Yi Sport Tae Kwon Do

Eight years ago, my son turned six. With so much energy that he had, swimming was not enough for him so I started looking for one or two more sport activities to keep him busy. After a few months searching, I found one Karate training program at the YMCA. There were about 10 kids in this class. It ran from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm everyday. The instructor usually came to the class 10 or 15 minutes late. It didn more

Yi Sport Tae Kwon Do has great coaches, students, and community. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted warmly and embraced into the community. Our son was given a great gift: the understanding that his Warrior nature was something to be treasured, honed, and disciplined rather than something to be buried. I've loved watching my son grow from a schoolyard brawler to a respectful, observant, caring, and disciplined sport fighter. Located in the Central District, it's easy to get to, and the community is very diverse. The coaching is both exacting and encouraging. Kids as young as 3 can train here. Classes for children and adults are broken into age groups: 3-5, 5-8, 8-13, 14 and up. Adults and teens have beginning, advanced, and competition team classes. There is also a fantastic women's class weekday mornings. My son started when he was five, and just before he turned six, I started in the women's class, because I was so excited by the training my kid was getting. All levels fight each other, so that higher belts help encourage and train lower belts, and lower belts learn to fight and think like higher belts quickly. Most of the kids train 3-5 times a week, so the kids get to know each other and their grownups do, too. There is a study/ work/ conversation area for people who are waiting for their class to begin or for their kids to be finished, where kids and parents form community. Many kids come directly from school and do their homework before their class begins. There are also bleachers where people can observe classes in progress. Our family feel like Yi Sport has become our expanded family. Yi Sport is not a black belt factory. Students work hard and long to earn their next belts, and it shows at tournaments. Even at lower belt levels, Yi Sport competitors consistently out-fight and out-smart their opponents. Whether you are looking for exercise, mental discipline, or sport fight training, Yi Sport is a great place to be. more

Yi Sport TKD has been a wonderful experience for my family. Even though only one of my children currently receives instruction, my entire family feels as though we all belong to the school, as the teachers are as concerned for ""non-members"" as they are for the participants. Since my son began taking lessons last fall, his strength, coordination, and confidence have increased dramatically. Prone to feelings of anxiety, he tells me that he now ""feels more calm inside."" The teachers at Yi Sport Tae Kwon Do are like additional parents, friends, counselors and no-nonsense coaches all rolled into one. If you need strength, discipline and friendship, try Yi Sport TKD. Pros: Great teachers, great students Cons: No AC in the summer more

To start off I just want to give my utmost respect to Lionel Lee, aka Coach Lee for teaching my son and the rest of the Yi Sport Family, the art of this wonderful Martial art. You are truly a wonderful person and mentor for all these kids. My son has only been doing TKD about 4 months now and it has done a lot for him, from building his confidence to teaching him how to treat others and respect others. I could go on and on about what it has done for him and sure it has done for others like him. One thing I like is the fact that he works with each individual kid and there own skill levels to work with. Another thing you really have to earn your belts they are not just given to you like other places do. The school itself and all the kids in it are just like a family all of there own. They all help and support each other in ways not very many Martial arts schools do. If someone needs help with something they really all come together to help that person out to get what they need to get it done. Coach Lee knows every kids by name and what there strengths and weaknesses are either in sparing or the daily activities that are done. That is very impressive to me cause most coaches don't really focus that much on each persons individual strengths and weaknesses. I could just write on and on about so much it is just to hard to describe it. You have to come in and check it out for yourself. It is truly an amazing experience for you or or children to try out.. Again thank you Coach Lee for all that you do and teach our children. You are truly and inspiration... Your Friend Pros: Self defense, Self control, Confidence, to much to list.. Cons: Nothing!!! more

Yi Sport Taekwondo is well organized and detail oriented when it comes to training, at this school there is a method to training and a metric to identify growth. Coach Lee and his staff know every student by name, individual strengths and areas for improvement. He tracks all statistics for his competition team and identifies potential threats to each competitor. Pros: Overall Excellence more

