Frequently Asked Questions
How often should my child attend class?
Students must maintain a minimum attendance average of twice a week in order to be promoted or to participate in tournaments. You are allowed to bring your child up to three nights per week. If your child is very young or a beginner in our class, we recommend that you limit their attendance to twice a week, at least at first. If you bring them more than that, they may get “burned out” with taekwondo. Some kids do fine coming more often than two nights a week, but it usually works out better if they have the option.
Should my child attend class if they are sick or injured?
If your child is ill or is injured and cannot participate fully in class (including sparring if the student has sparring gear), then your child should stay home from class. If the injury will be for an extended period of time, special permission may be given to them to participate in class in a limited capacity. Absences from class due to illnesses or injuries will be excused.
Should I make my child go to class?
We say you should definitely make your child go to class. As a parent, you make decisions for your child and you decide what is best for your child, not necessarily what your child wants. Look at it this way. Do you give your child the option of going to regular school? Then if you believe that Taekwondo is good for your child, you should not feel guilty about making them go.
Children have very short attention spans. Children are seldom self-motivated to stick with a program like Taekwondo on a regular basis. Sometimes kids want to play video games, watch videos, or just hang out with their friends instead of going to taekwondo. Sometimes they need extra motivation from their parents.
Students have a minimum attendance requirement of twice a week in order to be promoted or to participate in tournaments. Therefore, we recommend telling your child that they must go to taekwondo twice a week. You may want to let them have the option of what two days. Then tell them that they can go more than twice a week if they want to. That way they still have some control and say in the matter.
It has been our experience that once a child knows that they must go to taekwondo twice a week and that quitting is not an option, they usually accept it as a regular part of their life, just like going to regular school is.
Does my child have to spar?
Sparring is not mandatory in our classes to achieve rank. However, we encourage the activity for students to have a better understanding of what they are learning. Students who are under the age of eighteen, who have sparring gear, are required to spar in class. We do not want a child to say, “I do not want to spar today”, or “My mom says that I do not have to spar if I don’t want to”. They either spar or they don’t.
Does my child have to compete?
Competition is not mandatory. We do not recommend that you make your child compete if they don’t want to. Some students may want to just compete in forms. It is best to look at competition as an extra-curricular activity. Regular class attendance (twice a week) is required. Tournaments are extras.
Competition with the proper attitude and discipline can be very beneficial to your child’s Taekwondo training and overall development. Competition teaches camaraderie and sportsmanship. Competition is not about winning trophies and medals, but about giving it your best.
