Windsor Taekwondo masters were total beginners at one point. So, exactly what can you expect as a total novice at Taekwondo? Beginner classes should give their enrollees enough instruction to teach them the fundamentals and enable them to build confidence as they progress. The perfect beginners class must be fun as well as educational, when people are having fun they're much more committed and will learn quicker.

Taekwondo Kicks

As martial arts go, Taekwondo stands apart as the one with the most kicking manoeuvres. The following are just some standard ones: Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To fend off the many kicks and hand attacks there are a similarly diverse range of "blocks". They are held in various positions and employ the hands with different sections of the arm. Certain attacks call for specified blocks, but blocks can also be transformed into counter-attacking movements by combining reciprocal punches or kicks. The key "blocks" (makgi) in Taekwondo include: Palm Block, Rising Block, Double Forearm Block, Nine Block, Knife Hand Block, Low Block, Single Forearm Block, Upper Block and Double Knife Hand Block.

In Conclusion

We can't all be like Jade Jones or Lutalo Muhammad, and I guess that we wouldn't all want to be. Taekwondo isn't purely about National Championships and Olympic medals. Most of us are happy to make new friends, improve our fitness and meet different people, and that is exactly how it should be. Yet, as with most things in life, what you get from it will be determined by what you invest in it. Good luck and enjoy! 👊