Family Classes – All Ages

“Where Families Come Together!”

Today’s hectic schedules and busy lives make it difficult for families to spend much quality time together.

However, Ha’s Taekwondo Academy provides an opportunity for parents, children and siblings to share an activity that is as rewarding and beneficial as it is fun. Family classes allow the entire family to learn side-by-side; exercising mind, body and spirit!

  • Bonding while working toward a common goal.
  • Time spent together on a mutual activity.
  • Special events the entire family can enjoy together.
  • Greater respect between family members.
  • Meeting of other families, who also uphold an appreciation of and a commitment to a healthy, fit lifestyle.

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Our program teaches you to optimize physical strength, stamina, flexibility, coordination and balance. In addition, our program focuses on strengthening the areas of self-discipline, patience, humility, self-control and concentration.

We aim to give you a sense of power in your life by helping you develop your physical and mental optimal potential. Furthermore, you will gain ultimate self-confidence through the self-defense skills we teach you.

…“Patience is a bitter plant, but it’s fruit is sweet.”…

Our program’s curriculum consists of progressive stretching and cardiovascular exercises to maintain or lose weight. In addition, the Olympic-style kicking and punching techniques help to build and tone muscles. In addition, you will learn to manage your hectic schedule and stress by disciplining your body and mind. You will see for yourself the professional, social and personal changes in your life. So don’t hesitate and come check out our school today! It’s never too late.

*******  TESTIMONIALS  *******

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Personal Benefits of Taekwondo
   By Tiffany Currier.

  November 21, 2012

I had never really heard of Taekwondo until two years ago when, at my wits end with my children, I walked into Ha’s Taekwondo looking for an answer to all of my parenting woes.  What I found at Ha’s Taekwondo was a discipline, a sport, and an activity my children and I could all enjoy.  My children started Taekwondo in September 2010, but within two months I was out on the mat with them.  It was there that the real education for all of us began.  As I became a student, the lessons we learned in the do jang were reinforced at home. Lessons such as perseverance, courage, honesty and integrity, love of the family, respect and discipline were practiced at home all of the time.  I have a deeper understanding, thanks to Taekwondo, about my family and myself.  Taekwondo has been a lesson in parenthood, but even more, it has been a journey of the body and mind.
If someone had told me two years ago that my parenting style needed to change I would have been deeply offended.  In my mind, I was a pretty good parent.  I was raising my children to know right from wrong, helped them with their homework, made great meals for my family and gave them all of the love and affection I thought they needed.  Yet I had a child whose emotional and physical outbursts were growing in length and intensity, and who was draining me of all my energy through the constant bombardment of his neediness.  I did not like my child, which was heartbreaking for me to realize.  Out of desperation I enrolled all of my children in Taekwondo hoping that one would learn confidence, one would learn discipline, and that the other could just have fun.
Within weeks my children started to transform into little people I could enjoy.  My daughter gained the confidence to stand up to her bullies at school.  She felt strong and capable for the first time in her life.  The little girl who was told she was bad at sports finally found an activity she could enjoy and learned that she can be physical with her body.  My youngest learned to love to run and have fun.  But the most startling transformation happened with my middle son.  He started to focus more in school, but even more than that, he started to gain a modicum of control over himself and his emotions.  As his behavior changed, I realized that I could enjoy my son again.  I could talk to him and have a conversation that didn’t end with him in tears, locked away in his room because he had hit one of his family members.   I still remember the conversation Spencer had with my son about respect and Taekwondo.  It was the first time he realized that respect is not only shown in the way you address people with your words, but also in your actions, and that if he was going to learn Taekwondo and be successful he needed to be respectful to not only people in Taekwondo, but his parents, siblings and friends.
My son got the message and he has become a better boy because of Taekwondo, and I have become a better parent as well.  I have learned to demand and expect my children’s respect.  There are two different kinds of respect: respect can arise from fear, or it can come from love.  I did not want my children to respect me from fear, so I started having many conversations about how you show respect to the people you love.  I have high expectations for my children and I try to be as consistent with my expectations and consequences as I can.  I ask for and receive help from my children and I hold them accountable for their actions, just as I hold myself accountable for my own.  But the biggest way I believe I have changed as a parent is my firmness.  I try to be firm but loving, all while expecting and receiving the respect of my family.
Taekwondo was something I always wanted to try, but I truly thought I was too old to start a martial art.  At the time I started Taekwondo I was 35 years old, and the only reason I even attempted it was because Gianna handed me a uniform and told me to get out on the mat and try it.  She was tired of watching me shadow my children as they went through their kicking drills and forms.  Gianna knew I would love it, and of course she was right.
The first time I attempted a class I walked in feeling pretty confident it would be easy.  In my mind I knew I was older, but I ran all of the time and was in what I thought was decent physical condition.  Well, I have to say stretching was difficult because, while I ran all the time, I had never made time for something as “insignificant” as stretching.  Then we had to run a lot and do frog jumps and many other drills that were thoroughly tough.  The next day I could barely walk down the stairs.  I was unbelievably stiff and sore, and felt completely humbled.
Before Taekwondo my hips hurt all of the time, and my back was constantly aching.  Through Taekwondo I have developed strength and flexibility, and all of the aches and pains I was plagued with have disappeared.  I feel better now than I did in my twenties.  I feel strong and healthy, vital in my body and mind.
Taekwondo is more than a physical journey to strength and flexibility. It is also an emotional and mental journey.  After two years of doing Taekwondo I realize that I have barely scratched the surface of this martial art, and I have much yet to learn.  What I do know on a personal level is that I have grown mentally.  There are many values you learn as you move up in belt rankings; ethics such as honesty, integrity, perseverance, courage and confidence, love of your family, staying true to your word and discipline are all cultivated.  I am honest in my words and actions and I have learned to show my integrity through my deeds.  I have learned to persevere no matter how dire the situation.  I have learned courage and confidence as I have been faced with new challenges.  Taekwondo pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I have loved almost every minute of my training.  I have the utmost love and respect for my family.  It is for them that I started Taekwondo, and why I keep doing it.  And finally, I have learned that I must stand by the words I speak and not hesitate to don the mantle of leadership when I am called upon to do so.
Through Taekwondo I have learned to be a better parent.  It has strengthened me mentally and physically, and I have discovered more about myself through my participation in this sport than I ever thought I would.  The greatest gift I could have ever hoped for was realized as I look at my children and see how much they have changed.  I know they aren’t perfect, but neither am I. There is one thing I do know with utter certainty, that I am a better parent and a better person because of Taekwondo.

