Hawkeye Tae Kwon Do also offers a rich youth program, designed to pass on the benefits of the martial arts to children five and over.  Martial arts can be extremely helpful to a child as he or she develops both mentally and physically.  Tae Kwon Do can improve a child's motor skills, coordination, and strength, as well as overall fitness.  Tae Kwon Do can teach a child how to defend him/herself, both physically and mentally, from bullies and peer pressure.

However, the physical gains are far outweighed by the mental ones.  Tae Kwon Do teaches children to have respect for their parents and authority figures.  It gives them an improved ability to concentrate, thus helping in their schoolwork.  It imparts a high degree of self-respect.  It teaches children to take responsibility for their actions.  It enhances their leadership abilities while imbuing them with a desire to set and achieve goals.  Also, for all of its reputations as a fighting art, Tae Kwon Do teaches children how to defeat a bully without fighting.

At Hawkeye Tae Kwon Do we teach both children and adults alike that the most important part of the martial arts is a positive mental attitude.  This positive attitude brings about a  "yes I can" philosophy in our students and a will to persevere, in both Tae Kwon Do and in life, and achieve their goals.

For children especially, the teaching of self-discipline is second most important.  Discipline as it relates to children can be described in three ways.  Children with no discipline will not do what they are told.  Children who are disciplined will do what they are told to do.  Children who have self-discipline will do what they know is right without being told.

Part of self-discipline is respect.  Students of Tae Kwon Do are taught to call their instructors and seniors "sir" or "ma'am" from their very first class.  They are taught to bow to their instructors and to each other as a means of showing respect.  They are also expected to show their respect by remembering the names of their instructors, which is an important social skill as children move through their school years.

The ultimate goal of any martial arts student is to earn the rank of Black Belt.  This quest can take many years.  For a young child, this kind of forward thinking and goal setting is not a common practice.  The Martial Arts understand this and thus have a system of colored belts that a student works towards while ultimately striving for the Black Belt.  This helps children learn to set high goals and work hard to achieve them while also giving them lesser goals to achieve, and be awarded for, in the mean time.  The ability to stay focused on one's goals even through rough times ties into the "indomitable spirit" tenet of Tae Kwon Do.

Hawkeye Tae Kwon Do youth classes are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30 - 6:30 in room S507 of the University of Iowa Fieldhouse.  Classes are open to children five and older.  New students are welcome to try the first couple of classes to see if they want to join or just sit back and watch.  First time students should wear loose fitting clothes such as a t-shirt and sweat pants to class.  Parents are also welcome to stay and watch class.