Anyone interested in joining the school is welcome to come and watch a regular class in progress. Membership is open to adults and mature teenagers. NIH employees and area residents are welcome. If you wish to arrange a visit to one of our classes, or would like to learn more about Tae Kwon Do, please contact Pam Dover or Andy Holmes.

Pam Dover:

By phone at: (301) 827-0476

By e-mail at: dover@cber.fda.gov

Andy Holmes:

By phone at: (301) 402-3519

By e-mail at: ah199y@nih.gov

Membership Fees

We aim to keep school membership fees low merely to cover the costs of running the school and organizing regular seminars with guest instructors.

Quarterly school membership $ 40

New Students

The school organizes beginner classes three times a year but individual student can join the school at any time.

Tae Kwon Do can improve most people’s physical conditioning, and enhance mental discipline also; one of the most important characteristics of Tae Kwon Do is that no physical strength is required to practice the art.

Although many people, young and old, men and women successfully practice the art, as it is true for many things in life, Tae Kwon Do is not for everyone. Tae Kwon Do requires a certain degree of physical agility, which is necessary to avoid possible injury to others and to oneself. For this reason new students are required to be closely observed for a period of time by the chief instructor and senior students before being fully admitted to the school.

Persons with previous Tae Kwon Do (or other karate-related) training at another school may apply for membership and enter the general classes directly, assuming space is available. The rank at which they start practice will be determined by the senior instructors. Often this will be at least the next lower belt rank to that which they have earned elsewhere.

Persons with black-belt rank from another club or school are evaluated for entry rank by the senior instructors. The highest rank to be considered for these persons is 1st Kub (brown belt with black stripe). At a minimum, such persons must qualify in the four phases of the Advanced Self-Defense Program and demonstrate proficiency in the required Taeguek forms. Recertification will be recognized by award of the rank of 1st dan from the school.

Members must be covered by their own medical insurance that will cover costs of possible injury in association with school training, and must be members of the Recreation and Welfare Association.

Liability Waiver

Clothing and Protective Gear

Hygiene and Health Policy

Persons that are sero-positive for HIV must report the fact to the senior instructor. Precautions will be explained to, and required of the student. This information is confidential. Fingernails and toenails must be trimmed to avoid injury to self and others. Jewelry is not to be worn, as this is also a potential source of injury. Shoes are never worn in the training hall (dojang).

Enter the dojang in bare feet. You must wear shoes or sandals outside of the dojang at all times, including in the locker room (while changing, etc.), and when taking water breaks. The purpose extends beyond tradition - it is to keep the surface of the mat clean.

Accidents

Report any injury to the senior instructor. An accident report is to be completed by the senior ranking person present as soon as possible following an accident. School philosophy, training and instruction standards minimize risk of injury and are to be understood and followed. Most common injuries in training result from overexertion, lack of attention to instruction, or by failure to warm-up and stretch properly. If you feel at risk of injury in any situation, disengage from the exercise and request advice from an instructor.

Warm-up and Practice

Members are encouraged to arrive early prior to the formal training session for individualized warm-up, stretching, and practice (forms, one-step sparring, self-defense, mat work, etc.). The dojang is open at 5pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The formal classes on these days start at 6pm. The Saturday class starts at 10:30am and includes warm-up exercises.

Persons wishing to train in the dojang, outside of the scheduled classes, must receive permission from the chief instructor to do so, and must restrict such training to techniques specifically taught in class or to techniques reviewed and approved by the chief instructor prior to engaging in such practice.

The Malone Center is located in the 4th basement level, C-wing of NIH building 31.