Tag Archives: northfield tae kwon do

Lose Weight Through Tae Kwon Do

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The formula is simple, eat less calories than you burn on a given day.  Put it another way, burn more calories than you eat.  While the formula may be simple, putting it into practice may be a daily struggle that often seems insurmountable.

Tae Kwon Do may help you lose weight.  One of our students lost 45 pounds in 9 months.  In addition to Tae Kwon Do, he regularly jogged and swam but he was focused on losing weight and Tae Kwon Do was one of his tools to achieve his goal.  Another student lost 20 pounds since joining our school.

Results will vary depending on your diet and other activities.  Our classes provide a structure where you can get regular exercise and learn self defense at the same time.  Keeping it fun, interesting, and learning while exercising may help you to regularly exercise and achieve your goals.

Exercise Has Many Benefits

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Just in case you don’t know, there are many benefits from regular exercise.

  • Exercise helps you lose weight or maintain weight.  Burning more calories than you take in is an essential component in losing weight.  Even if your goal is not to lose weight, our metabolism slows down as we age so it is important to exercise in order to maintain your healthy weight.
  • Exercise helps your body combat disease and health conditions.  Regular exercise helps your body to be healthier helping to prevent a variety of diseases and health conditions.
  • Want to be in a better mood, exercise.  Not only will you likely look better as a result of regular exercise but exercise releases chemicals in the brain that may help you feel better.
  • Are you always tired?  Maybe you should exercise so that you can get more energy.  If you can’t walk up a flight of stairs, maybe your body is telling you something about your stamina and energy level.  Don’t rely on an energy drink to give you a boost, exercise for that natural boost in energy.
  • If you are having trouble sleeping or staying asleep, regular exercise may help you fall asleep faster and give you a deeper sleep.

Improve Focus Through Tae Kwon Do

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Some may believe that Tae Kwon Do is strictly a physical activity.  While there are physical aspects such as proper punching, kicking, and blocking, there are mental aspects in Tae Kwon Do.

For example, instructors stress focus in class so that kids can learn the proper techniques.  Also, Tae Kwon Do stresses strikes that are accurate.  If you observe a class, you will see the instructor using hand targets to help kids know where to kick.  As the student advances, speed and power are emphasized.  All of these skills require focus in order to perform an accurate, powerful strike.

Another example of how Tae Kwon Do can improve a child’s focus is the teaching of Tae Kwon Do Forms or Poomses.  Forms are a series of punching, kicking, and blocking movements in a set pattern.  It takes focus to memorize the forms that progressively get more difficult with each belt level.

In today’s nanosecond world, it is difficult for a child to learn focus.  Tae Kwon Do may be one way to help your child learn to focus rather than being constantly distracted by external stimuli.

Improve Hand Eye Coordination Through Tae Kwon Do

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In the North Shore, there are a ton of sports activities for your child.  One reason why you should consider Tae Kwon Do in addition to other sports activities such as baseball, basketball, or soccer is that Tae Kwon Do may improve your child’s hand eye coordination that may help your child in other sports.

How does Tae Kwon Do improve hand eye coordination?  Tae Kwon Do utilizes both hands and feet in punching, kicking, and blocking.  Tae Kwon Do helps to develop your child’s balance and flexibility.  Also, Tae kwon Do teaches the child to be aware of where and how his/her body is positioned.  This results in a greater awareness of his/her body improving hand eye coordination.

If you would like to see this in action, please consider observing one of our Tae Kwon Do classes.  You will see kids at various levels, as well as their coordination level.

Total Tae Kwon Do Cost

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If you are on Groupon or Living Social, you will see a lot of offers for Tae Kwon Do.  3 months free, 50% off the first 2 months, or 19.99 for a 2 week trial are all offers I have seen in the past.  While these offers may sound enticing, you should consider the total cost to reach your black belt.

Some questions you should ask:

  • What is the monthly cost after the trial ends?
  • How much is belt testing?
  • Are kids required to test every couple of months or is it dependent on their readiness for the next belt level?
  • Are kids required to purchase sparring gear even if they are not interested in sparring?
  • What is your policy on missed classes?

In addition to the cost, another very important criteria in choosing a Tae Kwon Do program is the quality of instruction.  Is it baby sitting or are the kids really learning the techniques and tenets of Tae Kwon do?  Is the instructor cognizant of your goals for your child?  Are kids challenged to do their best and learn?

It can take a year or even 3 years to reach the black belt.  It is a long term commitment for the instructor and student.  Discounts and promotions are nice but it is also important to choose a program that matches your goals.

Improve Coordination Through Tae Kwon Do

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Tae Kwon Do isn’t just about kicking, punching, and blocking.  The warm up exercises and techniques learned in class may improve your child’s coordination.  For example, one of the exercises that Master Ray employs is to have a student touch his/her foot with his/her opposite hand.  Sounds simple but may be difficult when a student is just learning the difference between his left or right hand.

An excercise like this may be difficult or confusing in the beginning but after a couple of weeks, she will master the movement.  Then Master Ray will ask him to rotate between the front and the back.  Again it is difficult in the beginning but after a couple of weeks, the student will generally master it.

An exercise like this is not done every week but other similar exercises are employed in each class.  Through these exercises, you will likely notice a difference in your child’s overall coordination.

Good Grades and Tae Kwon Do

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In our humble Tae Kwon Do school in Glenview on Waukegan Road, we emphasize that our students need to maintain/improve their academic grades.  We accomplish this by having an open communication with parents at each class or every level of belt testing.

As parents ourselves, we want our kids to be Straight A students but when this is not possible, we still want our kids to have tried their best during the school year.

Asian Martial Arts such as Tae Kwon Do teach balance.  In our school, it is critical that students learn how to balance between school work and Tae Kwon Do with school work being the priority.