The Uniqueness of Classes at the CTI

By Sean Lawlor, 1st dan, 15 years old

One major thing that sets CTI apart from other local martial art schools is the routine that classes go through almost every time.

Everyday classes at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute seem like a well-oiled routine for people that are just starting out. But the routine that is practiced in every class is what builds the foundation for everything else that you will learn later on in your Taekwondo career. This includes warming up, stretching, and basics.

Warming up is the first thing we do in a typical Taekwondo class and for good reason. By warming up you increase the blood flow to the working muscles which results in decreased muscle stiffness. Warming up every class before we get down to learning techniques helps reduce the likely hood of getting injured. Warming up and Stretching are usually done together. Stretching assists you in loosening up your muscles in preparation of all of the different things at are going to happen in class. If you don't stretch in or before class you raise your chances of hurting yourself or limit yourself on certain moves like how high you are kicking. Stretching allows you do everything in class to the best of your abilities as long as you are conscious about your limits and know when to hold back.

The benefits of this cardiovascular and flexibility training also help students in other aspects of their lives. Students develop healthy habits that will help adults lose weight and our younger students do well in other sports and activities.

The next Taekwondo classes these are helping students master key forms and motions that you will need in order to succeed and rise through the ranks. Spending significant amounts of time practicing  the foundations of techniques allows you to have an easier time learning new things. When learning a new forms for example; having to learn the moves in entirety from start to finish would take forever and be quite confusing. But if you already know how to kick and how to do the techniques that are in the forms all you need to do is learn the pattern of which the moves follow along. Much like with math, a strong foundation to build upon will help mastery of higher levels later on.
part of of typical class at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute consists of practicing our basic techniques. In

CTI belts are earned though trying your best and the work you put into it. This isn't a place where you can “buy your way” through the ranks that you might be able to do at other campuses. But having to work through your experience of Taekwondo classes creates a feeling of satisfaction in what you accomplish here. It's a long journey from white belt to black belt and you have to work hard the entire way. Receiving something you earned is much more fulfilling than just buying it.

It's more than just the name that set CTI apart from other local martial arts schools.