Taekwondo America is a national organization with member schools across the United States. All the schools inspire students by following the same principles, standards, and procedures which guide the way the schools teach, promote students in rank, and project their image and reputation within the community. 
 

It depends on the child. Many five-year-olds demonstrate the maturity to pay attention during a 30-45 minute class and follow instructions well. On the other hand, some older children behave in such a way that shows they do not have the same maturity. It has less to do with physical ability and age than it does with willingness to try hard and be respectful. That's one of the reasons we encourage students interested in the Juniors or Teen/Adult program to try a free class first. And it's also why we added the Little Dragons program for ages 4-5 and why we do an evaluation with your child before starting in the Little Dragon program. We expect all students to:
   . be able to focus and understand simple instructions
   . follow instructions immediately and with minimal reminders
   . treat all instructors and other students with respect and courtesy
   . treat the school and equipment with respect
   . obey safety rules
   . behave according to the Tenets of Taekwondo
   . handle bathroom needs without instructor assistance
   . try hard and participate in all class activities with enthusiasm
 

Students should participate in 2-3 classes a week consistently for the best results. Setting a schedule and being consistent is important. Students who do not come to class consistently often feel out of place and then do not want to come to class. However, students who do come on a consistent basis feel better and actually look forward to coming to class.

Each martial arts student is issued a uniform (white pants and white jacket) upon enrollment. All martial arts students are required to wear either their full white uniform or they may wear their white uniform pants or our color workout pants with an HTA or Taekwondo America T-shirt and their belt. (Anyone may wear red or blue workout pants, but only Black Belts may wear black workout pants. Color pants are never worn with the uniform jacket.)

T-shirts other than HTA or TA may not be worn in class. T-shirts must be tucked into the pants waist. When in full uniform, females must wear a plain white T-shirt under their uniform jacket and males do not wear any t-shirt under their uniform jacket. Anyone with hair below their ears must pull their hair back. Jewelry, including earrings, necklaces, watches and bracelets are not to be worn during class, testings or tournaments because they can injure you or your workout partners.

There's a difference between a student practicing their form and/or one-steps at home in a safe space and trying to spar, punch and kick family members, friends and the furniture. Students should never spar outside the school or perform martial arts techniques that could hurt themselves or others (or your furniture).

And there's a difference between a student deciding on their own to practice their form and parents forcing kids to do their form over and over, or worse, trying to teach their kids based on what they've seen from the lobby. Parents, we know how tempting it can be to watch class, take notes and then try to "help" your child at home, especially if you feel they're not learning as quickly as other students. But that is one of the fastest ways to kill your child's desire to learn martial arts. As long as students are attending 2-3 classes a week consistently, at the beginner level, there is no need for additional practice at home.

At the higher ranks, especially Black Belt level, students are highly encouraged to practice their form (and old forms to work toward earning their instructor collar) at home in addition to participating in class at least 3 times a week.

We do not want students to injure themselves or a friend in an attempt to demonstrate kicks and punches they have learned in class. Breaking wood is never to be done outside of the school until the student is a senior blue belt belt and both the student and parent/guardians have been taught proper technique.

And, just in case you think it would be a great idea to have our instructors babysit or hang out with your child, so they can help them with their form outside of the school, that's one of the fastest ways for our instructors to lose their teaching collar.

We make announcements after every class and update the website regularly. The calendar and news page on the website are updated regularly with information about upcoming events and changes, including the testing schedule. We also post a list of upcoming events at the counter and on the front door. And there are often posters for the next event posted around the school, and we announce any changes and information about the next several events after each class. We're also on facebook (you can link from our homepage) and Ms. Thompson is even on twitter as HilliardTKD.

And now that we have the new student database through kicksite.net, as long as we have your email address, you'll be able to create a log-in to check from home how many classes you or your child have attended. You can also receive announcements about testing, tournaments, social events, membership renewals, class changes, clinics and more, plus have easy access to the class schedule, calendar and other materials as we make them available in the database.

We expect our students to give their best effort. Technique at the early stages of training is not as important as a positive attitude. If a student tries hard, is respectful and has a good attitude, they will develop better technique over time because they are listening and learning.

Testing is a process where we evaluate the skills of the student to determine whether they are ready to progress to the next level of training. What is expected of students depends on the rank, age and physical ability of the student. What is required to pass testing increases dramatically as a student increases in rank. Little Dragons and White through Probationary Black Belts test every 2 months for a testing fee of $50 per testing. Once you reach the rank of 1st Decided Black Belt, testing cycles are longer ― 4 months, 6 months, 8 months ― and the testing fee is $95. If a student does not pass testing, you do not pay again to have them retest for the same rank, unless they have received 3 no-changes in a row for the same rank.

It is mathematically possible to become a Black Belt in about 2 1/2 years. However, it takes most people longer to attain that rank. But remember, Black Belt is just the beginning, not the end, of serious training. Black Belt indicates that the wearer is a master of the basics and is now a serious student of the art.