Why Martial Arts and CTI Are Great for Preschoolers

By India Ross, 2nd dan

When people think of martial arts, they often picture kicking and punching. But for preschoolers, martial arts offer so much more. Preschooler martial arts help young kids grow in every way: physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally. And they get to do it in a fun, safe, and positive environment.

While teaching martial arts to toddlers and preschoolers, I saw how much it helped them. I watched shy kids come out of their shell, kids with excess energy learn to focus it in a calmer way, and all kinds of kids feel proud of themselves as they learned and progressed. It’s more than just exercise it’s a powerful way to help kids become their best selves.

Preschoolers are still learning how to control their bodies mentally and physically. At Colorado Taekwondo Institute, kids can learn to kick, punch, stretch, and moving in ways that build balance, coordination, and flexibility. These basic moves help kids become more aware of how their bodies move and grow stronger every day. Martial arts also builds strength and energy. Even simple movements help kids learn ways to get the energy out. The more they practice, the more endurance they gain, which means they can play, learn, and move with more ease and confidence. Preschooler martial arts also helps with brain development. When preschoolers learn new moves, forms, or patterns, they’re using their memory and building focus. These skills help them do better in school and other activities. Each class gives kids the chance to focus their attention on one thing at a time. Whether it's standing still, remembering a move, or copying a pattern, they’re training their brain as much as their body. Over time, this helps them pay attention better in other areas of life too.

Preschooler martial arts also helps students grow emotionally. Every time a child learns something like new moves or earns their next belt, their confidence gets a boost. Reaching goals and progressing  makes them feel proud, and that feeling helps them believe in themselves not only in class but everywhere outside of class. Discipline is another important part of martial arts. In this case, discipline means being able to listen, follow directions, and stay focused. It also means showing up and trying your best even when something is hard. These lessons help kids in school, at home, and anywhere else they go.

Martial arts may seem like a individual sport, but preschoolers actually learn a lot about working with others. At Colorado Taekwondo Institute, kids are encouraged to cheer for each other at tournaments, learn to take turns, and practice learning with others. As well as learning good sportsmanship students learn all about respect. Preschoolers learn to respect their instructors, teachers, classmates, and themselves. They learn how to listen quietly, raise their hand and wait their turn, and treat others kindly. Martial arts can also help preschoolers learn how to cope with big feelings. Instead of getting angry or upset and throwing a tantrum, they learn to stay calm and use their words. They practice patience and learn that it's okay to feel frustrated, but that there are better ways to channel that energy.

The Colorado Taekwondo Institute isn’t just about teaching kicks and punches, it’s about helping preschoolers grow to be the best possible version of themselves. The teachers understand how get down at their level to help kids learn and to make every class fun, supportive, and full of learning. Whether you want your child to build confidence, stay active, or learn how to focus, martial arts is a great place to start. And at Colorado Taekwondo Institute, your child will be supported every step of the way.

Conifer Martial Arts

By Matthew Roberts, 2nd dan

The Colorado Taekwondo Institute is a great taekwondo organization, with various people, cultures, and so much more. With five campuses for learning Moo Sul Kwan martial arts educational excellence, you can't go wrong. Every school follows Moo Sul Kwan tradition while still teaching the core fundamentals of Taekwondo. While every one of the five campuses in Green Mountain, Littleton, Golden, Westminster, and Conifer is great, if you live in Evergreen, Conifer, or the surrounding Foothills region, the Conifer campus is the one for you!

First, the Conifer martial arts location has some of the finest instructors in all of Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo. Our two main instructors are Ms. Eileen Lindner and Grandmaster Jim Sautel. Eileen Lindner is a fourth-degree black belt in Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo. She has been practicing Taekwondo for over 15 years and teaches students as young as two years old. She's also Conifer Campus' New Student Coordinator! 

Next is Grandmaster Jim Sautel, an 8th-degree Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo black belt, who has been practicing martial arts since 1975. Grandmaster Jim Sautel is also the founder and president of the Colorado Taekwondo Institute and has certified over 390 educated Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts black belts. With over 65 years of martial arts experience combined, these two instructors can help anyone achieve their martial arts goals!

