City of Ames, IA Healthy Living With Nancy Shaw, 9 Apr 2014

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From YouTube: Healthy Living with Nancy Shaw

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Learn about the Taekwondo classes offered through Ames Parks and Recreation.

A

Hi I'm Nancy Shah, with healthy living today, our guest is Aaron carpenter, hi Erin. Thank you for joining us. Hey Nancy, Aaron oversees the Ames, Parks and Recreation Taekwondo program, which is a very popular program correct. It is yes, so why do people take Taekwondo? What what do they get out of a class? There's.

B

Lots of reasons um for one it's a fun workout very.

A

B

Adults and then for kids, a lot of them will take it for they get into it for self-defense, or they want to be a ninja turtle. Yes or power rangers right cool like that, huh um but they sometimes parents want to enroll their kids to boost their confidence and their self-esteem. Their parents want them to learn respect. Yes,.

A

Respect is a big part of type line. It.

B

Is and it's one of the very first things we teach is how to show respect for people and we practice being polite. They like to learn the kicking and the punching and.

A

B

Have fun a lot of kids will pull their friends into class with them. So then they get to do activities with friends that maybe they wouldn't get to do in school right.

A

And it's a good activity away from the school: it's not a sport at the school, so for kids, we're looking for something they, you know don't like basketball or soccer, and they want to do something else. It's a great way for them to it's really.

B

Good for kids that don't thrive in a team sport right.

C

B

Its individual, the classes are group and training. A lot of it happens in groups, so they still learn cooperation skills. Oh definitely,.

A

B

Success is dependent on them right.

A

It's completely.

B

Individual right.

A

Now I was able to take Taekwondo for a few years with my daughter, which was great. It was a great sport to do with. Actually both my daughters ended up doing it. What we did it together so do we, you see a lot of that right here.

B

Yeah and he's doing it together: parents and kids doing it together: um I have moms and children and dads and their sons, moms and daughters, moms.

C

B

All through the class so there's some great role models in our advanced class and then some brand-new ones, actually a lot of new ones and the beginner class. Sometimes even kids, start it. And then parents see how much fun they're having right.

A

And they say very watch, they decide they might as well. Just join in I know I've known some some parents who have done that after they've watched a year or two they decide just did start of themselves yeah. So what is a typical Taekwondo class of quite well.

B

We start out with warmups, um kids, don't need a warm-up, but it's a good habit to Frank exactly start out with a warm up and then we do hand. Techniques punching blocking were Constance's, developing those legs muscles and core. Then we move on to kicking mm-hmm.

C

B

Kicking eventually getting up into more advanced kicking. We also practice forms which are set set of patterns that they have to memorize one step sparring, which is basic self-defense techniques right we'll do a little cooldown, and sometimes we do something fun. If the class is really good, we might play a game or we'll sit into a breathing exercise and cool down together and.

A

I remember the challenges: sometimes you throw on challenges and like a balance, challenge yeah and.

B

Those are really good and I'm one leg. The last yeah I remember that very well, I usually didn't win. Those things are better fun, yeah, still they're developing coordination and balance right right.

A

So at our program parks and recreation program, we have three different classes: correct, beginner, intermediate and advanced those meet tuesdays and thursdays at the Ames middle school in the wrestling room and then sundays. We have an all levels class but going back to the beginner intermediate advanced. So where where's the point when you move from beginner to intermediate and etc so.

B

Everyone starts out and begin our class as a white belt. Right and after they have learned a basic set of skills. They test for their yellow belt and they move up to intermediate class. And then things get harder right and.

C

B

Do more complicated techniques and we have a higher level of standard for how well they have to perform, and then they move up a few more ranks and then once they've sort of mastered their intermediate skills. We move up to advanced class okay and then we throw the rest of it at them right so.

A

How long, especially as a beginner, how long? Usually before you test and move on to your your next belt, your.

C

B

Belt yeah, it depends. Sometimes it will take a few months, sometimes six months. It depends on the student right.

A

B

It's when they learn the material and they're.

C

A

B

It depends on how often they come to class at the gun once a week, it's going to take longer if they take it two or three times a week. It'll take maybe a couple months and then.

