Students looking to brush up on their martial arts skills don’t need to look any further.

The TCU Taekwondo Club provides a place for students of any skill level to work on martial arts, Alissa Davis, senior church music major and club president, said.

“It’s open to anyone whether you’re beginner or black belt,” she said.

Davis said she joined the club because she had always wanted to do Taekwondo and the club was an easy way to get involved with it.

Cristie Carpenter, associate director of campus recreation programs, said Taekwondo was a good way to get some exercise.

“Anything that you can get out and do on your own and get a little cardiovascular workout is great,” Carpenter said. “Taekwondo is great for cardio as well as a little bit of strength bearing.”

Junior political science major Michael Yoakum said he joined the club on a whim his freshman year, but has gained a lot out of it. He has gotten in better shape and it has helped him with time management.

“I guess it’s a good time commitment,” he said. “It sort of helped me manage my schedule back when I was a freshman, and I’ve learned how to balance that with going to class too.”

Davis said the club meets twice a week at Javier Sanchez’s Taekwondo Institute in Fort Worth, but you can go any time you want as a member.

“When you join the Taekwondo Club, it’s for unlimited classes,” she said. “You can go any day of the week. It’s very individualized. It’s very flexible with everybody’s schedule.”

The club has not competed in many competitions recently but they hoped to get that back on the schedule, Davis said. There are a few local tournaments the club is looking at participating in as well as nationals in May.

Yoakum said he had not participated in any tournaments but had learned a lot through the club.

“I’ve learned how to kick, how to defend myself,” he said. “I guess I’ve just learned how to make myself work for it, the determination to get that black belt.”

Carpenter said the self-defense Taekwondo teaches was a wonderful ability to have. 

The university offers a one hour credit Taekwondo class during the semester taught by Sanchez. Davis said the class and the club both focused on beginner techniques, but the club goes into detail on progressing from belt to belt.