The taekwondo school that I go to (Traditional Taekwon-do) is running a special for new students right now.  $99 gets you a uniform and 2 months of classes.  This is a great way to give taekwondo a try without committing a lot of upfront cash. 

I’ve been studying martial arts at this school for over 3 years now, and I couldn’t be happier.  Mr. Johnson, the school’s owner and main instructor, is really great and his assistant instructors are pretty amazing. 

Prior to joining Mr. Johnson’s school, I hadn’t done any martial arts, and I was happily surprised with the class set-up.  You start out with a couple individual lessons with Mr. Johnson and then move onto the beginner’s class where you learn some of the basics and memorize the first TKD pattern (the set sequence of moves associated with each belt level).  Once you’ve memorized the first form (or pattern), you can attend any of the open classes.  In open classes at our school, you attend classes with students of every rank from white belt all the way up to 5^th degree black belt.  This is a great environment for learning as your fellow students (in addition to Mr. Johnson) help you out with whatever needs work.   

The link below is to a youtube video of the form that is learned at the white belt level.  Below that is another link to a more complicated form that must be learned prior to testing for a black belt.

Mr. Johnson performs the first form, Chon Ji.

Mr. Locke performs Choong Moo

Each class consists of:

     1. warm-ups & stretching;

     2. line drills (stances, punches and blocks);

     3. forms;

     4. self-defense practice;

     5. kicking;

     6. sparring and

     7. board breaking. 

There are several classes throughout each weekday, including classes at 6:00am, 9:30am, 4:30pm, 5:30pm and 6:15pm.  There are also a couple of well-attended classes on Saturday and Sunday.  You pay your monthly membership and are free to attend as many or as few classes as you like.  There are students who come to 2-3 classes per week and others who come to 7-10 classes each week.  You get to learn at your own pace, which I find pretty convenient given my unpredictable real estate schedule.

TKD is a lot of fun and a great work-out.  I tend to get bored doing cardio at the gym and I don’t like to run in the rain.  After an hour of TKD, I’ve had a great work-out and I’ve learned something valuable in the process. 

The physical benefits of martial arts are pretty clear: strength, balance and coordination.  It’s more difficult for me to assess the mental benefits, but I’m sure there’re plenty of studies out there.  I will say that it’s pretty amazing to see the change in kids once they start studying.  Kids in particular can start out goofy, distracted and clumsy.  If they stick with it, though, something usually clicks and you end up seeing these formerly goofy kids doing some amazing martial arts with strength, balance and focus. 

Give me a call if you’ve got questions.  I’m always happy to share what I know.  People are also welcome to stop by and observe a class and speak to Mr. Johnson.  The school is called Traditional Taekwon-do and its located at 2940A SE Belmont ST (in the middle of the block between se 29^th and 30th).  Come on in, take a seat and check it out.  Also, if you need a referral to a good school in another area, I might be able to find that information for you.