Rocky Top Taekwondo

"Matt is great. He's done wonders for my ADHD grandson"

"Full disclosure, I have been training as a student of Master Matt Shea since February of 17'. Though I have trained in other martial arts styles, this has been my first foray into the Taekwondo world. To be honest, it has been a real treat. I was not expecting to enjoy this style as much as I have, and I really think it is due to the instructor, the forms, the philosophy and emphasis on sparring. To parents: If you are looking for an affordable activity for your kids, this is a great option. Beyond martial arts, Mr. Shea has a background in YMCA after school programs. He is excellent working with kids and makes it a fun but demanding environment based on personal growth, discipline and respect for others. To teens and adults: Even though Rocky Top Taekwondo is a humble and relatively new school, Master Shea opened Rocky Top Taekwondo as Knoxville's first Choong-Sil Taekwondo Federation (CTF) member school. This means members from the greater CTF organization have a place to stop in on their way through town and UTK students who trained at a CTF school in other parts of the state/region now have a home to continue training through their college years. This gives those of us training in Knoxville access to a larger regional organization with high-level black belt-only training and an established tournament structure (held quarterly) that develops a national and ultimately international team. There is no end to the learning! This is a big deal to me because previously I trained at an independent school that had few black-belts, so at a certain point you had to start looking elsewhere for high level insight. I'm not aiming for nationals or anything, but it is fun to go compete regionally against others in your belt class. It certainly gives you perspective. Bottom line is if you are new to martial arts, looking to get back into training, have been training for years, or looking for an activity for your kids there is something for you at Rocky Top Taekwondo. Classes are conveniently held every Tuesday and Thursday night at the Christenberry Recreation Center next to Christenberry Elementry School in the Oakwood/Lincoln Park neighborhood. Stop on in for a class or two and see if Rocky Top Taekwando is a good fit for you and your family."