Classes

Kids Class (ages 3–6)

The goal here is simple: help young children enjoy moving their bodies. Classes are built around fitness and games, not belts or competitions. At this age we focus on basic fitness, balance and coordination, and there is no sparring.

Children can come for a trial from age 3. Every child develops at a different pace, so the coach will see whether your child is ready. If it's a little too early, we'll tell you honestly, and you're welcome to come back later.

Lai Kuan-yu, our head coach, holds a Level C early-childhood fitness instructor certificate. Coach Chen Yi-en, our female coach, specializes in teaching young children. Around the time they start elementary school, children move up to the Basic Class, taught by the same group of coaches.

When: Thursday 17:30–18:30 and Saturday 16:30–17:30. 60 minutes per class.

Basic Class (elementary school age and up, adults included)

If you've never done taekwondo, this is where you start. The Basic Class is mixed-age and designed for complete beginners. It covers three things:

• Fitness: building a solid physical base.
• Kicking: the full range of taekwondo kicks.
• Poomsae: forms, a fixed sequence of movements, like a routine.

You don't need to train every day. One of our coaches, Chen Yi-en, trained two or three times a week as an elementary school student. Ten years later, she became a coach here.

When: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 17:30–18:30 and 18:30–19:30. That's eight time slots a week. 60 minutes per class.

Weekend Class (elementary school age and up, adults included)

The Weekend Class teaches the same things as the Basic Class: fitness, kicking and poomsae. Only the time is different. It exists because many children here have cram school and other activities on weekdays and simply have no time to train.

It's also the class where families train together. Brothers and sisters share one time slot, so one drop-off covers everyone. Parents don't just wait on the side. They join in and train. One grandmother first came only to accompany her granddaughter, and later started training herself. She says taekwondo wasn't as scary as she expected, and that climbing stairs feels easier now.

When: Saturday and Sunday, 09:30–10:30 and 10:30–11:30. 60 minutes per class.

Advanced Class (black belt and pre-black belt)

Entry is based on belt, not age. You need a black belt or a pre-black belt, which is the rank just before black belt. Its belt is red with black ends. The same rule applies to children and adults. Complete beginners can't join directly and should start in the Basic Class or the Weekend Class.

Training is more intense than in the Basic and Weekend Classes, and students learn more advanced technique. At Yuan Power, it takes about three years on average to go from white belt to black belt. The real time depends on how often a student trains, the age they start, and whether each rank is properly learned.

When: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 19:30–21:00. 90 minutes per class.

Competition Team (by invitation)

You can't sign up for the Competition Team directly. Coaches invite students who show drive and potential in the Basic Class. Team members want to compete in sparring and aim to become serious athletes. Training covers sparring tactics and competition fitness in one continuous 150-minute session.

Competing is never required. Every student who enters a tournament does so by choice. Students who don't want to compete still move up in rank and get fit in the Basic and Weekend Classes. Nobody is pushed into competing.

When: Thursday 18:30–21:00. 150 minutes, one session.