Core Taekwondo

My son loves his TKD classes and their camp is fantastic. I hesitate to write this review as I worry that the camp will be hard to get into once the secret is out. Master Meggie and Mister Hiro are great with instructing kids. I love that they emphasize that their teachings go beyond this class and apply to every day life.

I sent my 9 year old son to their October camp. On the second day I wrote an email telling Meggie (the owner) my son had a doctor’s appointment and would be late. When my husband arrived to drop off my son, nobody was there, there was no note (that they were in the park), and nobody answered the phone. So my husband was not able to go to work.
My son has Asperger’s and even though Meggie told me she had a lot of special education experience, she did not handle my son well at all and did not seem to understand some of the basic issues related to Asperger’s (regarding my son’s rigidity). When he did not want to play tag (because he has physical limitations that make it difficult) and did not want to do the other activity (because it was hurting his arm), the teachers refused to let him sit and read his book! When I complained she told me that they refused to let him read (a calming activity for him) because he had been yelling at the teachers (but nobody ever called me or my husband to ask us to come get him or ask us for advice about how to manage my son, at the time that this happened).
When I asked for a refund for the three days my son missed (one because nobody was there) and two because my son refused to go back after the final incident (with the reading), Meggie refused.

My 7 year old son has participated in Core Taekwondo for the past school year. Masters Meggie, Hiro, Craig and all the instructors are wonderful at working with kids at differing abilities and many with limited attention spans. We have seen a remarkable difference in my son’s ability to focus and in the other core tenets of Taekwondo including courtesy, integrity, perseverance and self control.
Most significantly, the belt system provides my son a goal and a reason to continue to improve. He was so proud of himself when he got his yellow belt and has risen to the challenge of having advanced a level when in class.
He loves the community and jumps at the chance to attend the regular Parents Night Out and enrolled in Spring Break Camp this year. The high school students who run the Parents Night Out are a lot of fun and great role models for the younger kids.
We’re sorry to be moving and leaving Core this summer. I highly recommend Core to any family and especially to those with children who are working on their focus and self control.

I have to be honest, I was a little hesitant to start Taekwondo as a guy in his thirties, but Master Meggie made me feel right at home. Core Taekwondo does such an amazing job of balancing exercise, learning and having fun. After only a couple months I feel like I have already learned so much… not to mention finally getting myself back into shape.
Taekwondo isn’t just for kids. If you have ever wanted to start but felt like you might be too old… I would highly recommend you check out Core Taekwondo.

As a beginner adult, it’s been difficult to find a martial arts class where I’m not surrounded by children. After all, one doesn’t need to be a kid to want to try something new.
At Core Taekwondo, I’m learning strategy, memorizing forms, strengthening, varying my boring elliptical routine, and having fun with like-​minded adults! Masters Maggie, Hiro, and Cheryl Lee offer superb individualized instruction and tips. Highly recommend.

We tried a few other Taekwondo classes which I won’t name. One was just too packed that he just didn’t get anything out of it. The other place was too intimidating for my shy sensitive little guy. Sparring occurred on his 1^st day. Not for his personality.
We found Core by doing a drive by. It’s very close to our house. Master Meggie is fantastic! The way she teaches is awesome. My son just loves her. He always has a blast and looks forward to class every week. Another cool thing is you pay a flat rate a month and then can come as many days in the week as you like! And my son is LEARNING. He’s pretty uncoordinated (like me, mom) but he’s picking up the moves! He’s anxious to get to the next belt. Master Meggie came over and told me how proud of the progress he has made in just a short time. Cheryl is the other teacher and she is sweet and great as well! I even signed my son up for a few weeks of summer camp at Core.
I hope this dojo doesn’t get too big. I like the small feel class.

The instructors there have captured my heart. They are energetic, fun to work out with, and extremely knowledgable. It’s been a good 15+ years since I’ve studied, and they are helping me get myself back in shape. Big thanks to them!!! Also, really great studio for kids!!!

It’s been almost a year (11 months) since my kids have started training under Master Meggie and here are some things that I have observed during our time at Core Taekwondo.
— My kids are still excited to be going to class even after all this time and that’s been on average 4 times a week. How many parents can say that about activities that their children are involved in? It’s not just my kids, either. You can see that all the children continually strive to get better because they look up to, respect and trust Master Meggie.
— Another thing that I like about Core TKD is that they had a good summer camp program. If I could, I would have signed up my kids for all of the workshops. One week they were learning about and creating Rube Goldberg machines, then the next week there was a superhero theme, and I think a circus theme. There was a lot of variety to choose from. We did a camp at PJCC — which, by the way is amazing, but my kids liked the ones being held at Core TKD more.
— Our experience has been great so far like other families I have seen, just look at all of the other Unilocal reviews on here from the parents. The only review that you see that has a lower rating is from a person that is not a parent. In fact he used to be the assistant teacher and decided to write his review right after being fired for being disrespectful towards the parents and Master Meggie. A decent person would work out their issues with their employer, not complain about them on the internet like a child. Good job, your passive aggressive review just confirms that it was the right choice to set him on his way. I know that if he started out learning at Core TKD, he would have learned what it means to respect others.

