Celebrating, Taekwondo Style!

By Alice Meyung, 5th dan

Did you know that the Colorado Taekwondo Institute hosts and runs birthday parties?  If you or your child wants to have a birthday party at a taekwondo school or a karate school, you are in luck!  A martial arts birthday party is a fantastic and active way for the kids who attend the party to burn energy and have a great time!  Here at our taekwondo school, the Colorado Taekwondo Institute, we work hard to provide the most fun and exciting birthday celebrations for our students and anyone else looking to celebrate!  We welcome anyone to book a party at our taekwondo school!  The parties are complimentary and can take place at any of our five campus locations.  We usually run the parties on a weekend during the day, but our schedules can be flexible.

A typical party runs around two hours.  All of your guests gather at the taekwondo school to try out a class and have some party fun!  A certified Colorado Taekwondo Institute black belt instructor runs a short version of a Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo class.  Anyone can participate, even the parents!  The special birthday child gets a unique position during this class and gets to lead some very special activities for their guests.  The class consists of warm-ups and stretches to prepare our bodies for martial arts fun.  We will then learn the basics of taekwondo and learn how to perform punches, strikes, blocks and kicks in a safe environment and with expert help.  After the group is warmed-up and feeling confident with their new techniques, the party shifts to taekwondo-centric games and entertainment!  At a party at our taekwondo school, the games are designed to use the martial arts techniques and skills we just learned to have fun and expend energy.  Some great games we've played at past birthday parties include fun with rope drills, a kicking-version of Shark Attack, learning how to evade objects or attackers in a fun and safe environment, a taekwondo version of musical chairs, speed contests, gladiator-style taekwondo games and many, many more amazing activities!

After we are all exhausted from working out hard and exercising both our minds and bodies, it is time for cake, snacks, gifts, and anything else special that you might want to add to your celebration!  The birthday celebrant gets to cut the cake in a very special and unique way that is sure to impress all of the guests and their families.  After your party is over, you won't believe how much fun you and your friends had!

While having your birthday at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute is incredibly delightful, it is also a great way to introduce your friends (and maybe yourself, too!) to the fantastic opportunities a taekwondo school or karate school has to offer.  You and your guests get a taste of the incredible mental and physical benefits of taekwondo as well as having the time of your lives!  If you've been thinking about having a party at a taekwondo school or karate school, call the Colorado Taekwondo Institute or speak with your instructor today!

A CTI Taekwondo Birthday

By Hope Morgan, 1st dan

I was a ten year old orange belt when I had my birthday party at the Colorado Taekwondo Institute, Westminster Campus.  I remember thinking it was the absolute best thing in the world – to be able to show off my “skills” to my friends, to combine such a significant part of my life with such an important celebration.  Now, as a seventeen year old black belt, I assist my mom and instructor with birthday parties for their younger students.

Just recently, a student of my mom’s, Lydia Willis, had her seventh birthday party at  the CTI, and I had the pleasure to help.  I got to watch her have the time of her life!  I got to see how being “black belt for a day” and working out up front made her ecstatic.  It took me back to my own birthday, and how that experience as such a young child impacted me in the most surprising ways.  It wasn’t hard to see how pumped up Lydia was.

Hope Morgan and Lydia

It’s always been tradition that the instructor helps the student cut the cake with a long sword.  Before the party had begun, Lydia had gone to her mom and said, “Mom, I get to cut the cake with a big sword!”  I don’t blame her for being so excited; it was definitely one of the most memorable moments from my party.  I really wanted to be the one to share that experience with Lydia, and I had to practically beg my mom to let me do the honors.  When you think about it, that one slice only lasts for a minute, but it’s something unique that any kid would be excited to do.  And Lydia was definitely excited.  I don’t think she stopped smiling and giggling throughout the whole thing!

After the party, my instructor, Master Albrechtson, pulled up a picture of he and I cutting my cake with the sword on my birthday that happened so long ago.  Next to it, he pulled up a picture of Lydia and I cutting her cake.  It was so insanely crazy to see!  I got to share one of my best days with Master Albrechtson, and now I get the gratification of being that iconic figure in a younger child’s life.  One doesn’t grow out of those memories.  Now my wish is for Lydia to continue her journey through Moo Sul Kwan Taekwondo, and someday be the one assisting or teaching her own student’s birthday parties. Maybe one day we can add a picture of a Ms. Willis helping an excited student cut the cake.

A Taekwondo birthday party at the CTI is really one of the best things for a child to experience.  It brings out that pride in students, allows them to showcase their skills to their friends and family, and enjoy a fun celebration working out with their loved ones.  While I may be “too old” for a birthday party at the CTI, I will always have the pleasure of sharing ones with younger students at my campus, and that in itself is the most rewarding thing I could ask for.