About
What is Ellison’s Taekwondo?
Ellison’s Taekwondo is a group of clubs across the Northwest overseen by Chief Instructor 7th Dan Master Eddie Ellison.
At Ellison’s we focus on teaching the full range of skills needed to pass exams all the way through to nationally assessed black belt exams. Our clubs are open to total beginners or experienced martial artists and are designed for both adults and children.
Fitness and flexibility is not required when you join a club as we tailor our teaching to the abilities of all students so everyone can work at their own level whilst learning all that this South Korean marital art has to offer.
You can be safe in the knowledge that all Ellison instructors are well prepared for their classes, all are experienced teachers and are CRB cleared by the police.
Ellison’s Taekwondo is a member of British Taekwondo the governing body for WTF Taekwondo in the UK.
What is Taekwondo?
Taekwondo teaches students basic through to complex self defence, providing practical ways to defend from punches, kicks, grabs and even knife attack and plenty of opportunity to practice with partners. Self defence plays an important part of our regular training and exams and we host regular seminars for further experience.
We are renowned for our kicking ability and our instructors pride ourselves on teaching even the most unfit or inflexible person how to do the basic, spinning and jumping kicks which make our martial art famous.
You may have seen Taekwondo at the Olympics, our national governing body is the only governing body which can select for the British Team and our chief instructor Master Eddie Ellison spent many years fighting at national level and loves to show others the skills he learnt.
For the more passive yet still competitive Taekwondo also offers the student an opportunity to learn and compete in the mastery of blocks, strikes and punches through poomsae (or patterns of movement). Instructor Becky Gordon competes regularly at a national level and represented Great Britain at the 2009 European Championships in Portugal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the costs?
Ellison’s clubs are by direct debit, or you can pay as you go. See full details on our Facebook page.
Do I need a uniform to start training?
You do not need a dobok (uniform) to attend lessons when you are starting out and you can wait until your first grading before you need to wear one. After that you would be encouraged to purchase a dobok. Your instructor can usually get doboks cheaper than online or in the shops.
I’m not very fit or flexible. Can I still do taekwondo?
Yes. Your instructor will make sure you work at a level appropriate to you and fitness and flexibility will be developed over time.
What should I wear to my first lesson?
Wear something comfortable and stretchy such as jogging pants or tracksuit trousers / shorts. Jeans are not suitable.
We train bare foot, you can not wear trainers. If you have any problems with your feet you can get taekwondo shoes which you can wear until your feet heal up. Taekwondo is a bare foot martial art.
Is taekwondo safe? How much contact is there? Will I get hurt?
Taekwondo is a contact sport and like all martial arts there will be elements of contact within the lessons. When you are starting out your instructor will ensure you are paired with an appropriate partner. Taekwondo is a self defence martial art and it would not be possible to teach this effectively without practicing techniques with a partner during the classes.
You will not be doing full contact sparring until you have been training for a while so it is unlikely that you will get hurt when you start out. Taekwondo has regulated protective equipment for full contact sparring, you can borrow or purchase this through your instructor. You will not need to buy your own for everyday class training, only for competitions or competition training.
I do another martial art, will my insurance with them be OK?
Unfortunately not, we are not part of the AMA and so you must purchase insurance from our national body (British Taekwondo). Your instructor will provide you with details of how to apply for membership to British Taekwondo.