Secondly, the Conifer martial arts campus culture makes this campus a great and healthy learning environment. Here, everyone is ready to learn, pay attention, and try their best. To help each other, everyone here is caring and loving. For example, when I joined the teen/adult class, everyone was super welcoming and ready to help me become a better taekwondo practitioner. Plus Conifer campus is far into the mountains, being the campus at the highest altitude, we all have to push ourselves and help each other at this high altitude, making for a far stronger feeling of resilience and community. 

All of these different attributes, and more, come together and blend to help make learning Taekwondo and Martial arts far more fun. I have been working out at Conifer Campus for over 8 years now, and I can say that I will always love working out at Conifer. Every time I walk in through the doors, I feel a sense of relief and belonging I can't feel anywhere else, not even at a different campus, and especially at a different Martial Arts school. Why don't you come over to the Conifer martial arts campus and learn Taekwondo in a meaningful way that you will never forget?

Self-Defense Classes

By Emily Green, 1st dan

A common question people ask me when they find out I practice Taekwondo is, “do you really think you could defend yourself in a situation?” My answer is always yes. Self-defense classes at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute has given me the tools to protect myself, both physically and mentally, if I ever need to. 

A significant part of self-defense classes is discipline. Discipline means learning to control your emotions, showing respect, and staying mindful of your surroundings. Sometimes, the best self-defense is not engaging at all. For example, if you notice a situation escalating, real self-defense might mean choosing to walk away rather than confront it. Proper self-defense begins long before the first punch or kick. This is done by having confidence in your body, in your movements, and in your ability to respond. When you carry yourself with confidence, you naturally appear less like an “easy target.” Simple things, such as standing up straight, staying alert to your environment, and making eye contact, can be forms of self-defense in themselves. Those looking to cause trouble often seek out people who appear distracted, timid, or unaware of their surroundings. This awareness alone lowers your risk of being approached in the first place and serves as a form of self-defense.

One of the primary aspects of Taekwondo for self-defense is repetition. The number of times spent on practicing punches, kicks, and blocks trains your body to react quickly without hesitation. If something were to happen where you had to defend yourself physically, there isn’t time to pause and think, “How should I move my arm?” Instead, your body does it, having done it a thousand times before. This is crucial in self-defense situations. Instead of thinking about each option and each move, and how to execute them, your training takes over. The muscle memory you build through consistent practice enables your response to be immediate and effective.

Sparring is a safe and controlled form of training, but it introduces you to real-time timing, distance, and movement against another person. While the goal isn’t to hurt each other, sparring helps you overcome hesitation about physical contact. You learn how it feels to be under pressure, how to remain calm when someone is moving toward you, and how to use your training against a live opponent. That experience is significant for self-defense.

Another essential benefit of Taekwondo is learning how to use your body safely and effectively. For example, if you throw a punch incorrectly, you can injure your own hand more than your attacker. If you kick and miss and extend your knee too far, you can hurt your leg. In Taekwondo, you learn proper form in how to strike without injuring yourself and how to block using parts of your body that can absorb impact. This matters because, in a real-life self-defense situation, your goal is not to fight for a long time, as you may see in the movies, but to create enough space to escape. It’s hard to run away if you hurt yourself in the process of making that space. The focus is on protecting yourself long enough to escape, and Taekwondo prepares you for exactly that.

Self-defense is not about overpowering someone with brute force. It’s about using technique and precision. Through training, you learn the most effective places on the human body to target if you ever have to defend yourself. This knowledge, combined with the repetition and instinct you’ve developed, helps you respond in a way that maximizes your chance of getting free without wasting energy or time.

Taekwondo self-defense classes offers a unique blend of physical skill, mental discipline, and practical training that makes it effective for self-defense. It’s not just about getting fit or competing, but also about preparing yourself for real life. The skills you develop extend far beyond training sessions, influencing the way you move through your daily life. Self-defense isn’t only about what you do in the moment of need. It’s about the habits, mindset, and skills you build every day through training. Taekwondo provides all of these, helping you grow not only as a martial artist but as a person.

If you’ve ever wondered whether Taekwondo classes at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute can help you defend yourself, the answer is simple: absolutely. But perhaps more importantly, they can help you in so many more ways.