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How Taekwondo Has Changed My Life
Hollie Szadowski
November 14, 2012

A couple of years ago my life changed for two main reasons. The biggest change in my life was the passing of my Mother, Kathy. She was ill for many years before she passed away. She fought through her illnesses for many years – even longer than most doctors ever dreamed she had the strength for. My Mom was a fighter. During her life she taught me many things as a person. She taught me through her example how to always do my best, how to try new things, how to work hard, and how that most everything worth having in life is going to take some effort to achieve.

During the final days of my Mom’s life, we had many conversations – some were joyful, some were tearful, some were serious. During her final days, she still was taking every opportunity to teach me whatever lessons in life she still could. Through her pain, she persevered and she helped me to understand that every moment is precious, we are not promised tomorrow. She made me promise her that I would “be happy”.

During the months after my Mom passed away, my life was in a state of constant flux. I had a husband, a new career I was juggling, two young children – one with special needs, and a household to maintain. I was more or less just going through the motions, trying to get by day-to-day. I realized, for a few reasons, that the loss of my Mother was permanent; there was nothing I could do to change what happened. I also realized that this was a pivotal time in my life. Although I was going through some of the darkest days I had ever experienced, I knew that through my Mother’s example, I must find some inner-strength, some guiding light to get through. My faith in God was strong, but I needed something more…

I started to think about the things in my life that make me happy. The obvious things that came to mind were my husband and my children. I have some good friends and a loving family – so those were all things to feel happy about. I am blessed to have a wonderful home, a solid career and, for the most part, I was in relatively good health. I say relatively, because like a lot of adults, I gained a few extra pounds in my mid 30’s, which really wasn’t too bad. However, since having my children in my late 30’s early 40’s via c-section, my body really took a beating. I gained more weight than I should have with each pregnancy. In addition, with both kids being born just 23 months apart, I was either pregnant or recovering from a c-section for more than two years.
That being said, back to the things that made me happy.  I knew I wasn’ t happy with my physical self. Most of my life I had been involved in sports, I played competitive softball for nearly 25 years, and was a fairly good athlete in many other sports, including volleyball and track. Then it dawned on me that not only was I not happy with my physical appearance and my lack of energy, I knew what I must do to get it back! I was never one for following a workout video on TV, or taking any kind of aerobics class. I really enjoyed sports. I had thought about doing martial arts when I was in my 20’s, but never pursued the idea.

