About Taekwondo

Like any martial art properly taught and properly practiced, Taekwondo is a non-aggressive and ethical system of self-defense.

Taekwondo developed from humble beginnings over 1,000 years ago and has since spread internationally to become one of the world's most successful and popular martial arts. Its practitioners enjoy physical and mental discipline, as well as excellent fitness and the ability to defend themselves if necessary. Taekwondo is not only a combat sport, but is also a way of life for enthusiasts around the globe.

The word Taekwondo itself is made up of three Chinese/Korean words: Tae, meaning to kick or jump; Kwon, meaning fist or hand; and Do, which means "the way." Loosely (if not literally), it can be thought of as "The Way of the Hand and Foot."

While famous for its wide range of kicks, Taekwondo also emphasizes breaking power, such as splitting wood and bricks using only the bare hands and feet. Training involves a variety of techniques, to include punching, kicking, dodging, jumping, parrying and blocking. Taekwondo also focuses on sparring and learning formal patterns of movement called forms.

American Taekwondo Association (ATA)

The American Taekwondo Association (ATA) is the premier North American organization dedicated to the martial arts discipline of taekwondo, and is the founding organization of other international affiliates that include the World Traditional Taekwondo Union (WTTU) and the Songahm Taekwondo Federation (STF). Counting both the U.S. and worldwide, our organizations have over 1,500 independently owned and operated licensed schools and clubs, and have registered over one million students since the ATA's inception in 1969.

Since the first class was taught many years ago, the focus of Songahm Taekwondo has remained the same: to provide students the highest quality martial arts instruction available in a safe and positive learning environment that people of all ages can enjoy. The instructors combine excellent student instructor ratios with state of the art training facilities. This has helped establish licensed schools and clubs as the leaders in the martial arts industry. Each instructor is a graduate of an instructor program that represents more than thirty years of research and development. He or she will be with you every step of the way to help you reach your individual goals (and maybe even reach some new goals you never before thought possible).

To find out more about Takewondo and ATA, please follow this link ...

ATA Nashville

ATA Nashville is formed by two closely related martial arts schools:

• Lee’s ATA Martial Arts, at Brentwood, TN.
• Kim’s ATA Martial Arts, at Bellevue, TN.

We have over 400 students learning and practicing martial arts 6 days a week, under the guidance of our experienced and qualified instructors. To find out more about our instructors, please follow this link …

We also offer private lessons, birthday parties and group self-defense classes.