Hapkido Tigers is aimed for young people who want to learn martial arts and self-defence while also gaining the benefits of regular martial arts training. These include greater self-confidence, strength, flexililty and social skills.
The Hapkido Tigers programme aims to develop your child or children into a
Junior Hapkido Black Belt. There are 8 belt grades to work through on this journey which takes
3 - 4 years to complete. These grades mirror the first 3 adult Hapkido grades but includes other material to develop excellence in core martial arts skills like kicking and throwing techniques.
The Junior Hapkido Black Belt is a black belt with the student's name embroidered on it in white. It is not a full black belt as even the most talented junior student will have difficulty in dealing with a fully grown adult attacker in a self-defence situation. However, it rewards the time and effort that a junior student has put into their training.
The Hapkido Tigers Junior Hapkido Black Belt provides an ideal platform to develop the skills to eventually attain an adult Black Belt which we don't normally award to students until they are at least 15 years old.
We run two Hapkido Tigers classes. The first is for new students. The second is for our established students. We find that we can give each group more instructor attention if we split them.
Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays - Tigers Foundation Class (4.30 PM to 5.10 PM)
This is for all new Tigers students (White Belts) and the junior Tigers grades (Yellow and Blue Belts). This class focuses on developing core martial arts and self-defence skills. The class also caters to the needs of the new student which is mostly building self-confidence and physical skills. We also cover strategies for dealing with bullying and when it is appropriate to use the self-defence skills that they are being taught.
Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays - Tigers Advanced Class (5.10 PM to 5.50 PM)
This is for established Tigers students (Single Red Tips and above). This class focuses on building on the core martial arts and self-defence skills developed in the Foundation Class to develop the skills required to attain Junior Black Belt. There is also a life-skills component to this class where we cover the meaning behind the martial arts values and how to apply them in everyday life.
Transition to Teen and Adult Hapkido
Regardless of their Tiger grade, we find that most students want to move up to either the Teen or Adult Hapkido classes at around ages 12 - 13. The Adult Hapkido class is harder than a Tiger class but through experience we have developed a number of mechanisms that allow students an almost seemless tranistion into their new class.