Robinson’s Taekwondo

First, a note on one of the other reviews. One talks about a rude lady who answered the phone. As of the time I am writing this, the only lady I knew of who worked here left earlier this year, so the head instructor is working primarily by himself. He’s a pretty nice guy.
I will start with the good things. This school does work on respect. I have seen improvement in the behavior and attention span of some of the more unruly kids in the class. My daughter understands the importance of bowing, calling adults «sir and ma’am,» and showing respect. They focus on the tenets of Tae Kwon Do (TKD), and try to keep in line with the international TKD organizations they are part of. My daughter’s flexibility has improved, and I really see this school as trying very hard to do justice to the spirit of TKD. If your primary goal for your child is to see this improved level of respect, this is a good school for you.
Other upsides, they teach a lot of Korean terms which gives a cultural background to the martial art. Some schools only teach kicks, punches, and blocks, without you ever knowing much about where the teachings came from but this school emphasizes its roots. They also have my daughter doing situps and pushups and running in class. The pro to this is the emphasis on fitness, which is critical to success in martial arts. The downside is, instead of working on her forms and stances, she is basically doing PE during her paid lesson, not martial arts instruction. I feel like the pushups and situps are important parts of the martial arts experience and are necessary to training, but I believe they should be an activity that students do at home on their own time and keep a log of or have parents sign off.
That being said, my feelings are similar to the lady who called this place a hot mess. If my daughter’s dad wasn’t the one paying for it and if he hadn’t basically pitched a fit about her doing anything but TKD to start off with, I would have taken her elsewhere. The lessons and the ceremonies seem disorganized. They spend a significant amount of time telling the kids where to stand, how to go back and forth from their spot, trying to decide what order they are testing in, and a whole lot of things that seem like they should be established ahead of time or done in a practice ceremony. If it’s that important to line up a certain way, shouldn’t the kids have it down before the ceremony, not be learning it during? As someone who has personally trained in martial arts for years and been a guest in different dojos, kwoons, and dojangs, I feel underwhelmed almost every time I go to a ceremony or lesson here. I also see my daughter picking up a lot of bad habits that she will have to unlearn later if she wants to get serious about martial arts, because emphasis seems to be on kicking high and kicking fast, rather than on proper foot placement, making a fist so you don’t break your thumb, and accuracy so you don’t hurt yourself.
Another thing I dislike is that it feels like they are trying to crank out belts, which they charge for each test. The schools that have impressed me most don’t charge for belts, or if they do, they still don’t rush you through it.
Overall, is this a bad school? No, it definitely has good points and the energy of the place seems to be hopeful. Can you excel in this school? Yes, if you or your kid wants it bad enough and are willing to pay the money it would cost. I feel that this school is better for my daughter than having her doing nothing at all; it does more good than harm. Are there better schools out there? Yes, many, and I wish my daughter were training at one of the better ones I know of. But, you could do far worse, and at the very least the impression I get from the school is that they care about their students and at least try to give the best experience possible. They strive to conduct the school ethically, though it falls short in some key areas. I would recommend this school as a place for kids to learn respect and get out excess energy. The faults of the school may also be attributed to the fact that you’ve got one man trying to run a whole school and business more or less by himself, and that is really hard; so I try to bear that in mind when I find myself losing patience. Not sure I would recommend them for serious martial arts, but as other reviews pointed out, a couple of their students have gone on to do very well. I say try it; because of its good points, it might work for you even if I’m not impressed myself.

NOTE: Kyra Potter and Cheyenne Lewis both started practicing TaeKwonDo here and are on the 2016 US Olympic team. The school also has many many students annually qualify for the Junior Olympics. That should be enough on its own.
I don’t know why I never reviewed this studio. I did TaeKwonDo here from the time I was 9 until I was 17. Throughout that time, I earned a 3^rd degree black belt, won many medals in United World TaeKwonDo Association tournaments, and also got to watch my family (2 brothers and 2 parents) start earning belts too.
First things first, this studio isn’t about making money. I would hardly call it a business venture. This is a studio of learning in an art form that has been perfected for hundreds of years, a fitness gym that keeps 60 year olds in better shape than 20 year olds, and an arena for an Olympic sport. You’ll come to class, work out like you’ve never thought you could, improve your overall quality of life, and wake up sore the next day. My parents signed me up here because I was too overweight, too clumsy, and not confident enough in myself to play on a team sport as a kid. I’m none of those things now.
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Robinson’s TaeKwonDo is the best martial arts program in Northern California. I have been to classes at others, and I can confidently say that.

