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After
talking to Barney I realised Tae Kwon Do is a great way to
spend some of your free time, and is for people of all ages.
Whether you're looking to improve your confidence, improve
your fitness, meet new people, or just to take up a new past-time
- Tae Kwon Do's for everyone. Read on to find out whyÂ…
So,
Barney, how did you get involved in Tae Kwon Do?
My
sister saw an article in the paper about a local Tae Kwon
Do club, which offered a free first lesson for newcomers.
I was in year 7 and thought it would be really cool to start
a martial art, thinking that I could be the next Bruce Lee
in no time!
Luckily
the venue was so close to my house, originally at Pates School
(but itÂ’s moved now), so I figured why not go along and
see if I like it - and I did!
Some
females may be wary of attending a class as they think it
may just be a hobby for males. Do you think Tae Kwon Do is
male dominated, or could females enjoy it too?
There
are probably a few more males than females at my local club
but anybody can do it. In tournaments the sparring is split
into male and female categories and then into different weight
divisions, so itÂ’s safe, fair and enjoyable for everyone.
Do
you need to be fit to join a Tae Kwon Do class?
You
don't have to be to start, because Tae Kwon Do soon makes you
pretty fit and a lot more flexible. A lot of people take it
up to try and improve their fitness, and itÂ’s a great way
to do it.
You
can see improvements in your stamina and flexibility and just
general fitness even after just a few weeks.
The
club I'm with - the TAGB - has classes every day of the week
around Gloucestershire, in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester,
Cleeve, Churchdown to name a few!
Your
monthly fees allow you to train as much as you want- so if
you wanted to get fit quick and train every day of the week
you could – - but it’s not recommended. You can
train as much or as little as you want - but twice a week
is recommended.
Also,
would you say there is a best age to start?
There's
not really a best age to start- it depends on the person.
Members at my club range from 6 up to 50+. A lot of children
see it as a hobby and something that may well be useful in
future life – being able to defend themselves. Older
people come as well simply to keep fit.
I
started at 12 - this was the right age for me - any earlier
and I might have got bored of it quicker and maybe given it
up.
Now
at 17, IÂ’m still enjoying it, probably more so than ever.
Has
Tae Kwon Do given you more confidence in daily life, and if
yes how?
It
definitely gives you confidence in daily life. A lot of it involves
pushing yourself further than you would generally. But the sense
of achievement you get when you obtain your goal is always more
rewarding if you've tried really hard to get it. It also has
helped me focus and believe I can do better - whenever IÂ’m
faced with problems, I think to myself, IÂ’ve reached goals
a lot harder before - and so this helps daunting tasks seem
a lot easier and more obtainable.
Is
Tae Kwon Do just a hobby that keeps you fit, or is there more
behind it?
ItÂ’s
true that Tae Kwon Do is really good for your fitness levels,
but I don't just go to keep fit. If fitness is all you're
looking for, join a gym.
ItÂ’s
a great way of making new friends with people at your club
and you can socialise together both inside and outside the
class.
You
also get to learn a small amount of Korean - just terms of
moves and a tiny bit about the culture and origins of Tae
Kwon Do - learning the meanings of patterns etc.
Tae
Kwon Do also gives me a great sense of achievement and success,
especially as you progress through the various belts. When
you reach your black belt you get such an overwhelming buzz
and feeling of accomplishment, something thatÂ’s really
hard to explain. You work so hard and push yourself so far
for three and a half to four years to get there and once you
reach it, you really feel proud of what youÂ’ve achieved.
As
a black belt my instructor often uses me as a partner to demonstrate
techniques to lower grades, teaching newcomers Tae Kwon Do
is really rewarding. ItÂ’s great seeing people putting
moves into practice effectively that you taught them. You
learn to become a leader figure and when people respect you
because of it, itÂ’s a nice feeling. As a black belt IÂ’m
also expected to help out at demonstrations around the local
area and to come and support and help out at gradings, where
lower grades try and progress to the next belt.
How
much training and effort do you have to put in, now you're
a black belt?
I
train twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays at Cheltenham,
for one or two hours. IÂ’ve never really missed any lessons
through just not going - only if IÂ’m ill or away.
How
long did it take you to get to this level?
It
took me about three and a half years - which is the minimum
time to go from white to black belt. Belt order is: white, yellow
tag, yellow, green tag, green, blue tag, blue, red tag, red,
black tag, black. Up to blue belt you take gradings every three
months and after blue belt you take them every six months.
Once
you hit black belt you have to wait two years before you take
your second Dan, then a further three years after that to
take youÂ’re third Dan, and so on.
Once
you reach black belt you have to start taking umpires courses
for sparring and extra bits like that before you can progress
further, which takes quite a bit of time. I can take my second
Dan (second degree black belt) any time from next month really
- but no rush!
During
your time learning Tae Kwon Do, is there anything that has
made you want to give it up?
As
a teenager growing up it can be hard to keep attending all
the time and a lot of the time you think - oh, I could be
out with my friends now, or sometimes you may not be in the
mood half an hour before you have to go.
However,
I always go along, even if I've just been woken up like 10
minutes before I have to leave - which is quite frequently!
Afterwards you always feel refreshed and invigorated and I'm
always real glad IÂ’ve gone once IÂ’m there.
My
parents have always been really supportive, taking me to and
from every time and paying my training fees each month (£29)
and this has definitely helped me to keep it up and attend
frequently. Of course you're going to have times when you
just want to jack it in, but stick with it and it'll definitely
pay off in the long run!
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If
you have suggestions about any Gloucestershire arty things
I can write about, send them to me via e-mail below:
gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk
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