The plot thickens. In having a son with special needs, I was constantly trying to think of new ideas and approaches to therapy for him. We had gone the route of doing outpatient physical therapy, and that served its’ purpose, but I really needed to get him involved in something that was going to help him focus, help him with his core strength, etc. When I mentioned the idea of him and his sister taking Taekwondo, they both thought it would be fun.

One day out of the blue, my kids and I were driving by Ha’s Taekwondo and I stopped in to see what it was all about. That day Master Tony Ha was instructing class and we were invited to stay and have my son participate in the class to see if he liked it. Like it he did! I would stay and watch him and his sister at their two different class times and really enjoyed seeing how much they liked Taekwondo and the friends they were making. It wasn’t until a couple of months after that, did I decide that it was time for me to take some action on my pursuit of happiness plan, and finally do something about my lack of energy and how I felt about my weight.

That was the day that the other reason my life was changed. I found Taekwondo. Actually I don’t know if I found it or it found me. It seems like I was meant to be here at Ha’s Taekwondo because of how everything fell into place. I was determined to make a difference in my life, to change for myself and for my family. Taking the first class was taking the first step in the right direction to a new future self.

When I started Taekwondo, it was very difficult on me physically and mentally. I was already juggling so much in my life, and fitting one more thing in was challenging, but it had to be done. I made a commitment to myself to go to class, no matter how much work I had, no matter how much laundry there was and sometimes, no matter if I was not feeling well.

Like most things, once you get the ball rolling, the easier it is to keep in motion. Soon, going to Taekwondo became a part of my regular schedule. I knew that on certain days I was going to class and my entire family supported my efforts. I was slowly starting to feel energized by the idea of training, and also felt more energy as a result of my continued training. At this point, I hadn’t really lost any weight yet, but the increased energy level had already given me the ability to do other things in my life better, such as focus longer at work (work smarter, not harder), actively play more with the kids as opposed to just watching them play, and have better communication with my husband (due to increased patience ).  I also feel that I am teaching my daughter that women can be strong and be leaders no matter how young or old they are, that you can achieve anything you want if you truly put your mind to it.

After awhile, I noticed that my clothes started fitting better and, in fact, I was beginning to wear things that I hadn’t fit into in a year or more. I was getting more compliments on my appearance, and that was a definite boost to my self-esteem. Over the last couple of years since I joined Taekwondo, I have lost over 20 pounds and have gone from a size 18 jeans into a 12/14. In addition to the weight loss and increased energy level, I have to emphasize again that I have more patience with myself and others. Taekwondo has been beneficial to my mental health as well as my physical health. Training offers me the ability to break away from my daily routine, and wipe away the stress through stretching and meditation. The physical nature of Taekwondo also offers an opportunity to relieve my frustrations and anxiety.

I also have greater confidence in myself. I am trying more things outside of my comfort zone with a level of ease that I didn’t necessarily have before. Because of Taekwondo, I made a fairly significant shift in my career to accept a promotion that was very daunting. I had gone from a role that I had a fair amount of stability, to a role that is more demanding and challenging. Knowing that I can be flexible, learn and adapt to new things is something that I have gained additional comfort in through Taekwondo.

I have also received some unexpected gifts from training at Ha’s. One gift I have received is that I have a unique bond with my son who also has a passion for Taekwondo. We go to tournaments together and we help each other. It is clear to me now that you can learn from not only your instructor or your master, but also from other students. Another gift that I have received is the joy of helping others. I have been helping out as an assistant instructor in the Kid Lions class for some time now, and have really enjoyed watching the children learn and grow as they work towards developing their kicks, forms, etc. I have earned their respect and trust as a mentor and instructor. Last but not least, is the gift of friendship and family. The Ha’s Taekwondo environment really is a family environment. We are all brothers and sisters – we “help each other in life”. I have some very special relationships through Taekwondo. I feel that this gift is unique to the Ha’s Taekwondo experience, and not something you would find at other Do-Jangs.

This next month in my life is a turning point for me. As I approach the opportunity to test for my first dan black belt, I am thankful for all of the lessons I have learned, for all of the hard training sessions, for all of the friendships, and for all of the wisdom and words of those individuals around me that I have come to admire and respect. As I look forward to my future in Taekwondo, I hope to give as much of myself that has been given to me by others. I will continue to mentor and develop other students as they proceed with their training. I want my Grand Master Ha to be proud in my continued efforts as a martial artist. I hope that my Mother is looking down on me and smiling.

With loving respect and dedication to my Mother, Kathy Slottag, on what would be her 71st birthday on November 16th.