Lower Providence Aikido

Taking up the art of Taekwondo is awfully rewarding. Outlined below is a brief overview of the style so you'll be better able to assess whether the style suits you.

What Is Taekwondo?

Taekwondo is a fighting art from Korean that was forged by years of history and practice. The art of Taekwondo is still fairly young, having been made in the 1950s however it was more a formalising of traditional korean fighting practices that have much deeper routes. This mix of new and old makes for an engaging style as it is always evolving.

Taekwondo History

Taekwondo is like most of the standard arts having evolved over hundreds of years. As you progress with your technical learning you may also soak up the rich heritage and interesting past of this Korean art. For further information please visit the links below.

Features and Benefits

Punching, blocking and kicking techniques are the bedrock of Taekwondo but there also are extra elements like respect and control which make it ideal for youngsters. Later in the students study aerial maneuvers are taught that are the signature moves of the art. The new student will get other quicker benefits such as feeling fitter, being more flexible, and increasing self esteem.

Taekwondo Belts

The new student begins at white belt and moves forward through 10 Kups to reach their black belt of First Dan. Beyond this the scholar can progress thru the Dan rankings.

The Kup grades jump between a solid colour belt and a stripped belt in the order below:

- 10th Kup White

- 9th Kup White with Yellow Stripe

- 8th Kup Yellow

- 7th Kup Yellow with Green Stripe

- 6th Kup Green

- 5th Kup Green with Blue Stripe

- 4th Kup Blue

- 3rd Kup Blue with Red Stripe

- 2nd Kup Red

- 1st Kup Red with Black Stripe

- 1st Dan Black

How Long To Achieve Black Belt?



A club that is affiliated to a recognized body (like WTF or ITF) should not give a black belt earlier than three years of regular coaching, there are clubs who can do it quicker but the ethos should be the student has to earn the black belt not be given it.

Typical Coaching

A standard lesson must always include a 10-15 minute warm-up and stretching after which it can be comprised of any mixture of the three elemental elements of Taekwondo training (see below). If the session has been hard then a warm down will most likely be obligatory at the end.

Basic methodologies (Kibon)

Basic systems include varied different striking kicking and defensive methods either performed all alone or in sequence.

Sparring (Kyorugi)

Dependent on the style this is full, light or non-contact. However the pupil should progress from stiff basic sparring up to full freestyle as they advance in ability, beware a club that gets you full sparring from day one.

Patterns (Poomse)

Poomse are a combination of set moves, they are composed of multiple methods designed to simulate a fight with multiple illusory opponents but performed in an acceptable way. As the scholar progress through the belts they're going to learn one pattern for each belt starting easy and getting more difficult until they know Ten patterns for their black belt.

In summary - The above is a brief introduction to Taekwondo, if you happen to feel it is for you then research the Taekwondo Clubs in you local area and pick one that suits you and you are comfortable with. For more on the history of taekwondo visit www.worldtaekwondo.com.