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Tae Kwon Do Center expands

By Chloe Johnson

Staff Intern



WILBRAHAM Similar to the expression, "something old, something new," the US Tae Kwon Do Center on Parker St. in Springfield is opening a second new location on 28 Stony Hill Rd. in Wilbraham in March.

"With the size of our current building and an increase in student enrollment, we needed a bigger space," said Ken Goodrich, manager of US Tae Kwon Do.

And a bigger space is just what the US Tae Kwon Do Center found with their purchase of the new location in Wilbraham. Sitting on five acres of land, their 14,000 square foot building offers more than just a larger space.

"Space wise, this new location just accommodates more but it also has a swimming pool, a soccer and baseball field, and a picnic area," Goodrich said. "It's a great location."

According to Goodrich, other Tae Kwon Do centers in the area don't offer the same benefits as US Tae Kwon Do. Besides having a new facility, bigger space, and an outdoor swimming pool, US Tae Kwon Do offers transportation for their students from their schools. US Tae Kwon Do also has one of the few certified 7th degree black belt instructors, Master Kyung Won Kim.

"Master Kyung Won Kim is the president of the Mass State Tae Kwon Do Federation, was the head coach of the USA National Team, and was also a USA Olympic Team Coach who brought several athletes to the Sidney Olympics," Goodrich said. "That's another benefit we have that others don't."

The US Tae Kwon Do Center has been in business for 15 years and offers an after-school program, a summer program, as well as kickboxing and fitness training.

"We're working on increasing our student enrollment and bringing in more students from Ludlow and Wilbraham. We want to give back to the community and our ultimate goal is to expand Tae Kwon Do from being just a sport to a way of life. It's more than a sport it's a lifestyle," Goodrich said.

US Tae Kwon Do hopes to hold their grand opening March 11. The first 100 students to register will get a free month of class, and a free uniform, Goodrich said.

"We're now taking registration for classes and for our summer program," he added.

For more information or to pre-register, call 796-1400.