KYORUGI SQUAD DEVELOPMENT
Our aim is to:
- Provide you with the tools, knowledge and support to achieve whatever goals you have for sport Taekwondo.
- Develop confident and competitive athletes who understand that improvement is a continuous process.
- Challenge you physically and mentally to help build strength of character, which will positively impact your life beyond Taekwondo.
Development Pathway
The below pathway gives a basic outline of the route you would need to take to get to the very top level of competition. If this is something you are interested in it will take a lot of work and dedication.
However, do not worry if Olympic Champion is not your aim, many people find a level of competition that suits their ambition and life priorities and have many years of fun competing locally, internationally or just training with the squads in club.
How far you go is up to you and we will work with you to set your goals and help you understand what is required at each stage.
| Step | Development | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Competition (In club) | At CYTA we have a sparring skills syllabus that builds on the full martial art training you will be working on in normal class. This teaches you the basics of movement, attacking and defensive techniques. Through sparring in class you will get a good understanding of the rules and the skills needed for competition sparring. |
| 2 | Match Days & Domestic Competitions (With club squad) | This is the first stage of competition that you can enter at any grade and this is where you gain your first real experience of competition sparring. The importance if building a good skill foundation and attitude to competition at this stage should not be underestimated. |
| 3 | National Competitions (With club squad) British Taekwondo Development Academy | This stage is still open to all grades but tends to offer a higher standard of competition. Becoming competent and competitive at this level in essential to progressing further. By now your foundation skills should be in place and your tactical knowledge should be growing. By now you will have agreed goals and personal training programmes developed with your coaches. Your key aim at this stage is to win gold at the national championships. You may also be ready now to start attending events to try out for the British Taekwondo National Academy |
| 4 | International Competitions (With club squad, regional squads or National Team) | International competitions are where you gain your experience on the world stage and can also start picking up ranking points as a world competitor. The whole experience of travelling and competing against teams from other countries feels quite different to domestic competition and is something you will need to work to become good at. |
| 5 | World Events (With National Team) | To enter World events such as the World Championships, Olympics or Paralympics you need to be a member of a national team. For this you will have needed to have progressed through the National Academy and be selected as part of the National Team. |
Foundation Skills & Attitude
Practice makes perfect and as hard as we push you in training, it will always be up to you how much you practice. To help with this we set structured development goals that are within reach and have clear tasks assigned to them.
It is great to have your dream in place but getting there is simply working hard on lots of small progression steps.
Our coaches have developed a Sparring skills syllabus that takes you through foundation skills, intermediate skills and advanced skills. At each stage you will have drills and targets set in key aspects such as:
- Stance and Movement
- Attacking from distance
- From close and clinch
- Defensive kicks
- Defensive hands
- Avoiding deductions and tactics
- Attitude and preparation
You will be asked to master each skill in drills and on pads, in club sparring and then in actual competition. By building a strong foundation to your sparring skill, you will be able to mix with and take on better competitors sooner and will have your “go to” techniques automatically in place when the pressure in on.
To become a top competitor you will need to continuously work on the below at home and in training:
- Flexibility
- Fitness and conditioning
- Mental strength, attitude and dedication
- Distance and timing
- Range of techniques
- Understanding and using the rules
- Being a team member
- Being a coachable athlete
I know it sounds like a lot to work on and it really is, but it is also a lot of fun and very rewarding. The benefits of understanding what it takes to be a top athlete extend far beyond Taekwondo and will benefit your whole life.
Sparring Squad Coaches
Squad Training – TEAM CYTA
Squad training currently takes place most Friday’s at Coulsdon where we work on sparring skills and run test matches using the same electronic scoring system used in competition.
Please turn up to training with full armour if you have it, including gum shield. You should have your base layer armour (arm, shins and groin guard) on under your uniform before the class starts, and have quick access to the rest of your armour to put on when requested. You should have with you:
- Towel
- Water bottle
- Head guard
- A white or clear gum shield
- Body armour
- Arm guards
- Gloves
- Groin guard
- Shin guards
- Instep guards / e-socks
- freeze spray / any additional personal injury protection
We will mat the hall at the start of the class. This is a team effort so please be ready to assist to ensure it is done as quickly as possible.
Good luck, train hard and listen to your coach!