Welcome

NOTE: if Plano ISD is closed for weather related issues,  Ahn's TKD is closed.


Ahn's Plano Tae Kwon Do extends you a very warm virtual welcome!  If you are in search of an authentic, hard-core martial arts school then you have just found one of the best


Ahn's Plano Tae Kwon Do was the first martial arts school in Plano, TX; opening in 1986.

Master Ahn Breaks.mp4

Master Ahn in Action

Click the image to the left to watch Master Chun Ahn demonstrate a self-held, open-handed break of four boards.  Self-held breaking is one of the most difficult breaking methods, requiring unparalleled focus, speed, and precision.  Very few people can match this display of power and skill.

The main elements to consider when trying to determine if a martial arts school is “right” for you are the instructors, the overall instructional philosophy, and the style of martial arts offered.


INSTRUCTORS

Grandmaster Ye Mo Ahn

Master Chun Ahn

Overall Instructional Philosophy

Authentic:

When he established Ahn’s Tae Kwon Do (Ahn's TKD), Grandmaster Ye Mo Ahn replicated the instructional style that he received in Seoul, Korea in the 1950s -1960's from one of the primary founding fathers of Tae Kwon Do (i.e., Grandmaster Hwang Kee).  You cannot get any closer to the source than that without traveling back in time to 1950s - 1960's Seoul, Korea.  If you enroll at Ahn’s TKD it will not be to simply study martial arts.  It will be a commitment on your part to receive Tae Kwon Do training as it was originally designed and taught by Tae Kwon Do's founding fathers.  On the Videos and Photos page you can watch a video of how Tae Kwon Do was first practiced in Seoul, Korea in the 1960s. 


When you evaluate any martial arts school, a degree of skepticism is warranted.  Far too many individuals illegitimately declare themselves as black belts, or even as grandmasters, in order to open up a martial arts school and attract students.  Fortunately, these con artists are easy to spot if you know what to look for.  Ask the main instructor where he / she received training and what international governing body granted him / her rank.  All legitimate black belts display their rank certifications, granted by an official international governing body, in public view (usually prominently displayed in their studio). Using an Internet search engine you can not only determine what the international governing body is for a given martial arts style but you can also see what an official rank certificate looks like.  In the case of Tae Kwon Do, Kukkiwon is the international governing that grants rank.


Hard-Core:

A black belt cannot be obtained easily or quickly at Ahn’s Tae Kwon Do (Ahn’s TDK).  You should pass on Ahn’s TKD if you are not prepared to work hard and to challenge yourself on multiple levels.  Over the years, Ahn’s TKD has successfully trained a wide variety of individuals possessing varying levels of physical ability - some with limited mobility.  With practice and dedication, virtually anyone can achieve a respectable degree of proficiency in the art of Tae Kwon Do. 

Students at Ahn's TKD are challenged on many levels such as aerobic conditioning, complex kicking techniques, sparring, and the development of the focus / technique necessary to smash through solid objects.  Ahn’s TKD’s safety record is second to none.  However, make no mistake about it, Ahn’s TKD provides instruction in one of the most lethal martial arts, not in dance.  Over a multi-year journey towards black belt rank, there will be a few minor bumps and bruises along the way.  This is unavoidable unless you select a school at which you can avoid all of the "blood, sweat, and tears" necessary to become a "bona fide" black belt.  Easy martial arts schools, in which you can quickly obtain a black belt, are not hard to find.  Ahn’s TKD is definitely NOT one of them.


Instructing Children vs. Adults:

Ahn's Tae Kwon Do (Ahn's TKD) instructs adults separately from children.  The same basic instruction is provided to both, however children receive a few extra instructional elements designed to instill and to reinforce structure, respect, and confidence.  At certain times children's classes engage in games / activities designed to improve physical and mental skills; each of these activities have a direct martial arts application.  


