Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do

I was a student at Lawler’s tae kwon do for a year, and it was twelve months too long. I was very serious about learning Tae Kwon Do, and I was ashamed of wearing my purple belt after seeing what a real TKD class is supposed to be. So many things are plainly wrong with this school. First of all, they do not teach either the ITF or WTF style. I’m not sure which style they are teaching at all. At the other dojang I’ve join, I was asked to demonstrate the poomsae, or forms I’d learned, and the instructor has never even seen them, in any style of Tae Kwon Do.
Lawler’s tae kwon do is also insanely over priced, at 180 $ a month. They do no offer any other fitness oriented classes. The class, at 45 minutes, are too short. Same goes with the warm up. There’s no emphasis at all on cardio fitness or dynamic stretches. Most of their time is spent herding the kids.
In the last few months, 4 of their best instructor quit and the level of teaching went down several notch.
In my opinion, the worst thing about this school is the owner, master lawler. He mostly teaches the adults, and spend the entire class chatting with the parents instead of providing constructive feedback and instruction. On several occasions, he even LEFT the class! For some reasons unknown to me, he refuses the have the students practice the test kicks, or work on combination of kicks with the target. He prefers to have the adults waste their time on silly kids games, or ‘punches, elbows and knees’ so he doesn’t have to teach the class. I have been ridiculed on many occasions after voicing my concern that we should probably be working on our kicks, since a test was coming. Their testing is also a real joke. You do not earn your belt there, it’s simply given to you for showing up that day.
I would highly recommend anyone to stay away from this place. Unless you really want to waste your money, listen to mr lawler ramble about what he ate for dinner and have no desire to improve your fitness.
Do yourself a favor, hop on caltrain and go to San Francisco to a real dojang:

Everybody is nice. The teachers are great. They take care very well of the kids and are very patients. We went to vacation and they accepted that we finished our trial when we came back!
Negative reviews are not right. You have to work to pass the next level. I think that’s good that the kids have fun too. They are very well balanced. They are strict but just right for young kids .
My kid is more confident since he goes there. He is less sensitive. They have fun.

My two boys love this place. Seen a positive change in both boys

At the end of the day, it’s all about the money for them!

I am a mother of two boys currently enrolled at Lawlers. We have
been at the school a year and a half and both of my boys are
now purple belts. I enrolled them to learn dicipline, respect, and to
have a skill that they could keep for life. So far all my expectations
have been ful-​filled beautifully. Every time on the eve before the
test day, one of the instructors will take my boys aside and work on
what ever they need to. On one such occasion, the youngest just was
not ready to test. The instructor spoke to my boy and explained to him
he could work and be successful the following month’s testing. My son
understood and the following month got the next belt when he was
ready​.So for those people who say that they promote anyone as long as they pay you are wrong. Also for those who can only complain about the cost, this is not the most expensive. The class is broken up into five
groups so that there are only about 4 to 5 students with each of the
very qualified teachers. I have never ever seen a brown belt teaching
as one of you so wrote. This school is well run, organized, and very
respectful to both kids and parents. Go see for your selves, I have no
doubt that you will agree with me.

My son starts classes when he was 4. Now he is 5 and has green belt! I love this place! Family style business. Everybody is super nice. And very good with kids.

the boy has now been a student for 2 weeks and he cannot stop talking about all the fun he’s having learning tae kwon do from Lawler’s. The staff is very nice and accomodating and i’m glad we picked Lawler’s over the other choices we had.
loved the fact that they offer a lot of different times for class since my schedule is tough. also love the fact that Lawler’s is located in bayhill shopping center so i can do grocery shopping at Mollie Stones or workout at Bayhill Gym during class.
no complaints whatsoever!

My girlfriend’s 8 year old daughter is happy to be a student at Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do.
I have been to several martial arts schools and this school is a step above other schools that just teach self defense, confidence and discipline. This family operated school has a genuine concern to build character in and out of the school. Their instructors are attentive and patient with their students. They support their students to do their best in self defense, scholastic studies, and life at home.
This is a very nice family oriented martial arts school.

