Kickin' Tigers
Kickin' Tigers is a martial arts program specially designed for children 4 to 6 years old. Students learn the basic elements of Olympic-style taekwondo through an innovative curriculum that emphasizes the development of important life skills including:
Your child will enjoy uplifting instructors and a high energy, exciting environment. You will enjoy knowing your children are being equipped with skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
With one instructor for every eight students, classes are carefully designed to keep students focused, engaged, and interested.
A typical 30-minute class includes the following components:
While taekwondo is the primary reason for students coming to Kickin' Tigers, the curriculum is designed to teach our students far more:
Moral Education – Whether in class, at home, or in public, we expect our students to represent themselves with excellence. Our classes provide ample opportunities to learn virtues. Discipline is learned through consistent enforcement of clearly defined rules. Of course, this is critical for learning when and where self-defense techniques are appropriate.
Social Development – We encourage effort and cooperation above results. Your child will practice listening and following directions so that they can interact and problem-solve with other children. These skills are crucial for building a child's sense of self-esteem and confidence in developing their own learning style.
Physical Education – Kickin' Tigers practice simple activities that develop coordination, endurance, and balance while strengthening major muscle groups through running, jumping, kicking, and punching exercises. Students practice confidence to continue challenging their bodies in new and exciting ways.
Pre-Math and Literacy Skills – While learning shapes, counting, speaking Korean terminology, practicing pattern recognition, sorting, and understanding the order of the classes, your child engages in a multi-faceted learning environment with Kickin' Tigers.
Self-Defense – Practical techniques to know how to avoid getting into dangerous situations is perhaps our most important aspect of Kickin' Tigers training. Our students are also armed with a full complement of techniques for safely getting out of trouble as well.
Our goal is to help your child develop an excellent foundation of life skills that will help them to find success in each endeavor they undertake. At the same time, they are learning the official techniques of Olympic taekwondo. Our hope is that Kickin' Tigers will graduate to our youth taekwondo program and continue training as a competitive martial artist in our nationally-ranked program.
Kickin' Tigers uses a belt system, which teaches students how to set goals and maintain focus while keeping track of accomplishments. Belts are awarded when a student has mastered the required skills and if their report from home and school has shown them to be good citizens. If the chores aren't done, if there's a bad attitude, or if their teacher's report is not as good as it could be, there will be no belt awarded. It is amazing how quickly students decide to modify their own behavior when faced with not earning their next belt!
Before graduating to the next belt, students must earn stripes that correspond to various aspects of the curriculum. Stripes represent shorter-term goals and ensure mastery of the curriculum. Stripe testing is done during class, approximately every two to three weeks. After earning four stripes, students are eligible for rank promotion. During the graduation ceremony, the student receives their new belt, certificate, and any awards they may have earned.
