ATA SONGAHM TAEKWONDO BELTS (RANKS)
WHITE	WHITE BELT	"Pure and without the knowledge of Songahm Taekwondo. As with the Pine Tree, the seed must now be planted and nourished to develop strong roots." The student has no knowledge of Songahm Taekwondo and begins with a clean (pure) slate. Purity is often signified by the color white.
ORANGE	ORANGE BELT	"The sun is beginning to rise. As with the morning's dawn, only the beauty of the sunrise is seen rather than the immense power." The beginner student sees the beauty of the art of Taekwondo but has not yet experienced the power of the technique. Orange is found among the many colors of the sunrise.
yellow	YELLOW BELT	"The seed is beginning to see the sunlight." The student begins to understand the basics of Taekwondo. The sun appears to be yellow.
	CAMOUFLAGE (CAMO) BELT	"The sapling is hidden amongst the taller pines and must now fight its way upward." The student begins to realize his/her place in the world's largest martial art. The student must now begin to spar in order to promote in rank. Camouflage (greens) is used to hide among the trees in the forest.
	GREEN BELT	"The pine tree is beginning to develop and grow in strength." The student's technique is developing power. The components of the basic techniques are beginning to work in unison. As the pine tree develops, it sprouts green pine needles.
	PURPLE BELT	"Coming to the mountain. The tree is in the mid-growth and now the path becomes steep." The student has crossed over over into a higher level of SOngahm Taekwondo. The techniques, poom-sae (forms), and level of gyeo-roo-gi (sparring) becomes more difficult, creating a "mountain" that must be overcome. Mountains are often depicted as being purple.
	BLUE BELT	"The tree reaches for the sky toward new heights." Having passed the mid-way point, the student focuses his/her energy upward toward black belt. The sky appears as blue.
	BROWN BELT	"The tree is firmly rooted in the earth." At this point the student has mastered the basics and developed deep roots in Taekwondo. Brown is known as an earthy color, such as dirt.
	RED BELT	"The dawn of a new day. The sun breaks through the darkness." The previous day has ended, giving way to a new dawn. The student must begin a new phase of training; that of being a black belt. The red is the sun (in a sunrise) as it breaks through the black of night.
	RED/BLACK BELT	"The dawn of a new day. The sun breaks through the darkness." The previous day has ended, giving way to a new dawn. The student must begin a new phase of training; that of being a black belt. The red is the sun (in a sunrise) as it breaks through the black of night.
	BLACK BELT	"The tree has reached maturity and has overcome the darkness... it must now 'plant seeds for the future.'" The color black is created when all the colors of the light spectrum have been absorbed into an object. That object has "taken control" of the colors and retained them. If one color was to "escape", the object would no longer be black but would appear as that color. The student has mastered the nine geup (grades) of Taekwondo. He/she has "absorbed" all the knowledge of the color ranks and overcome or "mastered" that level or training. The colors of the spectrum are bound together and are not reflected off an object, resulting in the absence of color which we call black.

BELT	# OF CLASSES/WEEKS		BASIC & KICKS	FORM & FREE SPARRING	ONE STEP SPARRING	OTHER
	TINY TIGERS	JUNIORS	1ST STRIPE	2ND STRIPE	3RD STRIPE
WHITE	21/7	21/11
ORANGE	21/7	21/11
YELLOW	21/7	21/11
CAMO	21/7	21/7				BLACK BELT CLUB SPARRING GEAR Black Belt Club Special - get all the gear you need, plus membership in the Black Belt Club for the combination price of $225.
GREEN	21/7	21/7
PURPLE	21/7	21/7
BLUE	21/7	21/7
BROWN	21/7	21/11
RED	21/7	21/11
BLACK 1ST DEGREE		42/14
BLACK 2ND DEGREE		42/14

Official Karate Kids and Tiny Tigers receive a Victory Patch and participate in our rewards based incentive program. Kids are rewarded special "Victory Stars." These different colored stars are rewarded for outstanding performance in karate class, school, home or at a tournament competition. When the students earn a star, that star will go onto their victory patch. Once the student earns 24 stars, they will be promoted to the next level of victory patch.

Blue Patch 0-24 Stars	Silver Patch 25-49 Stars	Gold Patch 50-74 Stars	Blue/Gold Patch 75+ Stars
Blue Stars	Silver Stars	Gold Stars	Red Stars
Turning in a Blue Star Worksheet Instructor reward for doing an exceptional job in class	All A's and B's on a report card Bringing in a special award or recognition for a deed or activity. At parent request for special deed or accomplishment at home.	Straight A's on a report card Marked improvement on a report card from previous grading period.	Participating in a tournament.