So if you’re looking for a Karate Kid Cobra Kai I’m going to win a 6 foot tall trophy with some high kicking dude on top sort of place, move along.
If you’re looking for a place where your kids can gain self-​esteem, self-​respect, confidence, discipline and general respect while at the same time getting some much required physical education/​flexibility that’s left out of schools nowadays, and learn martial arts and self defense techniques, this is a great place to go.
Master Lawler and crew are great with the kids. They do a decent job catering to kids’ learning levels, abilities etc. Some people complain that they do forms, but I think it’s an essential learning tool in terms of discipline and technique. Some people complain about the belts and testing… c’mon– belts are a Western invention. They’re used as a motivational tool.
It’s a good fitness routine for adults too– I’ve seen the sweat and the panting on the adults in class.
So yeah, this isn’t a fighting school. It isn’t Olympic style ITF or WTF TKD that’s taught here, it’s Tang Soo Do Korean karate, which the unified Koean martial arts refer to as a TKD. I’ll reiterate that it’s a good place where kids can gain self-​esteem, self-​respect, confidence and discipline in a fun and safe environment.

My 9 year old daughter has been coming here since April. She loves it! She loves the routines, self defense, and leadership opportunities. I love to watch!

My 6 yr old son has been a student at Lawlers for a little over a year.
I’m very happy with the studio, and I love the teachers. They are great with all their students from small children to adult. The studio always has a very happy homey feel to it.
My son loves going and asked to commit himself to joining their «Black belt club». He attends 3 lessons a week and an extra class once a month. Not once have I ever had to ask him twice to get ready to go. He really enjoys it.
I wanted him to get focus, discipline, and physical excercise from class. He’s done all that as well as made some great friends. The studio has also been helpful in guiding him to resolve some bullying issues at school.
We’ve had a very good experience with Lawlers and look forward to the future.

We decided to go in and ask for prices for my kid to start lessons. The lady behind the desk was very nice but wouldn’t give any prices except the introduction lesson. I understand that there may be individual needs for each kid but I basic price list would be nice. It makes me feel like each person pays a different price for the same lessons. Places that do this time of thing usually doesn’t get my business.
I gave 2 stars because the lady at the desk was very pleasant and it looks like a clean and good place to learn Tae Kwon Do. Please have a price list so people not familiar with Tae Kwon Do feel they are paying a fair price.

Good place for kids to learn some karate and more important — disciplines. Teachers are very patient. This is the best money I have ever spent for my kid

I started at Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do back in 2000 at the age of 8. I dabbled in many sports growing up but nothing captured my heart like Tae Kwon Do did. I trained for many years, received my second degree black belt in 2007, and resigned from the studio shortly afterward. But just this past summer, I came back to re-​train and to be an instructor for Mr. Lawler, and I couldn’t be any happier with that decision.
Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do has played a huge role in my life, and I surely would not be the same person I am today without it. Mr. Lawler and the staff have taught me not only self-​defense, but self-​displicine, integrity, and respect for myself and for others. They have had such a positive influence in my life and even to this day, I refer to Mr. Lawler, the staff, and all the students as a second family to me. I have grown to genuinely care for each and every person at Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do and as an instructor, nothing makes me happier than seeing the students progress and succeed. On behalf of the staff at Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do, our goal is to teach our students how to be good martial artists, while having fun at the same time – or as we also like to call it: sweating, smiling, and sore. At Lawler’s, it’s a great place to learn how to defend yourself, be in shape, and to have fun while you’re doing it. The staff is always eager to help students with anything they need, giving constructive criticism in respectful manners and praise where it is due. It is a great environment for everyone, with the students ranging from ages 4−40+. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.

