What are the health benefits of Tae Kwon Do?
A student can expect to increase: flexibility, balance, coordination, reflex, spacial awareness, strength, stamina, quality of sleep, peace of mind, focus.
A student can expect to decrease: stress, anxiety, fear, unhealthy weight, cholesterol, blood pressure.
What are the personal development benefits of Tae Kwon Do?
The benefits of Tae Kwon Do practice are vast. School aged children improve their performance and grades in school. Adults see reductions in stress and anxiety and report a better work life balance. Posture almost always improves for children and adults.
Below are some common benefits of being active in our classes.
Our kids become:
- Excellent students in school
- Happy, responsible and contributing family members
- Excellent, goal-setting achievers
- Leaders among their peers
- Confident and skillful martial artists
Our adults become:
- In the best shape of their lives
- Happy and healthy in their relationships
- Professionally effective
- Clear and stress-free
- Confident and skillful martial artists
For adults, how does Traditional Tae Kwon Do at Asheville Sun Soo compare to other exercise venues like Zumba, running or Crossfit?
Traditional Tae Kwon Do at Asheville Sun Soo for adults is a super rigorous, full-body work-out that works every muscle and joint through biomechanically sound range of motion with great attention to detail, facilitated by educated instructors with many years’ experience and the highest professional standards. Accompanying this rigor is a safe, respectful and inspiring community of high-achieving martial artists of all belt ranks. The pace of class, the attention to detail, and the overall context of excellence stimulate our students’ entire being in an exciting way, facilitating continuous development in every area of life. On top of all of this, our adults become confident and skillful martial artists – a whole life practice, with a purpose.
What is the risk of injury from practicing Traditional Tae Kwon Do at Asheville Sun Soo?
Very Low. At Asheville Sun Soo, we practice with excellent fundamentals, self-control and respect for ourselves and our fellow students.
Does Asheville Sun Soo teach MMA-style fighting?
Yes and No. Traditional Tae Kwon Do is a comprehensive art, an amalgamation of several time-tested self-defense systems, including Shotokan Karate, Kung-Fu, Taekkyon, Aikido, Boxing and Judo. In that sense, yes: Traditional Tae Kwon Do taught at Asheville Sun Soo is a type of mixed martial art.
At the same time, however, at Asheville Sun Soo we do not promote the culture that has come to be associated with MMA through venues like the UFC cult craze. Instead, we have a culture of excellence, community, respect and care for one another with great emphasis on maintaining a disciplined martial arts practice for a happy, healthy and successful life – mind, body and spirit.
Does Asheville Sun Soo offer any other martial arts or classes in addition to Tae Kwon Do?
Yes. Our primary curriculum is Traditional Tae Kwon Do, with emphasis on blocking, striking and kicking. It also includes escape and submission concepts from Military Hapkido, hand- and foot-work from Traditional Boxing and falling, and throwing joint-locks from Classical Judo. We also offer a complementary curriculum in Traditional Jiujitsu which includes additional emphasis on rolling, falling, escapes and submissions.
How many classes does Asheville Sun Soo offer students?
Asheville Sun Soo Tae Kwon Do offers a robust class schedule of 40+ classes per week and growing, which are strategically organized to fit any individual or family schedule and serve students ages 3 to 80!
How often should I/my child come to class?
At Asheville Sun Soo, as a full-time martial arts school of the highest professional standards, we are able to offer many more class-time/day options than the typical martial arts school. We encourage our students to come to class frequently, and allow even our beginner students the opportunity to attend up to 3 classes per week when they first begin their practice (as compared to the 1-2 classes per week that is most typical).
After a short time in practice, we then allow our students to attend unlimited classes per week at no additional cost. We want our students to have an authentic practice rooted in excellence, and we allow them the opportunity to do so.
How long will it take me/my child to earn a black belt?
In Traditional Tae Kwon Do, there are nine levels, or degrees, of black belt. First Degree is the initial level of black belt in what can become a lifelong practice. At Asheville Sun Soo we have the highest technical and character standards, requiring all students to remain up-to-date on their entire Traditional Tae Kwon Do curriculum. Many of our students take up to five years to earn their 1st degree black belts, but the shortest time frame possible is about 3 ½ years and at least 500 classes. When our students earn their 1st degree black belt, they truly earn it, and the majority of our black belts continue to practice to higher degrees of proficiency.
What is the average instructor-to-student ratio?
At Asheville Sun Soo Tae Kwon Do, we have unparalleled teaching ratios. In order to ensure an excellent learning environment, we maintain a large and extremely well qualified black-belt instruction team in the studio every day, allowing our younger students to experience teaching ratios typically under 10 students per instructor. In kids classes, our ratios vary to allow our families to choose which classes to attend each week. Our adult/family classes operate within a mixed-rank model allowing the high ratio of experienced students and adult black belts in each class to provide additional teaching resources for a rich learning environment with individual attention for each student.
How do I start practicing Tae Kwon Do at Asheville Sun Soo?
