CJ Loves Tae Kwon Do

CJ signed up Tae Kwon Do classes back in June of last year (2012). His friend Davis had been taking TKD classes so CJ wanted to check it out. Of course, he wanted to take classes with Davis but Davis does not live close to us, so I did some research and signed him up for a trial at a studio close to our house. After a few weeks, he was hooked, so I signed him up for a year. I made him swear to me that he would stick with TKD for at least a year. I needn't have worried.

From the very beginning, CJ loved TKD. The studio is incredible. Master Yun is fairly strict but he adores the kids and he is a really good TKD master.

The classes are 45 minutes long. Each class starts with jumping jacks, then stretching. Then there's cardio (running, jumping, burpees, etc.) and core exercises (lots of sit-ups and variations thereof). Then the students spend time learning and practicing their kicking combinations and forms. You start out a white belt and are able to test every 2-3 months after you've shown that you know your kicking combination, know your form and can break a board with your kicking combination.

For every element (kicking, form, board), you get a stripe on your belt (red, blue, yellow). The final stripe (white) is achieved when your parent submits a form that proves to Master Yun that you are respectful, helpful, neat, disciplined and a good student. It's a terrific system because the kids have physical achievement milestones but there is also emphasis on discipline and respect.

In fact, Master Yun is quick to chastise a student when he or she is acting up in class, whether he's talking too much, making rude comments, or not showing interest in the class. Love it.

It's April now and CJ has just achieved his 6th belt, which means he's now a blue stripe, after passing white, orange, yellow, green stripe and green. I can tell that CJ is gaining strength, flexibility and speed. His kicks are higher, his shouts are louder, and his form is more streamlined.