My son, who is 10 now, started training at Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do when he was 6. Last August he received his black belt. It is amazing to see how much progress he’s made in the last four years. Instructors really care about what they do and give personal attention to every kid, especially when they see that they want to learn. I’m really happy that we signed up for Lawler’s Tae Kwon Do.

Im sure its a fine place for kids. and Im sure its a fine place for adults who want exercise. However, I sat through a few classes and left unimpressed. It looks to me that they’ll promote anyone regardless of skill so long as they know the name of the «movement».
I watched adult black belts who literally had no balance and poor execution. For reals?! Hold a second…“Is that a 10 year old with a brown belt?” Kids love to get promoted. But you dont want to mislead them! Be Honest!
I sat with Lawler in a 6×6 room. All the while, he told me he had no reason to «sell» the program. He tested my son for about 5 min and the rest was him yapping about this person and that person and his house in Pacifica, and his 10^th degree… yak, yak, yak.
I suddenly realized that Id been talking to him for over 90min! Ninety stinking minutes!
I went the following day for my son’s «free class». This fella was totally indifferent to me. It was like he didnt know who I was or what I was doing there. I was like…‘wtf’?

We started our 8 year old son at Lawler’s a few months back after a not good experience at another school of Tae Kwon do. We thought our son wouldn’t be interested, but when we took him Lawler’s Studio he was so thrilled with Mr. Lawler and his teachers that he wanted to join right that minute. He has progressed quickly from white belt to yellow and is just so proud to wear his Tae Kwon do uniform that he can’t wait to make it to black belt.
As for me, I am so pleased with everything at Lawler’s not only Mr. Lawler, but the teachers and staff plus the organization and cleanliness of the studio.
It is a great martial arts program, they not only focus on self defense, but self discipline, plus the kids academics, awarding them patches for achieving certain academic success like honor role for grades and reading. They are very big on positive feedback to both the parents and kids.
I would highly recommend this studio if you would like your child to receive positive feedback, build self respect and learn Martial Arts.
This has been a great experience for all and we will continue onward towards our sons quest to be a Black Belt and beyond!

Great martial arts school for the family.
Before finally selecting Lawler’s I visited many different martial arts school for my 9 year old daughter. Lawler had the best facility and instructors who were sensitive to the needs of children. After being in the program for a year the instructors are able to keep my daughter as motivated as ever. I recommend this school for anyone who’s interested in a martial arts program for their kids.

This is a great place to bring your family to learn Tae Kwon Do. My son has been going here for over a year now. This is the one extra-​curricular activity that he takes seriously and loves at his young age (4^th grade). The big plus is that he has transferred his ability to focus here to school, and he improved in his class work as well since he started going to Lawler’s. He has better discipline and physical stamina.
The instructors here, especially Master Lawler, Sir Howard, Sir Charles and Sir Russell, are great and get to know their students very well. They also teach the students respect and manners, a very lost, but important art.
Not sure what is up with the person complaining that this stuff doesn’t work. I can’t see how someone thinks that wrestling should have been a piece of cake after taking TKD. If I wanted my kid to learn wrestling, I would have taken him somewhere to learn wrestling (duh). I took judo years ago and even I understand that there are significant differences in each type of martial art, not that I consider wrestling one.
Come and watch a class, and then meet with Master Lawler to find out more. Yes, they will ask you to sign up, but what do you expect, it is their business. They are very good and very sincere about what they do. You get out of this class what you put into it.

During my quest to make some sense of all the different maritial arts and the plethora of schools in my community, this one opened up at my local shopping mall. I wish I could tell you that I sat down and researched all options in my community but in the end I saw a friend inside, sat and talked with her and liked it enough to go back for a free lesson.
It was at that lesson that I met Mr. Lawler, the school’s owner and got to learn about Tae Kwon Do ala Lawler. I can’t do the experience justice by summarizing it here but suffice to say that we signed up and its been great for our active boy.
Mr. Lawler has had this school maybe 20 some years but they relocated to San Bruno just recently. He himself has been involved in Tae Kwon Do for 42 years.