Martial Arts FAQ: Your ATA Taekwondo Questions Answered

ATA Martial Arts, founded as the American Taekwondo Association in 1969 by Grand Master H. U. Lee, is a martial arts organization headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Licensed ATA schools teach a standardized Songahm Taekwondo curriculum with recognized instructor certification and rank.

Songahm Taekwondo is the style taught at ATA schools. Songahm means "pine tree and rock": students are compared to a pine tree growing from a seed (white belt) into a strong tree (black belt). Training includes forms, sparring, one-steps, self-defense, board breaking, weapons and leadership.

The ATA colored belt series has nine ranks: white, orange, yellow, camouflage, green, purple, blue, brown and red. After the colored belts comes the black belt series, which has nine degrees.

No. They are different martial arts. Taekwondo comes from Korea and is known for its powerful, dynamic kicks; karate comes from Okinawa and Japan. Our kids program is called Karate for Kids, but the art it teaches is Taekwondo.

Children can start as young as 4 in our ATA Tigers program. There's no upper age limit; adults have started with us as late as 65 and earned their black belts.

Tuition depends on the program and how often you train. Call (859) 694-0598 or send us a message and we'll walk you through the options.

Many parents see better listening, self-control and respect at home and school. Our kids programs reinforce a monthly character theme and reward good grades and behavior with Victory Stars.

We currently offer an online-only Web Special for new students. Contact us and we'll share the details.