At our ATA Black Belt Academy a student can earn a 1st Degree Black Belt in approximately 1.5 to 2 years of training. Every student progresses at their own pace, and all students are encourged to test for higher rank every few months.

Classes are $80 per month.
Belt testing is $45-$50.
Sparring Equipment, which is required for Camo belt and above is about $250.
Black Belt Club, which is recommended and comes with all sparring equipment is $225.
To get a black belt takes 1½ to 2 years so the cost would be about $2,070.
Black Belt Club Special - get all the gear you need, plus membership in the Black Belt Club for the combination price of $225.

Yes, they are given a new DVD with each belt advancement, and students have access to online video homework pages for extended training. That way you can review or practice when at home or traveling.

As a beginner in taekwondo we recommend attending class two times a week. As our students gain more experience and progress in rank they may attend additional classes weapons training, leadership classes, free-sparring workouts, 1-on-1 training, etc. Practice at home is also strongly encouraged.

In many martial arts styles, the assumption traditionally has been that once students earn their black belts they are ready to teach other students. But the ATA does not believe that simply being able to do something well qualifies a person to teach it. During the last 30 years, the ATA has developed an intensive instructor training program to insure that all ATA instructors are skilled and professional teachers.

Before becoming certified, ATA black belts spend 2-3 years as instructor trainees, during which time they are required to teach at least 300 hours under the supervision of a senior instructor. They are also required to earn certification in CPR and Youth Protection and to attend instruction camps.

We do more training and screening than any other martial arts schools in the country – and more than most schools do for full time teachers. Our full time certified instructors go through well over 300 hours of supervised training, take many written exams, and are CPR and First Aid certified. We also do background checks and fingerprinting on all of our full time certified instructors.

We train our students in the Korean art of taekwondo. We practice the "Song Ahm" style of taekwondo, which was created by Eternal Grand Master Haeng Ung Lee. Taekwondo is a Korean martial art.

All martial arts share similar techniques of the hand and foot. Taekwondo is known for using a lot of kicking techniques and utilizes many powerful jumping and spinning kicks. Karate, in a traditional sense, has roots in China and Okinawa.

For more information about Song Ahm taekwondo and the American Taekwondo Association, visit the official web site of the ATA at www.ataonline.com

This is an old tradition passed down from generations of taekwondo practice. In ancient times, it is said that martial art practitioners would start with a clean, light colored belt and over time and years of training their belt would darken and discolor. This progression of light to dark is similar to the rank system of white belt to black belt that we use today in taekwondo. To wash their belt is like washing away their hard work.

Yes and no. Our number one priority during free-sparring is safety. All students are required to wear full safety gear to protect the hands, feet, head, mouthpiece, and groin cup (for males). Generally during free-sparring, the amount of contact that occurs depends on the age, rank and level of experience of the student. We teach control over contact. In Song Ahm taekwondo we exercise physical control and safety in all aspects of our training and practice.

Sparring is the way that taekwondo students prepare for self-defense. It can be thought of as reflexive responses against an unplanned attack. Students first must learn the basics of taekwondo before applying them in free-sparring situations. Later on, when a student reaches camo belt, they begin free-sparring as part of their rank advancement testing.

In Songahm Taekwondo, a student first learns a form of preparatory moves known as 1-step sparring. This exchange of techniques is under strict control, and by memorizing these moves the student needs only practice distance and timing without the fear of responding to spontaneous techniques from an opponent. In this way, the basics of sparring can be safely developed before the student's reflexes are challenged. 1-steps also help a student acquire the confidence they need for sparring with a real opponent.

This depends on the class we recommend for you. Initially all you need is a beginner uniform. As you progress, depending on the class, you may need other safety gear. All necessary equipment is available at our pro shop.

They may do some point sparring during class, but they won't start competitive free-sparring at tournaments until they transition from a 'tiny tiger' division to a 'pee-wee' division. Every child is different and we can always make a recommendation on where your child should be in terms of tournament divisions. At our school, students remain as tiny tigers (which includes non-competitive tournament participation) until age 7 or when they reach the rank of brown belt — whichever comes first.

No, but we encourage all of our students to try competition out. Tournaments are a great way for students to gain confidence in a new environment and meet new friends from all across the country and even the world at larger national and world tournaments. Students practice taekwondo for a number of reasons: to improve discipline and confidence, for physical fitness, self-defense and to practice an exciting sporting activity. Tournament participation can help students in all of these areas.

