About Us

Getting started and choosing a school

Finding a martial arts school is easy –finding a good school is difficult. “Belt Factories” are simply schools that give belts to students as long as the student is paying tuition, regardless of their ability to perform the required skills. Some schools test all their students every couple of months. Every student is different and will require personal attention and care in order to advance to the next belt level when they are ready.

Lakewood Ranch Taekwondo Academy has not watered down or changed the traditional requirements for achieving a black belt. Most schools today give black belts to students before they are truly ready. These schools have changed time and physical requirements for belt advancement to better suit the lifestyle Americans live today: everything fast and now! Receiving the coveted black belt will take at least 4 years if training is not interrupted.

About Taekwondo

Taekwondo is the Korean art of self defense. Literally translated it means foot, hand, and art; however it is much more than kicking and punching. It is a way of life which includes physical and mental discipline and a philosophy for life. Through Taekwondo, all practitioners benefit in the following ways:

  • Physically – by developing coordination and a strong body
  • Mentally – by building self confidence, self control, and developing good judgment
  • Philosophically – by learning to respect others, being honest, and standing up for those in need

About Chang Moo Kwan

The Chang Moo Kwan is one of 12 other Kwan systems, or houses, that form the collective art of TaeKwonDo. Though all collectively identifiable as TaeKwonDo, each of the Kwan systems represents a specific style of the art. These stylistic differences usually take the form of minor changes in the set-up or execution of certain techniques and which poomse (or forms) are practiced. Some of the Kwan systems date back to the original Royal families of feudal Korea, while others have been created within the last few decades. The Chang Moo Kwan was founded by Supreme Grand Master Nam Suk Lee following the Korean War, and it is in this style that Grandmaster Craig Balliette has trained in for the majority of his life.