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If you’re a parent of a taekwondo student, you’ve likely seen it all: the excitement after earning a new belt, the pride after breaking a board—and the days your child just doesn’t want to go to class.

This is completely normal. And it all comes down to understanding the difference between motivation and determination—two important concepts that can help your child not only stick with taekwondo but also grow stronger mentally and emotionally.

Motivation: The Spark That Gets Them Started

Motivation is what gets kids excited to try something new. Maybe it was watching a martial arts movie or seeing a friend in a cool uniform. Motivation is what got your child through the door in the first place.

But motivation comes and goes. It’s affected by moods, energy levels, distractions, and even how their day at school went. Expecting your child to feel excited before every class just isn’t realistic.

Determination: The Skill That Keeps Them Going

Determination is different. It’s the habit of showing up, trying again, and pushing through challenges—even when they don’t feel like it. It’s what helps a child learn discipline, build confidence, and eventually become someone who doesn’t give up easily.

The good news? Determination can be taught and practiced—and taekwondo is one of the best places to learn it.

How Parents Can Help

Normalize the ups and downs. Let your child know it’s okay not to feel excited every time. Show them that sticking with something builds strength.
Focus on commitment, not mood. “We go to class because we made a commitment,” is a powerful message. It teaches responsibility and follow-through.
Celebrate effort, not just results. Whether your child earned a stripe or simply tried hard during class, praise the effort. Determination grows when kids feel seen for working through tough moments.
Share stories of perseverance. Remind your child that even black belts once struggled—and they got there by not giving up.
Stay the course. Some kids resist right before a breakthrough. Staying consistent—even during pushback—helps them cross that hurdle.

Long-Term Payoff

It might be tempting to skip class when your child complains or seems tired. But each time they go—even when they don’t want to—they’re building determination, resilience, and self-discipline. These are life skills that extend far beyond the dojang.

So next time your child says, “I don’t feel like going,” remember: it’s not about forcing them—it’s about guiding them. Motivation is the spark, but determination is the fire that keeps them growing, one kick at a time.

Oftentimes we get parents bringing their kids to martial arts because they want them to learn discipline. They have trouble getting them to do their homework, have good behavior, and want to do anything besides play video games all day. We get it! We live in a world where kids are oversaturated with things to do and short attention spans. Martial arts training can definitely help with this problem—but it’s a two way street.

Discipline in Taekwondo:

Students are taught from their first day that discipline means controlling your actions. One way they do that is by attending class. In order to achieve their goals, they have to show up and put in the work. The only way to advance in rank, to get better, and to become a champion is to show consistency in their practice. This means coming to class and giving their best effort. They learn forms which teaches them control over their bodies—a form of discipline.

They are taught to say yes sir and yes ma’am and to respect others. The control over their voices and thinking before they speak is a form of discipline. By learning to speak up, they build their confidence in their voices and bodies and find discipline over their thoughts as well. This helps control their actions on a daily basis.

When they act out in class or their parents tell their instructors of their bad behavior at home, they are disciplined in class. That could mean losing their belt rank, sitting out of fun activities, or getting a stern talking to. Whatever the case may be, by learning that losing control of their actions is unacceptable in taekwondo—that carries over to everyday life.

Discipline Outside of Taekwondo:

However, as stated in the beginning, discipline is a two way street. While martial arts instructors work tirelessly to teach kids discipline and controlling their actions, we are not with them during the rest of their day. It then falls on the duty of the parents to reinforce those lessons at home.

Kids will have days or even periods where they will not want to come to class. It’s much easier for them to stay home and play video games than to challenge their mind and body by learning new things. But those moments are most important for parents to work with instructors reinforcing the values that good things are earned and not given.

If they are acting out, it again comes on parents to work with instructors to reinforce good behavior at home and at the dojang. As a team, they can make an impact on getting the student to not let any unwanted behavior go unchecked.

We love the parents that work hand in hand with our instructors at Mueller’s Martial Arts to make sure that students are showing discipline in all areas of their life! Remember that getting them to class and reinforcing lessons at home will make all the difference in the world!

It’s black belt testing week! In the past, we’ve talked a lot about the journey to becoming a black belt. But once you achieve that goal, your journey isn’t done. In fact, it’s just beginning. Becoming a second, third, fourth, fifth degree and even becoming a Master takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Maybe even more so than getting a black belt.

After becoming a black belt, your next step is to advance to a higher degree of black belt. While in this process, you test for something called a midterm. A midterm is a step along the way to your next degree that keeps you progressing. For each degree of black belt, there are a certain number of midterms that are needed to keep moving forward.

At your first midterm testing, you show your form, break boards, and spar. From then on, you learn a different weapon form and present that at your midterm testing. In general, for a first degree to become a second degree it takes at least a year, from second to third it takes two years, and so on and so forth. In the process, black belts also have to remember and be able to present color belt forms at their rank testing.

It’s a lot of work to become a higher degree black belt and requires far more discipline and dedication than a color belt. It takes a great deal of patience to practice the same form for years, and feel like you’re progressing slowly compared to being a color belt.

The goal of this process is to become the best martial artist you can be. It’s not longer about moving through ranks, it’s about focusing on the tiny details that make you excellent. Because you can stay on one form for so long, you make it an amazing form that is impressive to show to others.

You are a black belt, which is a very big accomplishment and something that stays with you forever. But to go beyond that and become a higher degree of black belt is something that not many people do. That is a true sign of commitment which will set you apart from other people who quit after getting their first degree black belt.

Getting a black belt is hard, but staying committed after that can be even harder. A new journey lies ahead, but remember all that got you here for it would be useful in the years ahead. We are so excited to see our red/black belts test for their black belts, our black belts get their midterms, and our rank testers to get their next degree of black belt!

