Mansfield, TX – Functional Taekwondo, opened in April 2017, is a hybrid martial art that combines the arts of western boxing, Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) and Olympic style Taekwondo. Their school is suitable for children, teens, adults, families and professional fighters alike. The curriculum is divided into separate age groups and skill levels to ensure a safe, effective, and most of all, FUN martial arts practice to help their students become safe and powerful individuals.
Taylor Kelly, the owner, is a mixed martial artist with a Taekwondo background. He opened Functional Taekwondo so that he could offer Taekwondo in a structure similar to that of combat sports. The idea came to him when he was training at a gym in Portland, Oregon that offered him a job to teach Taekwondo kicks for MMA competitors. As his ideas evolved and he continued to train, he came to the conclusion that the only way Taekwondo can be effective is if the boxing and Muay Thai foundations were present. Thus, he created a school that offered the same structure and discipline of Taekwondo while offering a complete striking style suitable for self-defense and high-level competition.
What separates them from other typical Taekwondo schools is that they highly emphasize self-defense as the overarching theme and only teach techniques that can be applied against progressive resistance.
Students are awarded a new rank based on how well they can defend themselves. This includes a wide variety of sparring, conditioning, and knowing the necessary steps to take when in a hostile situation.
For children, Functional Taekwondo teaches the fundamentals of stranger awareness, positive character development, and how to deal with bullying through their martial arts training. Studies show that children who engage in martial arts have higher self-esteem, more focus, are healthier, and become more studious in their academics.
“One thing that any customer will notice whether they watch their kids take a class, or take one themselves, is the high level of practicality in what we teach. Even in our cardio kickboxing classes we are teaching legitimate striking technique and everything is very personalized. In our kids classes, it takes a very long time for children to rank up in belts (we don’t give kids blackbelts/junior blackbelts, something that most Taekwondo schools do). That being said, children will be learning how to really fight while developing character skills that will affect them the rest of their lives.”
-Taylor Kelly
In their adult program, you will be getting some of the highest energy and fun workouts of your life. Additionally, not only will you gain strength, improve cardio performance, get muscle tone, burn fat, and have more energy, you will also be learning legitimate skills for self-defense. If you wish to compete, they also can train you for that as well.
As you can see, functional Taekwondo is not exclusive to just children or adults, it is a program designed for the whole family. Go check them out!
Functional Taekwondo
1275 N Main St. Suite #213
Mansfield TX
360-831-2164
http://functionaltaekwondo.com
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