My sons joined Blue Wave TKD in 2012 at ages 7 and 9. My younger son had seen a flyer and was curious to know what board breaking was all about. He was hooked from the first board break. After watching his brother attend a couple of classes the older one wanted to join too. Little did they know they were signing up for so much more than learning how to do those cool breaks. Both have grown from little boys to respectable leaders in and out of their Blue Wave School. Blue Wave has given them confidence, patience, responsibility and camaraderie. My boys have become confident in their ability to speak and perform in front of groups. They have learned patience by teaching other students. Both are responsible for their learning, their gear and their behavior. I am very impressed with the camaraderie in the Blue Wave Family. In TKD, you find children ages 6-18 learning together. Recently my boys have started attending some adult classes and are even helping to teach sword techniques to the adults! Through all of these classes they have truly become part of a group where they have great friends and mentors. Their group extends beyond their local school to the greater Blue Wave family. They are welcomed by other schools for extra training, tournaments and camps. I am very thankful that my son noticed that flyer four years ago and we were able to become part of the Blue Wave Family. I am proud to say that this spring, we had a demonstration night and my boys were the ones doing those amazing breaks that might have hooked in a new family.

Taekwondo has been one of the most important factors in my maturation process. I have dedicated countless hours throughout seven years of taekwondo, and every second of that work has been worth it. It has helped me develop skills that both have been and will be useful to me throughout my life. These skills include, but are not limited to: respect, perseverance, control (both mental and physical), unselfishness, and focus. Furthermore, doing taekwondo in Blue Wave specifically has opened me to a whole community of friends that has started to blend into family. I have been blessed to have great role models in all of the black belts of the organization as a whole and the Hanover gym in particular. I have also been blessed with the responsibility of being a role model to those I teach and practice with. In the beginning, I didn't really expect taekwondo to be a huge part of my life. Joining was a spur of the moment decision when I saw an advertisement for taekwondo classes posted in the Hanover Rec Center, and decided to fill the time I had just opened after I decided to quit soccer. Boy was I wrong. Taekwondo quickly went from being just a time-filler to being a huge chunk of my life. I went to every tournament I could, attended every class I was able to. Practicing taekwondo became a passion. My favorite part of taekwondo began to change when I was a red stripe. As a lower rank, taekwondo was all about me and what I could accomplish. Then, as I grew older and I got red on my belt, responsibilities came. I started to teach. Then, Master Hopkins opened a gym in Grantham, and I started to go to Grantham as much as possible to assist in the instruction of the new students there. I think Grantham was the tipping point in my taekwondo career -- taekwondo became less about me and more about the people I could help. Don't get me wrong -- my taekwondo practicing was still important to me, but it wasn't the only thing important to me anymore. As we near Summer Camp 2016, I am approaching a milestone in my taekwondo career. My first students that I helped teach from Day 1 as a white belt are testing for black belt. I can remember the amazing moment when I successfully tested for my black belt; I felt extremely proud of myself -- I'd made it! But the interesting thing is, with my first students becoming black belts, I feel more proud of them than I did for myself. And I say students, but that isn't a great word for them. They have become some of my best friends, kind of like the younger siblings I never had. Looking back on it, it is clear to me that taekwondo has made me a better person. Taekwondo has helped me discover who I am, it has helped me discover who I can become, and it has helped me discover who I want to become. The fluke decision to join taekwondo has become the best decision I've ever made.

How has TKD benefited you/your child? For my son Roy, TKD has been good for physical conditioning. TKD builds strength coordination and endurance. Also, It is a discipline which requires Learning techniques, practicing those techniques and then showing proficiency to advance to the next rank. The benefit to this is that the student can see how hard work and determination leads to promotion. It helps to define a good work ethic at a young age which can be carried for a lifetime. For myself I have benefited from TKD physical conditioning, it forces you to use muscles usually not utilized in everyday activity or even other sports. One big benefit is it is a sport we can do together. TKD has been a great experience. My instructor and fellow classmates have been very patient and helpful as I learn and progress. The physical aspects of TKD are demanding and help keep me fit.

