GTI Swindon Taekwondo

Semi-free sparring is introduced, which allows the further development of timing, distance and focus, in order to prepare the student for free sparring. Your kicks will develop greater accuracy and control. The speed of your technique will begin to improve. Your blocking techniques will also develop in line with your kicking ability.

At this grade all students should have purchased a full set of safety equipment. Further introduction to ringcraft is taught, along with blocking/guarding skills and attacking techniques.

Patterns become a little more complex as the number of techniques and movements increases. After Do-San the patterns learned are Won-Hyo (28 moves), Yul-Gok (38 moves) and Joong-Gun (32 moves). We also begin to look more deeply into uses for the pattern moves and ways to incorporate them into self-defence. Some of you will want to develop this further and start to understand where the different strike, press and rub points are on the body and how the patterns previously learnt work in conjunction with the areas of the body.

Multiple jumping techniques are introduced. You will develop jumping skills and incorporate the kicks previously learned. These kicks are generally better practiced on hand held focus bags or our wall hanging bags. You will continue to develop power with defensive kicks and kicking combinations, this is not the same as your sparing techniques where control and focus must be maintained at all times.

Your confidence will be developing and your fitness will now be greatly improved, your flexibility will have developed according to your own personal development, please remember, everyone has a different hip formation so everyone will have a different degree of hip flexibility.

Finally you will run through various exercises to help you cope with the affects of adrenaline on your body and how you react and cope with these pressures.

By now you will be able to have lessons with the advanced class and will have the option to train both in the intermediate class and the advanced class.

You will only fully understand how far you have come by working with the new beginners in the class. When you have to explain something to a new student it makes you think about it in a different way; you will also learn coaching skills. Your time in the advanced class will also demonstrate how you still have many more challenges to face and just what can be achieved when someone sticks to their task to reach their goal.