I should probably write a review for master robinson’s dojo since I am an old student. So I joined back when I was in high school and thanks to his class I was able to make lots of friends with all the social activities and bbq’s. My mom had me join so I had something to do after school. When I joined I was sort of fragile where a strong wind could probably blow me off my feet. After a couple months I gained some muscle. When I was there, there were 3 main instructors which taught me how to stay healthy, learn self defense by sparring, learning Korean (it was cool because I was watching kdramas at the time too) and how to use a weapon. I think I was here for about 4 years and enjoyed it. Now I don’t know how it is now because I haven’t been there in about 7 years, but I wanted to say thank you for strengthening and building me up!

This place is a hot mess. The space is nice and the abundance of parking is a plus. The instructors are fine but the structure of the class needs a serious overhaul. My 4 y.o. is in the beginner’s class that meets 2x per week. We had a groupon deal for the first 3 months but what they don’t tell you is that doesn’t include the $ 45 uniform, which is required. Fine.
We were asked to come in for our first «class» and when I showed up, there were 4 other 4 y.o. kids there and I was pleasantly surprised by how much attention each child received. There were a lot of verbal instructions that I thought were effective in teaching my kid some listening skills and self-​control. I really appreciated this.
Unfortunately, it turned out this was only an orientation and the actual class consisted of over 20 kids, ages 3 – 5, at different skill and developmental levels. After 2 months, the 45 min. classes are depressingly inefficient.
The approximate use of time can be broken down as: 10 mins. lining up each child on a spot (which should be pre-​assigned to avoid wasting time each class), 10 mins. jumping jacks/​warm-​up exercises, 15 – 20 mins. of 1 or 2 moves (punching, kicking, etc.) but these are done with the kids lined up against the wall or standing still in their spots… waiting their turn amongst 20+ kids. So the «meat» of the class consists largely of these little kids waiting around for 10 – 15 mins. while the instructor jokes around and asks each child to perform the practice move. This is not developmentally appropriate for kids 3 – 5 years old.
The worst part: the instructor has to constantly refer to the binder that contains the moves, which shows a lack of preparation before class. I’m sure there’s a lot of remember and looking at your notes during class is not abnormal – however, in a 45 min. class, checking your notes 2 – 3 times is excessive and a bit unprofessional.
Overall, I don’t see a progression of skill building and we will definitely not be continuing our attendance after our 3 months.
I plan to try out Ajay’s Karate or another establishment in the near future. My advice to you is this: if you have enormous patience and can spare the the $$, go ahead and give this place a try. If you’re a results-​oriented person like me who can’t stand inefficiency, keep on looking.

My son has been a student for about 4 months now. He loves it! He is focusing better and his balance and strength is improving. And I can see my son’s confidence improving more and more.
The instructor makes the class fun but he’s also very firm. He holds the kids accountable for good behavior and knowing their new combinations.
Joining Robinson’s has been great for our son!

Not the place. I called to asked general questions for my son. I asked the lady how many instructions were there and she flew off the handle. Did i touch a nerve. Yes only 2. Very rude and plus they have limited classes. This wont work for us. Try another location.

My nephew and I have been attending classes at Robinson’s Taekwondo in Elk Grove for the over 4 years. I started shortly after my 44^th birthday without any martial arts experience. My nephew was only 5 years old. I have earned my black belt and I am working on my 2^nd degree and becoming an instructor. My nephew will earn his black belt this month. I have found Master Paul Robinson very easy going with a strong mix of discipline. He does a great job teaching all ages of students, from the young children to adults. It is amazing to see him keep 10 little kids’ attention for a 30 minutes class and to get them to react to his teaching. He even has the patience to handle teens. One of the things I like, Master Robinson will adjust the workouts for the students of the class. If you are looking for a cheap price, keep looking. If you are looking for a good deal, you can find one at Robinson’s Taekwondo in Elk Grove with Master Paul Robinson.

I don’t know how the coach’s skill but the first time I talked to him & felt too unimpressive. I have 2 sons, I took them to his class & asked him «Do you have the free first class for trial ?» .We had free trial class in another place (not Robinson’s Taekwondo franchise}, I want to know how my sons adapt with coach, martial art class & another students. At the last, my sons decide to choose which class when they feel comfortable. He answered me that he doesn’t have any free class, he has the right chooses the students, not the students choose him. His answer mean he is number one coach, that the reason why his business always has a few students, not crowd like my sons’s martial art class now. He ‘d learn how to be respect clients & run the business.