A Quick Guide To Taekwondo

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A Quick Guide To Taekwondo
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• Taekwondo is an increasingly popular choice of
  martial arts discipline for children and adults
  alike. A great way of keeping fit both physically
  and mentally, Taekwondo classes have been
  springing up all over the place and are
  accessible to most, nowadays.
• If youre interested in giving Taekwondo a try
  but arent too certain of what it requires and
  what you can expect from a class, here are a few
  pointers, tips and guidelines that may help you

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• Be respectful to both the instructor and your
  fellow students
• Martial arts focus on showing courtesy and
  respect at all times, and Taekwondo is no
  different. Those with black belts should be
  referred to as Sir or Maam and bowing to
  your partner or group participants after a class
  or exercise, as well as and thanking them, is
  really important.

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• Try to approach each class with a positive
  attitude
• Just as with learning any new sport or activity,
  you are bound to suffer setbacks and make the
  occasional mistake, but letting these deter you
  and put you off from continuing, is as good as
  admitting defeat and wasting what you have learnt
  so far. A positive can do attitude will
  undoubtedly help you to pick yourself up after a
  setback, and to see every mistake as a potential
  lesson that you can learn many things from.

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• Stick at it
• Depending on your level of fitness and your
  aptitude for learning, you may find some of the
  exercises very demanding, but perseverance will
  reward you in the long run. Some exercises may be
  tougher than others, but regular practice and
  confidence in your ability, will see you
  achieving your goals and finishing each class
  feeling proud of yourself.

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• Train as often as your schedule permits
• Practicing Taekwondo at least 3 times a week, is
  said to be the best way to pick it up and to get
  the most out of classes. Practicing any less than
  this, could result in you easily forgetting
  exercises and methods between classes, and
  struggling to keep up physically, with your
  fellow students. Keeping fit and taking exercise
  between classes, can also be helpful in building
  stamina, flexibility and increasing your overall
  fitness levels.

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• On the other hand, dont over train
• It can be tempting to push ourselves to the limit
  when we begin a new sport or training regime, but
  overdoing things can easily result in injury and
  could see you not being able to continue for some
  time. If your body tells you that its
  struggling, then listen to it and rest, rather
  than risking injury and a long term setback.
  Should you happen to injure yourself during a
  class, or at any other time, wait until your body
  has healed fully before returning to regular
  classes.

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• Practice between classes
• Go over the patterns that youve been taught so
  far when youre at home, or even during your
  lunchbreak at school, college or the workplace,
  and youll find it much easier to stay on track
  with each class.
• Keep up with each grading, and take part in
  tournaments
• Try not to miss a grading and ensure that you get
  prepared for it, both physically and mentally.
  Tournaments are a great way of testing out your
  range of skills on others, and you will
  undoubtedly pick up new skills and tips there,
  too.

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• Warm up, stretch and cool down
• Its so easy to forget these 3 simple points, but
  believe me, they can be the difference between
  you feeling stiff and sore during and after
  classes, and feeling energised and supple. Warm
  up before a class or tournament, stretch your
  muscles fully and cool down at the end of each
  session.

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• Churchs Taekwondo America is a professional full
  time school offering martial arts in Knoxville.
  If you are looking for karate in Knoxville,
  please visit us. We have exciting karate,
  taekwondo, kickboxing and self-defense classes
  for Tennessee citizens.