Taekwondo has been beneficial to me in many different ways. Physically, it keeps me fit and flexible, and helps with my balance. It also helps me grow as a leader. Many times I teach others, which I rarely have the opportunity to do elsewhere. Finally, I have made many friends in Taekwondo that I would never have met otherwise. Taekwondo has been great for me and I will continue to do it for as long as I can.

Joining Blue Wave Tae Kwon Do is one of the best choices I have ever made. It has helped shape my life in so many ways. For starters, it introduced me to people I had almost never talked to before. I am rather close with some of my friends in Tae Kwon Do. It also helped my in academics, believe it or not. It taught me discipline, and patience. It emphasized the point of having to work hard for what you want in life, and not waiting for it to come to you. I have always wanted to be a black belt, and the tenacity that comes with reaching that goal is a great lesson in life. Tae Kwon Do has also helped me immensely in athletics. It increased my flexibility, my stamina, strength, and every possible thing that could have been improved. Tae Kwon Do is amazing. It is one of the greatest sports on this planet, and I am extremely happy to say that I am a part of Blue Wave.

Blue Wave Taekwondo has been an incredibly positive experience for not only our two boys that have been students of Master Hopkins' for 4 years now, but for the entire family as well! It is focused on respect for their fellow higher AND lower ranking students, their instructors and for their family and friends, too! The focus and determination by the students, and the support and dedication given by the instructors, is unparalleled. No other sport that my children have been involved in is as organized, respected or as fun as BLUE WAVE TAEKWONDO!

My daughter began Taekwondo classes in Grantham in April of 2012 when she was 9 years old. Now, just four years later, she is getting ready to test for her black belt and I couldn't be more proud. She has shown great dedication to this sport as she now attends classes in Hanover as well as in Grantham. Taekwondo has been good for her self confidence as well as teaching her how to set goals and focus on getting to those goals. I'm especially thankful for the self defense aspect that Taekwondo has given her. She has been to several tournaments in the last four years and has done well in competition. We are proud to be part of the Blue Wave family and have made many lifelong friends.

One of the aspects of TKD, specifically Blue Wave TKD, that I appreciate most as a parent is the supportive atmosphere. While students are working on their individual goals, the support from fellow students is very team-like and encouraging. That atmosphere, combined with the flexibility to pursue higher degree belts at the student's pace- taking time away if need be, or adding 3 classes per week, support both student and family. Finally, the instructor's commitment to his classes is unparalleled further supporting students' success.

When my son began with Blue Wave Tae Kwan Do, I was not sure how he would do. He has been in several sports and has not really found anything he liked. Since day one he was in love with tkd and Master Hopkins. The level of respect that he has for both tkd and Master Hopkins is huge. He began to study his poomse at home and wanted to do well to move belts. He is much more focused since beginning this and is in love with the sport. Blue Wave is something he will continue for a very long time.

Taekwondo has changed my life many ways. It was a great way for me to meet new people and to channel my strength. It was a great way to grow my strength and mind in a controlled way. I was so glad to be able to meet great instructors and make new friends. It’s helped me learn new things like, control, patience, and taekwondo helped me get better with strength, reflexes, and commitment. As I look back at the years I’ve done taekwondo, I realize that taekwondo has helped me through my daily life and tough times.

Our family's involvement with Blue Wave Taekwondo brings discipline, education, diversity, friendship, and fun as our kids journey through the ranks. The discipline exercised and history learned in every class is very different from other activities. In addition, the classes are filled with different ages, genders, interests, and backgrounds. Together, these provide great learning and diversity for all of us. We've enjoyed getting to know family members and everyone enjoys the fun events that are sprinkled in, as well. Overall, I am very proud to have my family involved in Blue Wave, learning and having lots of fun along the way!