Taekwondo Wolsingham

If you asked people in Wolsingham what their thoughts were on Taekwondo, many would say it is a sport for younger children. There is no doubt that the younger generation are more equipped to contend with the physical demands of this high energy sport, but this isn't to say that people of every age group cannot take part. Being relatively agile is however a requirement of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is one of the more recently formulated of the martial arts, with its root beginnings in Korea, South-East Asia in 1945. A number of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul founded some schools which they called "kwans", combining a variety of martial arts techniques. Taekwondo, which it eventually became known as, primarily entails kicking manoeuvres, particularly head kicks, fast kicking methods and jumping/turning kicks.

Popular around the globe Taekwondo now has over 60 million enthusiasts. If you want to get involved in this activity, which is now an Olympic sport, signing up for a Taekwondo club or class in Wolsingham is a good place to start. Whilst the likelihood of you getting to Olympic standard are pretty slim, there's no reason at all why you cannot master this thrilling martial art.

A key aspect of Taekwondo is self-defence, and doubtless this is one of the primary reasons that individuals in Wolsingham get involved in classes and take up the sport. There has been a disturbing increase in violent behaviour in recent years and this is especially rife in city and town centres throughout County Durham and the British Isles in general. The beauty of Taekwondo though, is that it also encourages self-discipline and a deep respect for others, not such common qualities in Wolsingham nowadays.

With a bit of luck you won't ever need to use your newly discovered Taekwondo techniques for defending yourself outside of your local club environment, however it is good to know they're there if you need them.

Your First Lesson

Different Taekwondo clubs in and around Wolsingham will have different thoughts on what enrollees should be covering on their very first class, however to give you an understanding of what to expect most first Taekwondo lessons will include things like a warm-up, some sparring, learning patterns (Poomse), an introduction to kicks, blocking techniques, hand attacks and stances (technical training) and a warm-down to relax weary muscles and get the body back to a state of balance.

If you want to sign up to a Taekwondo class in Wolsingham, you'll also have to become a member of the sport's regulating body, namely British Taekwondo. You will be able to find lots of info regarding first aid, launching a new club, safe practices, events, safeguarding and equality, members and clubs, coaching courses, news, coaches and tournament referees, and more, by checking out British Taekwondo's official website.

Taekwondo - The Benefits

You will undoubtedly be intrigued to learn about precisely what sort of benefits might be achieved by taking part in Wolsingham Taekwondo classes and participating fully in its practices. You can expect to: Empower your mind and body through improved mental discipline and physical co-ordination, Beef up your confidence by helping you to succeed and to take control of your life, Increase feelings of self-esteem by maximizing both mental and physical fitness, Turbocharge flexibility, agility and stamina by means of extreme cardiovascular exertion, Lower anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises, Teach self-defence strategies by training you to realize instances where self-defence could be required, and allowing you to control these types of circumstances to your advantage, Better self-discipline by exhaustively training your mind and body in the techniques and principles of Taekwondo.

Taekwondo Kicks

Taekwondo is widely recognized for its powerful kicking movements, the following are the standard ones: Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi), Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Whip or Hook Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: To defend against and stop an incoming Taekwondo attack, "blocks" (called Makgi) are used. Engaging the hand and sections of the arm, they are held in diverse positions. Each block can be combined with a punch or kick to produce a counter-attacking movement, and each one is meant for a particular attack. The primary blocks include: Rising Block, Low Block, Nine Block, Double Forearm Block, Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Double Knife Hand Block, Single Forearm Block and Palm Block.

Taekwondo Safety Gear

Competitions regulated by British Taekwondo rules demand that various pieces of protective gear be used, these include things like: a red or blue head guard, a groin protector, hand guards, forearm guards, a red or blue trunk guard (hogu), shin protectors and a gum shield. This is important owing to the forceful kicking actions being practiced.

Taekwondo Belts (Promotion)

In Tae kwon do there is not really any kind of standardization when it comes to grades and belts. It is all dependent on what style you're reviewing, because there are such a diversity of Taekwondo rules and styles. They are however, typically split into two groupings "junior" or "colour" belts and "senior" or "black" belts. The junior/colour ranks consist of white to red, with from 8 to 12 rankings, while the senior/black belts normally have nine ranks.

Ranks in Taekwondo in the UK are symbolized by what are referred to as "Kup". The top rank is 1st Kup and the lowest rank (beginners) is 10th Kup. As is the case with most of the martial arts, the Taekwondo belt order is portrayed by a range of colours, so the ranks are easily identified. These colours are white, yellow, green, blue and red, with transitional belts with stripes in-between, 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 10th Kup (White Belt) is what Taekwondo rookies in Wolsingham will begin with, they can then move up through the different coloured belts, finally earning the Red With Black Stripe Belt (1st Kup), which can take approximately three to four years of dedicated training.

After this training regime has been completed, Wolsingham Taekwondo students are referred to as "black belt candidates", and they then have to progress through an additional nine ranks if they're to achieve the title of Taekwondo "Black Belt", which of course is the consummate distinction. So, Junior, Senior and Black Belt are the 3 primary groupings in the Taekwondo belt order in the UK. 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 comprise; 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 qualification process which will take a considerable number of years. (Tags: Taekwondo Promotion Wolsingham, Taekwondo Belts Wolsingham, Belt Order Taekwondo, Taekwondo Belt Order).