At Asheville Sun Soo Tae Kwon Do, we believe in preparing our students for their first class as part of their ongoing martial arts life practice. We offer a one-of-a-kind, personal introductory session with one of the full-time instructors to get to know each other, see the facility, receive a private, preparatory lesson, and review the class schedule and tuition choices. This session will last 45-60 minutes and will be scheduled at a time convenient to the student.
I need an Asheville after school activity for my child between soccer seasons. Does Asheville Sun Soo offer a 6-week Tae Kwon Do training?
At Asheville Sun Soo Tae Kwon Do, we offer so much more than an after school activity. We don’t offer martial arts classes, we offer a martial arts practice. Lasting well beyond 6 weeks, we offer a martial arts practice for life. Our kids want to continue their practice because they are have so much fun and make so much progress. And their parents, thrilled and amazed at the progress that is occurring – in all areas of experience – want their kids to continue their practice as a way of life. When soccer season resumes, our students continue their martial arts practice and are even better soccer players because of it.
Does Asheville Sun Soo offer an after school program?
In the Fall of 2016, Asheville Sun Soo unveiled the area’s best after-school program, replete with at-school pick-up, homework assistance, tutoring, martial arts practice, character- and team-building dynamics, healthy snacks, an electronics-free environment, and so much more! Our school’s buses pick up students from 13 local elementary schools. Participants in the after school program are not required to be part of the Sun Soo Martial Arts program. In January of 2017, our after school program was featured on WLOS 13 (Western North Carolina’s local television news) for successfully combining the discipline of martial arts with school work. Call us today to reserve your spot today – spots are limited.
Does Asheville Sun Soo offer summer camps?
Yes! Asheville Sun Soo offers week-long, summer day camps – “the coolest camps in town.” Our camps include martial arts, “Poetry with a Punch”, swimming, hiking, movies, arts and crafts, team building and character building games, and a talent demonstration showcase at the end. Call Asheville Sun Soo for more information.
Are there any non-Tae Kwon Do activities offered by Asheville Sun Soo?
Yes! Asheville Sun Soo offers a well-staffed, fun and safe Kids Night Out experience at least once a month. For kids this is the “best party in town,” with team building games, arts and crafts, pizza and a movie – all for less than the cost of a baby-sitter. For adults, this is an opportunity to have a date without the kids – fun for the whole family!
How much is the average monthly cost for practicing at Asheville Sun Soo?
At Asheville Sun Soo Tae Kwon Do, we want our families to have access to a martial arts practice at the highest professional standards. To support this, we offer tuition choices affordable to most families – with discounts for multiple family members. We will cover the details of these choices in your free personal introductory session. Call Asheville Sun Soo today to schedule your introductory session.
There’s another martial arts school closer to my house. Why should I practice at Asheville Sun Soo?
New students should practice Traditional Tae Kwon Do at Asheville Sun Soo for all the same reasons that so many other people choose Asheville Sun Soo. We’ve been voted #1 in WNC for both kids and adults for several years in a row. Our students drive from all areas of the region, some as far away as an hour-and-a-half to be able to practice at Asheville Sun Soo. We offer the highest standards, superior instruction, and a welcoming and supportive community, all in the largest and state-of-the-art facility and with the largest student base in WNC! Once you’ve experienced Asheville Sun Soo, you will know you are home.
How does Asheville Sun Soo contribute to the local community?
At Asheville Sun Soo Tae Kwon, we practice excellence in every area of our lives. Our students practice with rigor and gratitude and, in so doing, add value and quality everywhere they go outside of the studio. As part of our community-outreach mission, we routinely support many of the charities and non-profits in the area, contributing labor as well as in-kind donations to support fundraisers for many positive causes. Also supporting this mission, we provide demonstrations, seminars and classes for many events, schools and institutions in the area.
Is Asheville Sun Soo affiliated with a national or international Tae Kwon Do organization?
Yes! Asheville Sun Soo Tae Kwon Do is affiliated with Taekwon-Do International, a collective union of schools under the guidance of 9th Degree Grandmaster Suk Jun Kim, direct student of General Choi (widely considered the grandfather of Traditional Tae Kwon Do) and one of the most amazing instructors and demonstrators in Tae Kwon Do history. TKDI is an international organization, its community of member schools dedicated to the highest technical standards, best professional practices, and commitment to the preservation of Traditional Tae Kwon Do.
Are Asheville Sun Soo instructors certified to teach Tae Kwon Do?
Yes. All of Ashevile Sun Soo Tae Kwon Do instructors are nationally and internationally rank-certified under the tutelage of 9th Degree Black Belt Grandmaster Suk Jun Kim, president and founder of Taekwon-Do International. Grandmaster Morris, resident master instructor and founder, is an 8th Degree Black Belt with over 40 years’ experience. He is the direct teacher of the other full-time professional instructors of Asheville Sun Soo. All of the full-time instructors train several times per week in addition to their many hours of teaching and their attendance at continuing education workshops throughout the year.