A

The Sunday class, as I mentioned, is all levels class which is really important because the the upper ranks help the younger ranks.

B

A

A really neat class to have you have all sorts of Ages, all sorts of levels and everybody works together and yeah.

B

It's good for everybody, it, the the newer students, get to watch the more advanced students and copy them, and then the more advanced students get to help the lower students right so that they learn teaching skills right and.

A

They get to see what's what's to come if they stay in tech, Hannah.

C

A

I thought was always really encouraging as a.

C

A

Belt and so then also on Sundays after following the all levels class, we have a new class that we just started this last year. It's a competition class which has been really successful, really.

B

Yeah I love taekwondo competition and then my husband has also one of our instructors he's sort of we balance each other. We have different sort of points of view on the competitions, so I specialize in one area and he specializes in the other and we switch off every other week. That's great! That's a great situation, but it the students really love it. That we've really noticed much more improvement and the students that come to the competition class just in their everyday class because they get a little more personal instruction.

B

We go over a little bit more detail than we're able to in the larger groups and they have arrived competition.

A

It's in really really good to see the numbers grow and the interest that people have in in the competition class. So when people go to taekwondo, what do they? Where do they go? Do they need to have a uniform before they go or.

B

um They somebody could show up just in a workout clothes, comfortable clothes dresses, no dresses um that then before they go to test for their yellow belt. They'll have to have a uniform right.

A

And they purchase that from you, so that's taken care of. They don't have to go finding the right, uniform, rec center now and then the belts they get as they test. Yes right and what about testing? What what usually takes place in a testing I know: I was always so nervous before testing, but they weren't. So bad. No.

B

What testing is just like class, except that there's a panel of black belt judges watching you right.

C

A

B

A little nervous.

A

So you have to perform what.

B

You know, but under a little bit of stress what.

C

Stress is good uh-huh, it's good and where do the testings take place we take. We do them in Iowa State. So it's really convenient.

A

Here in town and the instructors, let the participants know when they're ready to test so yeah. It's a really good good situation. As far as having that here in town to go to so I know with martial arts or some misconceptions out there, they're armed I. Think so. Can you talk.

B

A little bit about that well, I know when I was a little kid. I totally wanted to be a ninja turtle, power ranger right.

A

B

Of thing and I want to take martial arts and I didn't get to, because my parents thought that it was going to be violent. That I would just become more effective at beating up my younger brother and sister, but it's not it's really the opposite. The very first thing that we teach kids is how to show respect. Yes,.

A

B

Work together and cooperate, it's sort of the misconception of the it'll promote violence is actually the opposite and there's research to back that up that students who study martial arts are less likely to hurt another person and they're more likely to step in to help someone else, who's being mistreated right.

A

And I remember that from the classes, just the how respect was taught and how it was focused so much it was just you know as I did it with my kids. It was just such a neat thing to see it happen constantly through every class that you took so and they learned to respect teachers and older people and yeah other kids. So yeah, that's a really really good point to make about martial arts, because people do think you dont worry yeah. They worried it's all about the hitting.

C

A

Of it, so we have taekwondo classes to parks and recreation. We offer them Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at the Ames middle school, in their wrestling room and Aaron and Dave oversee the program. So people have questions and are interested in the program. They can always contact us at Ames parks and recreation and and we can have them contact you. We.

B

Also have a little little website and Facebook if they want to check us out. That's right. That's.

A

Right so Aaron I know one of the the main forms that we all learn right from the beginning of Taekwondo is Quito elbow, mm-hmm, I, still kind of remember it, but I was wondering if you could show our audience Quito apples, so they could see what you do when you do a form. Absolutely.

C

A

A

That was great to see it's very impressive. How sharp your your punches in your case.

C

A

So, thank you so much for joining us today. This is very informative about Taekwondo and parks and recreation program. If you are interested in learning more, you may contact me at 239, 53, 53 or check out all our programs online at Ames park. Rec org, Thank, You Erin for joining us. Welcome and I'm, going to shell with healthy living and remember it's never too late to get fit.