Stoke Gifford Taekwon-do

May 3rd, 2022

Jun 30th, 2020

My children and I have been training at Stoke Gifford TKD for eight years now. I was looking for a martial arts club in my area and from the moment we arrived Miss Burridge and her students made us feel very welcome into what is a very family friendly environment. My initial reason for seeking out a martial arts club was simply for my son, then six years old, to learn how to defend himself in case he was ever bullied at school. The benefits of the training and guidance given by Miss Burridge since has proven to be so much more. Right from the start teachers in school began to notice an improvement in his concentration and confidence and it didn't take long for his sister, then four years old, to start nagging me until I let her join too. I soon followed, after witnessing how much they were enjoying themselves, and eight years on we have all reached black belt status with my son achieving 2nd degree and myself and my daughter 1st degrees. Miss Burridge's patience, understanding and dedication to sharing her knowledge has helped mould my children into respectful, mindful and confident individuals who thoroughly enjoy learning the skill of Taekwon-Do. They now even help to teach in the junior classes and love sharing what they have learnt. Miss Burridge has also trained them for competition and they have been placed numerous times in both patterns and sparring, but more importantly they know that in life there are times when you will win and times when you will lose and through their training, instruction and competing in TKD they have learnt how to deal with both, graciously. Miss Burridge's lessons are disciplined, physical and technical. She teaches in a fun and engaging way, encouraging both children and adults to grow and achieve at their own pace. One day the lesson may consist of a good workout through fitness training, the next the technical aspects of patterns or the many different techniques involved in sparring. However, the one common factor in all the lessons is that even when it is hard work we all have fun too! I feel very fortunate to have joined this club. It really does have a strong family atmosphere with many parents and children learning together and any individuals that come to join in soon become part of that family. There are usually several social activities organised throughout the year encouraging and reinforcing the bonds and friendships already developed in classes. If you want to learn some self defence, introduce your children to a sport that includes physical fitness and also teaches respect and self confidence, or just want to have a good workout whilst learning a skill, I can highly recommend Miss Burridge and Stoke Gifford Taekwon-Do.
Jan 4th, 2015