The progress and developmental needs of every single child is constantly monitored.  Ahn's TKD's safety record is second to none.   The health, safety, and well-being of each and every child is the top priority of every instructor. All Ahn’s TKD studios contain a comfortable observation room from which parents are encouraged to view their children during class.  Additionally, Ahn’s TKD instructors welcome and encourage a constant dialogue with parents regarding their children's progress and overall developmental needs, be these needs martial arts related or not.


Martial Arts Tournaments:

Ahn’s Tae Kwon Do (Ahn's TKD) has produced champions at both the state level (i.e., 32 Texas champions) and the national level (i.e., 17 USA champions).  After more than a decade of heavy involvement in the tournament circuit, Ahn's TKD has chosen to reduce its emphasis on and its involvement in tournaments.  The point has been proven - Ahn's TKD students can compete with anyone, at any level, and will win more often than not.  Unfortunately, modern tournament sparring has simply digressed too far from what was originally intended by the founding fathers of Tae Kwon Do.  If you were to observe a tournament sparring match today you would see two individuals bouncing up and down, in very close proximity to one another, attempting to be the first to "touch" the other with a foot.  Points are awarded to ineffectual techniques and the combat strategy necessary to win a tournament sparring bout would be of very little help to you in a "real world" self-defense situation.  


Sparring at Ahn's TKD is consistent with the original intent of Tae Kwon Do's founding fathers.  Ahn's TKD uses sparring to teach students how to effectively defend themselves in a "real world" self-defense situation.  However, instruction in tournament style fighting is available to Ahn's TKD students who care to participate in tournaments.

Style

Martial arts schools can be found in virtually every city around the world. Across these martial arts schools you will find instruction in a wide variety of styles.  The styles that most people associate with the phrase "martial arts" are the ones that originated in China, Japan and Korea.  Generally speaking, martial arts styles can be grouped into two broad categories: hard styles and soft styles.  


Hard styles meet an attacker’s force with direct force; that is “head on.”  Hard style techniques are predominately characterized by linear movements and brute force blocking / striking.  Soft styles involve merging with and redirecting the force of an attacker so as to gain advantage.  This merging and redirecting usually involves circular, non-linear movements that require a great deal of skill and precision to employ.  With soft styles, success hinges on maintaining superb balance and using mechanical leverage / advantage to great effect.  Individuals of smaller stature often find more success employing soft styles rather than hard styles.  However, with sufficient practice any individual can gain skill in and successfully employ any given style.  In reality, most martial arts styles incorporate a wide variety of techniques and are not 100% completely hard or soft.  


Ahn’s Tae Kwon Do provides instruction in Tae Kwon Do.  Tae Kwon Do is a hard style martial art that originated in Korea in the 1940s. However, as with all things in life, it is not quite that simple.  Click to read more about the history of Tae Kwon Do.

Final Thoughts

Why would you want to begin training at Ahn's Tae Kwon Do (Ahn's TKD), or any other martial arts school for that matter?  Perhaps you want to improve your aerobic conditioning or you want to learn how to defend yourself / friends / family should the need arise.  Maybe you've always been drawn to martial arts and you just don't quite know why.  You are reading this page right now for a reason, even if you can't articulate that reason.  You can continue to be someone who "would have" or "should have" or "could have."  Or you can wake up and realize that its time to do this thing.  Make it easy on yourself... list out all of the pros and all of the cons for starting martial arts training.  If, after careful thought, the pros side of your list outweighs the cons side, then just do it!  Take control and just do it!  

The general public is welcome at any Ahn's TKD studio location.  No appointment is required.  All studios have comfortable observation rooms with plenty of available seating.  There is usually a small group of people, mostly parents, observing a class in session.  You are more than welcome to observe and you will not be bothered.  The instructor will be busy teaching class so you will need to wait until class is over if you would like to speak with an instructor.  Review the Ahn's TKD class schedule.

If you are interested but just not 100% sure that you are ready to commit, then take advantage Ahn's TKD introductory program offer.  For $30 you will receive two, twenty minute semi-private lessons.  This introductory program allows you to learn a few basic techniques as well as gain a general feel for martial arts instruction at Ahn's TKD.  Contact an instructor today to set up your two introductory lessons.