Kim's Taekwondo offers fitness, martial arts, and self-defence classes for all ages at its dedicated studio at #7 - 2012 Stadacona Street West, and is once again putting on a week of free classes this summer for any curious individuals or families.
"We're going to be featuring all four programs that we have at our school," explained Nathan Douglas, a 4th Dan Kukkiwon Black Belt and one of the school's head instructors.
"There's going to be Bojutsu, which is a weapons program where we learn to use the staff, and we'll be hosting a kickboxing class, which focuses on fitness-based martial arts movement. Taekwondo, of course, we feature Olympic-style Taekwondo, as well as a basic self-defense class, which is just a practical application of self-defense skills."
All programs are family-friendly — one of the school's biggest emphases is getting caretakers and children in and exercising together. The programs are offered at the following times:
- Bojutsu - Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. for ages 9 and up
- Kickboxing - Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. for ages 9 and up
- Taekwondo - Thursday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. for ages 4 and up
- Self-defence - Thursday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. for ages 13 and up
"Each program is highly modifiable based on each student's needs," Douglas said. "We can always modify based on skill level, so complete beginner all the way to advanced is fine, and something our school really prides itself on is providing high-quality martial arts instruction in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere."
The school's name refers to the teaching lineage of its instructors: Douglas and fellow head instructor Warren Miller learned from legendary Canadian grandmaster Sung Ju Kim, who opened the world's first World Taekwondo Federation academy in Regina in 1973. Kim was Canada's first 9th degree black belt and is a member of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.
"I've been doing Taekwondo since 1998, so I co-instruct the Taekwondo program with Master Warren Miller, and he's been doing Taekwondo for well over 25 years, as well. Between the two of us, we have over 50 years of experience," Douglas added.
"We encourage people to come out and try all our programs. The lesser-known ones, like kickboxing fitness and bojutsu, they're lots of fun. We welcome all ages together, and we have students training with us in all programs who are over 60. So, it isn't limited to youths — it's very adult-friendly."
Keep up with what goes on at Kim's Taekwondo by following them on their Facebook page at facebook.com/kimstaekwondomoosejaw and on their website at kimstaekwondomoosejaw.ca.
Instructor Nathan Douglas can be reached for inquiries at [email protected] and by phone at 306-630-4391.