There are many reasons for kids to become involved in the Martial Arts. We have developed a program specifically for kids called Karate for Kids. We have found that the majority of parents have gotten their children started in Karate for one of the following reasons.
Self-Confidence: It doesn't come naturally for many children, but rather is developed over a period of time. As a child accomplishes new goals, his or her confidence level increases. Children become more self confident in karate because they progress individually at their own pace and are not judged against others.
Self-Defense: Children's self defense takes many forms. The martial arts teaches children to think instead of panic in potentially serious situations as well as how to appropriately react to threats from other kids and how to handle peer pressure.
Specific Classes for Children: We pride ourselves in offering classes for children only. As professional martial arts instructors, we realize that children have specific training needs and requirements that can be best be answered in their own classes since they learn differently from teenagers and adults.
Every Child Wins: In karate every kid can be a winner instead of a bench sitter because karate allows children to reach for their own potential rather than directly competing against other kids.
Additional Benefits: Karate offers many other benefits for children such as improved concentration and self-discipline both of which contribute to improved performance in school.

No. Our Programs are for everyone regardless of age or experience. We have Group fitness classes for adults and offer age appropriate classes for children. We offer instruction for all levels of experience.

Yes, safety is a main priority. Our instructors are experts in teaching proper technique and our classes are designed to maximize effort and energy while minimizing risk of injury.

Self-Confidence doesn't come naturally for many children, but rather is developed over a period of time. As a child accomplishes new goals like earning their next belt level, his or her confidence level increases. Children become more self confident in karate also because they progress individually at their own pace and are not judged against others.

Of course! We do work by appointment only. The first time you come in we always do a one on one evaluation to see what’s best for you. We also offer extensive One on One training to meet your specific needs.

All of our programs are specialized by age. Our adult classes are not only separate, but the curriculum and intensity are designed for you.

We will create a program that is right for you, that will strengthen your back and get you “back in the game”. There is nothing like our programs and individual attention to "turn back the clock" and have you feeling energized, in motion and performing with confidence. Read what others have experienced - Success Stories.

Not being in control of an uncomfortable situation is the number one reason most women initially come to us when they consider the martial arts. Walking to a car late at night after work, riding a bicycle alone in an unfamiliar neighborhood, or even hearing of a bad experience a friend has had are all reasons for women to want to be able to defend themselves and to have self-confidence in these situations.
There are many other reasons for women to practice a martial art but from our experience our female students seem to feel the following reasons are the ones that made the most sense to them when they got started!

Most women can only do so many aerobic classes or run so many solo miles before they start dreaming of something more enjoyable and exciting to do to stay in shape. This is a great way to stay in shape that doesn't become dull or routine because as you get better and learn more there are always more challenges ahead to keep you inspired and coming back to the school.

While many of the instructors are male, we also feature women who are fully certified instructors who can teach and relate to the special problems encountered by our female students.
We pride ourselves in offering special clinics and advanced instruction especially for women. As professional instructors, we realize that our female students have specific training needs and requirements that can best be answered in their own clinics and advanced classes.

Many women are not comfortable with the thought of being involved in the martial arts. This initial nervousness or fear is due to many misconceptions about the martial arts or because they may simply not be a aware of how much fun and how rewarding it can be.

For centuries men have developed martial arts as a means to survive and a means for self development. Up until very recently, these secrets were closely guarded as precious jewels. The instinct for survival is a powerful force and motivated men to develop extremely high levels of fitness or "readiness". Martial arts training develops an individual in all areas of physical and mental fitness in order to react to anything and everything with explosive power in any direction.

Our society currently puts a great deal of emphasis on staying in shape and looking good. Many men find that the traditional ways of working out, such as weights or running, are boring and hard to stay committed to. Martial arts offers an exciting way to stay in shape that doesn't get boring or routine.

The ability to take care of oneself in any potentially dangerous, or uncomfortable situation, is one reason many adult men join, even though most of our adults seldom, if ever, get into a fighting situation. They often find themselves, however, in an uncomfortable situation, such as walking to their car late at night, or escorting their wife or girlfriend in a less than secure neighborhood. It's at times like this that martial arts training greatly enhances your self-confidence because of the ability to really take care of yourself, or someone you care for, when the time arises.
Many of the men in our program have dreamed about trying the martial arts since they were children but never had the time or money to make the commitment. The martial arts has always been known as one of the world's oldest and most recognized activities that everyone can do, no matter what age or physical ability.

You can tell that to Bruce Pfeiffer who became a 3rd degree black belt at the age of 74… or the grandmother who just tested at the World Championships for 4th degree black belt… There are more success stories than we can list here! The reason you can do martial arts at any age is that our instructors customize your training for you!