Over the span of 10 weeks from August 1, 2013 to October 18, 2013 the following is what I observed at this martial arts school:
1. On a VERY POSITIVE note, the instructor-​owner, «Miss Meggie or Master Meggie», engages the youngest students 3 years old and up exceptionally well. She is great at keeping the children mindful of their self-​control and discipline for their own good and for the good of those around them through concepts of «body focus», «eye focus», «ear focus», and «mouth focus». She emphasizes good listening skills. Miss Meggie’s «Little Kickers» classes are for the youngest 3 – 5 year olds, where they learn body-​mind coordination skills that will lead towards success in all forms of martial arts and other sports.
2. A word of caution: One or two of the warm up stretches that Miss Meggie teaches have been recognized as unsafe and may lead to low back vertebrae strain with long term spinal health implications. Unfortunately, her version is a controversial Yoga stretch that introduces an unnatural rotation and side bend of the upper body while the hand of the outstretched arm reaches for the foot of the opposite straight leg. Miss Meggie says that she is able to do this twisty version of the stretch because of her own contortionist genetics and circus performer background — Kudos to her for this ability. However, this is precisely the reason why her stretch is a risky prescription for the general population of kids and adults just starting out their martial arts experience and in many cases just starting out getting to know their own bodies and physical limitations. The student should be allowed to choose & perform that one which feels safer:
BOTH VERSIONS:
SAFE VERSION:
3. Regrettably, the curriculum of this school defers teaching the most basic kicking technique known as the «ball of the foot front snap kick». The practical consequence of neglecting this fundamental kick to a beginner is that they become extremely limited early on in the choice of actions they have during sparring or worse during an actual self-​defense incident in the street. Several Taekwondo (Korean Karate) and Japanese Shotokan Karate black belts and instructors that I have discussed this with feel that neglecting this most important and basic kick is a disservice to paying students that are looking to learn the most effective techniques earlier rather than later in their martial arts experience. Reference photos of this kick below:
4. This school dedicates every Friday (each week) to sparring for all ages. However, I would advise a parent to be cautious at considering participating in their sparring classes, because the sparring fundamentals here lack «touch control» training for beginners. The lessons need to be broken down further into more motion-​constrained drills so that the beginner students learn in a measured and choreographed action-​reaction approach rather than what is currently going on, which is mostly free-​sparring where the mantra is to indiscriminately «kick kick kick kick kick» at each other continuously for 90 seconds. Unfortunately this unrestrained, free-​sparring approach has caused my witness to a fair amount of banged up, teary eyed, frustrated little children. Yellow — Orange belts should NOT be permitted to free-​spar for 90 sec. Better to rehearse attacks & counters in a stop-​and-​go point-​sparring format until they acquire fluidity in a half a dozen discrete evade /​block and counter drills. Examples:
5. Exercises are done either with no targets (air strikes) or with target paddles that make a nice loud popping sound when struck properly. However, the large kicking shields are virtually NOT used which leads to undeveloped impact conditioning. Reference photos provided below:
CONCLUSION:
The «Little Kickers» program is a GREAT VALUE. This teacher really knows her stuff on how to engage 3 – 5 year olds. However, the curriculum pertaining to safe stretching, front snap kick, and sparring NEEDS FURTHER BREAK-​DOWN AND REFINEMENT. The «poomsae (forms), basics (blocks, strikes, kicks), and street self defense» portion of her curriculum is indeed WELL ORGANIZED in stages for the belt-​rank progressions; It is just that the «sparring» component of this school lacks «touch control» foundation training from a hierarchical drill structure for the student’s safety, especially at the yellow and orange belt levels. This promising school has a lot of potential.

My son has been attending classes at Core TaeKwonDo and he loves the classes. He can’t wait to go to class. The classes have boosted his self confidence and taught him respect.. I am so proud of my son. He is working hard to become a black belt.
We looked at other TKD schools before we chose Core and know we made the right choice. Meggie is a super teacher and truly cares about her students.

We’ve had a wonderful experience with Meggie. She’s terrific with kids and our 6-​year-​old loves to attend her classes. She truly takes the time to get to know each student; something we’ve appreciated tremendously. Highly recommend!

Great program! We love teacher Meggie!