By Mark Scott, 3rd dan
I never expected to join an adult martial arts class. I had always gone to the gym for workouts. I was also into mountain biking, rock climbing, volleyball, basketball and other post-work sporting activities over the years. I didn’t feel I needed any other activities. When my friend who had started going to an adult martial arts class a year earlier kept insisting I join him, I always had an excuse. Partially because I was scared to go to the first class. He finally convinced me and I tried my first adult martial arts class at Colorado Taekwondo Institute.
The first thing I noticed was that there were many other adults there who were basically, just like me. There was an instant feeling that I was joining something where I was welcome and accepted. Even though I didn’t know what I was doing, I was given someone to help me learn. The people that weren’t new were also getting helpers and instruction, so I didn’t feel out of place at all. The instructors and helpers were considerate and kind while they were helping and it seemed like they must have been trained for this. What I’ve learned since then, is that at Colorado Taekwondo Institute the students and instructors do have training on how to teach.
Another thing I learned on my first night was how much the facilities help with learning. The Colorado Taekwondo Institute has a raised, suspension floor that provides cushion and bounce when you jump and kick. That assistance allows older students the ability to perform moves that they wouldn’t be able to do on a regular hard floor. The suspension floor also allows the student to do more classes without the need to recover between classes. The joints aren’t stressed as much as when trying to do the same thing at a gym or the usual studio workout rooms.
As with any fitness class, working out with others, you get to form a bond and have shared experiences to talk about. That is certainly true at Colorado Taekwondo Institute’s classes also. The one difference is that in an adult martial arts class, where you are sparring and doing self-defense moves with each other, the bond is tighter because you could hurt one another. But one of the principles taught during classes at Colorado Taekwondo Institute is to take care of your partners. So, even though there is contact, the student’s show respect for each other and the training by following the rules and helping each other learn without injuring each other.
Bonds are also tighter because unlike other fitness classes, at Colorado Taekwondo Institute the classes are only part of the training. There are many tournaments, seminars and conferences to learn more and meet more friends from other schools. Each event is well run and allows the students to exercise and learn more about self-defense, Taekwondo forms and, of course, have fun.
I didn't know much about the tournaments when I first started. As I started experiencing them, I realized that the competitions are necessary as part of the training. The competition from the adults perspective gives us a chance to have that feeling of competition that many haven’t experienced since we were kids. The competitions improve the self-confidence and ability to perform the moves we are learning under pressure situations. The competitions are also focused on having good sportsmanship between competitors. They turned out to be exhausting but very fun and exciting.
I would highly recommend trying the adult martial arts classes at Colorado Taekwondo Institute. There are campuses situated throughout the west side of Denver. Come on in and try a lesson and see what fun it can be.
