Taekwondo is a Korean striking martial art known for its powerful, high-speed kicks with an emphasis on training the body and mind.
Competitions
Competing is a great experience to try while at university, and highly recommended, whether you have had years of experience or none.
There are regular university league competitions every year, organised by the BSTF (British Student Taekwondo Federation) and BUTL (British University Taekwondo League). Ranking in BSTF competitions earns us BUCS points for the Univeristy of Bath.
There are typically three BSTF/BUCS competitions a year: Autumn Championships (November), Winter Championships (February) and the Spring Championships (March). There is also one BUTL competition, usually in March.
If you have a belt in Taekwondo or a comparable martial art (eg. karate, kickboxing), you can compete using your belt. If you do not have an appropriate belt then you will need to complete a grading to start earning your belts.
Gradings
If you wish to progress with taekwondo belts, you will need to attend gradings. We have links to external clubs with which we do these gradings, Bath Sky Taekwondo for WT gradings, and Bath PUMA for ITF gradings. There are normally 3 gradings a year, and we recommend you attend the relevant sessions (Tuesday for ITF, Wednesday for WT) in order to learn the techniques required for gradings.
This will usually be a demonstration of kicking techniques, pre-set patterns/routines, and a demonstration of sparring (this is more about showing you understand the rules and techniques in a sparring match, not necessarily that you have to win a match to grade).
Our ITF and WT captains will be there to help you prepare for a grading, know what is expected of you, and help you improve on your weak points. If you have grading relevant questions, they are the best people to ask.
Here is the order of belts in Taekwondo:
Awards
In addition to winning medals at competitions, there are annual awards events recognising achievements over the whole academic year, such as the BUTL National Student Taekwondo Awards, where we won Team of the Year in 21/22!
We also run an informal club awards night at the end of the year.
Furthermore, the university also awards Blues to student athletes who have competed consistently in BUCS competitions over their time at university.