THE MARTIAL ART

As a traditional Korean martial art, Taekwondo is a heritage to the Korean people that has been passed down through the ages. With its graceful and energetic fighting techniques and positive effects on health and fitness it has a strong appeal to a multitude of people.

Taekwondo is included in physical training programs of primary and secondary schools through the world, and held in high esteem by many of the world's armed forces for self defence, it is also one of Korea's national sports and was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1988.

Taekwondo is extremely rich in context and is exciting to both watch and perform. There are many 'Poomsae' (patterns) and exercises composed of offensive and defensive movements utilising evasion techniques, blocking, long arm strikes, elbows, knees and a multitude of kicks, including an array of spinning and jumping kicks, which the Korean martial arts are renowned for.

As you will see from the lesson plan below we teach basic through to advanced Taekwondo skills which will help you to improve your fitness, flexibility, balance and Coordination as well as progress you from beginner to black belt.

Our classes are structured and productive with the emphasis firmly on enjoying Taekwondo.

LESSON PLAN

Warm up (15 - 20 mins)

As with all sports/martial arts it is important to warm up before undertaking the more physically demanding techniques. A typical warm up consists of conventional light exercises to begin with (jogging, knee raises, sit ups, star jumps etc) which build in intensity to give a good all round aerobic workout.

Additionally we perform a number of other warm up exercises which isolate the required muscle groups to specifically help strengthen Taekwondo techniques.

Stretching (10 mins)

In addition to warming up it is necessary to stretch before practicing technical Taekwondo techniques, stretching not only helps to loosen and prepare the muscles for exercise but also builds flexibility.

The remainder of the lesson will be made up from the following exercises

Basic Techniques
It is essential to practice your basic techniques - kicks, punches, blocks, strikes etc - to build a good foundation of skills which can be drawn on for the more complex exercises in Taekwondo (Sparring/Poomsae etc).

During this part of the session the instructor will help you to work on the fundamentals of Taekwondo to give direction, power and sharpness to your techniques which will help to improve all other areas of the martial art.

Pad-work
Once you have practiced your basics and have gained an understanding of the movements required for each technique you can begin to apply this to a physical target by using pads.

There are a number of different ways to use pads as an effective learning aid which will help to develop your speed, power and reaction time.

One Step, Three Step Sparring & Self Defence
One step and three step sparring exercises are simple controlled ways to practice Taekwondo self defence with a partner, one partner moves forward simulating an attack, while the other defends and counter attacks. This is repeated to demonstrate a variety of techniques.

Free Sparring
The object of free sparring is to practice moves and combinations within the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Olympic style rules. The sparring within the club is practiced with semi/light contact techniques, however Taekwondo practitioners use it as preparation for full contact sparring which they would experience in a tournament.

Poomsae (Patterns)
For each belt in Taekwondo there is a poomsae (pattern of blocks, kicks and punches) that represents that grade. These poomsae increase in complexity as you move up the grades.

These poomsae are a significant part of your Taekwondo skills as they help you to demonstrate to an examiner that you have mastered the basic techniques required to move on to your next grade.

FIRST STEPS IN TAEKWONDO

If you are interested in taking part in a Taekwondo session or would simply like a few more details please call The English Institute of Sport reception on 0114 223 5600, or e-mail us at info@eis-sheffield.co.uk.

We welcome beginners to the club and hold the attitude that ‘We all had a first lesson at one time!'.

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