If you're looking to get your kids into martial arts - for exercise, for confidence, for self-defense, or for sports competition Yi Sport is the right place. We started our kids in taekwondo at another school. It didn't take long before we were getting pressured to prepay thousands of dollars to get them a black belt in 3-4 years. This maybe a common business model in martial arts, but we found it distasteful, especially the underlying premise that our goal in participating was just getting to a black belt. Pros: Best competitive school in town, good for all skill levels more

We chose Yi Sport not sure if we wanted our son (then 5 years old) to attend a sport-oriented martial arts school over a traditional dojang. Without question, we made the right choice. At Yi Sport, there is a great balance of competition skill building with mind-body development. Since joining the school, I have watched my son?s athleticism, strength and speed improve. But more importantly, his self-esteem and body-confidence have grown exponentially. He carries himself more assuredly, his interest in other sports has grown, and he truly enjoys both the art and the competition aspects of Tae Kwon Do. The ethnic and socio-economic diversity at Yi Sport is unmatched by any other school we have seen, which is important given our family composition and values. We couldn?t be happier with our membership at Yi Sport. My son has found a successful team, a group of demanding and caring mentors, and strong community. Pros: excellent competition team, firm but fair instructors, great community Cons: none, really...but expect contact sparring more

As a competitive Tae Kwon Do practitioner for 15 yrs I have competed in Korea, Puerto Rico, Canada and across the U.S. During this time I have experienced a wide range of coaching styles. None of these however hold a candle to the intensity and love for the sport of Tae Kwon Do that Coach Lee at YI Sport Tae Kwon Do possesses. more

Yi Sport has the highest level of sport Taekwondo trainning you can get in washington state. I have been doing Taekwondo for 14 years and when I saw that washington state had a school that was interested in the developement of athletes and not just being a Black belt factory I had to write a review. At Yi Sport I don't see just martial artist because they train like world class athletes on every level as low as the 4 year olds to as high as the adults. The leadership is Contagious and reflect within each student. If I had a child I would give him or her a chance to enjoy the same things I do about Taekwondo at Yi Sport. Pros: thumbs up more

The best of the best! Our son began tae kwon do when he was 5 years old at another school. At the time we didn't realize the huge differences that existed between one school and another. Our first school lacked leadership, organization & focus. The kids were advanced in belts rapidly without the foundation of the fundamental skills. The school was more like a tae kwon do recreational center with expensive fees. Pros: Best coaches/mentors around Cons: NONE!!! more

We moved to Seattle a year ago and found this gem of a place. It was the kind of Tae Kwon Do school that we thought we could only dream up. We wanted a place that would help us continue to build strength, ambition, and self confidence in our kids. We wanted our kids to develop physical, mental, and emotional skill and strength. We wanted our kids to feel they were a part of a diverse and cohesive group. We wanted them to find leaders who cared deeply about them and who not only believed in them but lead them to a place where they believed in themselves. We wanted to find a community of people who shared these dreams. We found it at Yi Sport in the indomitable spirit of the leaders, Coach Lee, Coach Sarah, and all of the other dedicated members. more

If you're looking to get your kids into martial arts - for exercise, for confidence, for self-defense, or for sports competition - you've found the right place (Yi Sport has adult classes as well, but I can only comment on their youth programs). Pros: Coaching staff; Curriculum; Diversity; Suportive atmosphere more

I have been looking for a taekwondo school for 6 years. Yi Sport Taekwondo is exactly what I wanted. It not only does the traditional training you would expect from a TKD school, but adds a whole new dimention to it that I have never experieced before. I have being doing TKD for 12 years, and for the first time I actually making improvements in areas that I could never have dreamt of. My speed, strength and endurance are better now than when I was a teenager. Pros: Atmosphere, cushion flooring, easy parking and access, price, kid friendly, 2 thumbs up Cons: Small training facility, traffic accross the floating bridge on Fridays more

Yi Sport will change your childs life in a positive way! more

I've been to the studio and watched the children grow, learn and build confidence over the years. It's amazing what the instructors do with these kids! I would highly recommend Yi Sport to anyone, of all ages to try out. If you're looking to lose weight, get in shape, build confidence or just have fun this is the place for you and your children. I can't say enough great things about Master Lee. Pros: Inexpensive, Enthusiastic, Encouraging Cons: Can't think of any more