About Three Rivers Martial Arts
The martial art we primarily practice at Three Rivers Martial Arts is Tang Soo Do. Tang Soo Do has its origins in South Korea, but like many martial arts, is really a mixture of influences from many different parts of the world. To borrow from my old teacher, Master Fawcett, we like to call what we do at Three Rivers Martial Arts Tang Soo Do Plus. It isn't strictly traditional Tang Soo Do, after all, there are elements of boxing, kickboxing, aikido, judo, and other martial arts included. We do a lot of striking in our classes, meaning throwing punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. In addition, we do some flipping, throwing, grappling, and joint manipulation techniques, along with weapons training with the staff, nunchaku, and dagger.
Students at our school will learn to defend themselves from attack if ever necessary using the techniques we teach here. More importantly, they can learn to never put themselves into situations where they would need to by learning to pay attention to the world around them. In addition, students can improve their flexibility, coordination, balance, and physical fitness level through training here, an excellent form of cross-training for other athletic endeavors and excellent for an overall healthy lifestyle. Improvement is also seen in the levels of self-confidence, self-discipline, and self-control of our students, personality traits that prove helpful in many aspects of life, from school or the workplace and beyond.
Students at our school will learn to defend themselves from attack if ever necessary using the techniques we teach here. More importantly, they can learn to never put themselves into situations where they would need to by learning to pay attention to the world around them. In addition, students can improve their flexibility, coordination, balance, and physical fitness level through training here, an excellent form of cross-training for other athletic endeavors and excellent for an overall healthy lifestyle. Improvement is also seen in the levels of self-confidence, self-discipline, and self-control of our students, personality traits that prove helpful in many aspects of life, from school or the workplace and beyond.
Karate Classes
What is a typical karate class at Three Rivers Martial Arts like? Well, there really is no typical class at our school, every class is different. There are a few things that are the same every class, though. We start every class with a prayer. I'm Christian, and pray to God and Jesus Christ. You don't have to be to train here. I ask every person in the class if they would like to pray about something, this is to help get the children used to speaking in front of a group of their peers. Afterward, we begin the class with a warm up that includes some dynamic movement and a variety of stretches, led by the instructor or one of the students. Then, the rest of class is largely determined by who is in class on a given night, the experience level of the students in class, and what they need to work on. We may practice our punches, kicks, and other strikes, work on jump kicks, practice rolls and falls, do self-defense techniques or forms, practice sparring or a variety of other things.
Self Defense Classes
We have Self Defense Classes for adults and teens on Saturday mornings. In addition to learning striking and grappling concepts and techniques useful in self defense situations, we also cover prevention and awareness. Since, if things get to a point where it's gotten physical, a series of mistakes has already been made.