Black belt testing is this Saturday, March 8th, at Venture Martial Arts in Central Park. Come root on your fellow students from Mueller’s Martial Arts.

As we are finishing up construction on the new school location over the next few weeks, we started thinking about finishing what we started. We are getting tired! Working 12 hour days for both Mr. and Mrs. Mueller is challenging, both physically and mentally. As badly as we want it to be done, to get it over with and go back to some sense of normality, we have to finish what we started.

The same is true for taekwondo training. So many people join martial arts with the goal of getting a black belt. Lots of people get so close—they will get to be high ranks, red belts, or even recommended black belts and will decide to quit! Taekwondo is definitely fun and hard work, but when you get to training at higher ranks, especially for your black belt, you take a giant step forward in your training.

It is no longer fun and games, it is the time to become a serious martial artist. You showed up and put in the time and work, staying disciplined each step of the way. But in order to get your black belt or even a higher degree, there are certain expectations that come along with it. You have to look the best you’ve ever looked which means that focusing on tiny details becomes essential. At times it might seem tedious, but this is what will truly make you a black belt.

The same is true when finishing a project. The big stuff goes first, like knocking down walls and painting large areas. But as you get close to finishing, you have to start focusing on tiny details. Those details make all the difference between something looking fine, and it looking great. It’s the difference between something you care about and earn with every ounce of energy you have, and something that gets handed to you.

So maybe as you advance through the ranks and get closer to your black belt, you have gotten frustrated with how much effort you have to put into the small things. There might be days where you feel tired, bored, and just want to be done. But in those moments if you can persevere, if you can not give up on yourself and all of the hard work you have put, you can make something great. You can achieve your dream.

Just know that nothing in life worth having comes easy. Whether that’s getting your black belt or building out your dream taekwondo dojang, it’s going to take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. You might want to give up because it’s too hard or not what you expected, but that’s a lesson in life. If you can buckle down and finish what you started, you will NEVER regret it. You will also gain a lot of strength, resilience, and confidence along the way.

Finish what you start! No matter what it takes, achieve that goal! Mueller’s Martial Arts will always be there to help you get there!

We started construction on our new location this week! In case you haven’t heard, Mueller’s Martial Arts is moving. Don’t worry, we’re only going less than half a mile down Alameda to the Safeway parking lot. We wanted to share though, that these situations are what we are talking about when we say taekwondo is something you carry with you for life.

Physical Labor:

Construction on a new building is hard, physical work! We started our journey by breaking down a huge wall that sat in the center of the floor. What does this have to do with taekwondo? First, you can kick down a wall! We used our front kicks and side kicks to bust through the wall and open up patches for it to be torn down.

Second, construction is hard on your body. It requires strength, flexibility, and endurance to be able to do all of the work. We not only tore down walls, but we also had to carry big pieces of drywall, metal beams, and use heavy tools. All of that required a great deal of strength. So when we are punching, doing pushups, and squats, we’re building up those strong muscles. Not to mention, bending over, reaching high, and going into small spaces required the flexibility that we can only get from as much stretching and kicks we do in class. We worked from early in the morning to late at night which requires a ton of endurance—thank you fit test, laps, and burpees!

Focus:

When doing work like this, it’s extremely important to make sure that you stay focused the entire time. One wrong move using a tool or one misstep could cause an injury! We also want the new school to look great and if we aren’t careful, we could make a mistake that would ruin what we are going for. That’s why we train focus so much in class—not only for kids to pay attention and improve on their skills, but also because they need focus on a daily basis! Whether that is in school, at home, or playing a game, focusing during big moments is critical. Just like during a big build!

Perseverance and Discipline:

The only way to get the job done is to show up every single day. It is hard work and is going to be tiring. There will be days when we want to quit. Days when we feel like we are too tired, or just don’t feel like it. But we know from taekwondo training that the only way to finish what we start is by showing up. That’s discipline. It’s the same when kids don’t want to come to class, but they know that the only way to achieve their goals and get better is to show up consistently.

It isn’t just about showing up though. There will be moments where it seems too hard. That we will want to throw in the towel and just give up. In those moments we have to show our perseverance. We will not only show up every single day, but we will give 100% and never give up. We learned that from our lessons. It’s one thing to show up for class, but the only way to become a better martial artist, or improve at anything in life, is to give it your all. When hard times are all around you—you never give up no matter what. Thanks taekwondo!

We are so excited about our new location! We will let you know about opening day soon, but in the meantime, we will keep having awesome classes. So show up, give 100%, never give up, and you will reap the rewards in the future.

Whether you’re coming back to taekwondo in 2025 for the hundredth year or you are a brand-new white belt, the new year is time for a fresh start! Each time you step into the school is a chance to learn something new or improve more than ever before. It’s up to you though, you have to show up and put in the work! At Mueller’s Martial Arts, we are here to help you along the way.

New Students:

We are always so excited to welcome new students into the school. We obviously love taekwondo, and we love to share our passions with others! Joining a dojang is a brave step, to take the leap of trying something new and making a commitment to yourself. The goal of every student is to get a black belt, but the journey doesn’t stop there. Martial arts training is a lifelong adventure, and the skills learned during your time there you will take with you for the rest of your life.

Each day you will learn something new, whether that is mental or physical. You will learn forms, cool new moves, and a way to use your body like you have never trained before. More importantly, you learn life skills that will help you in your everyday life. Those skills are integrity, perseverance, attitude, focus, goals, discipline, dedication, and confidence. You will become a better person every single day with a foundation built in taekwondo. All of these new experiences are bound to give you a fresh start to your new year.

Return Students:

Whether you are an orange belt or a master, there is always something new you can learn. It may seem like you continue to learn the same things, but reframing your attitude can change your perspective. If you’re a color belt, each session you learn a new form which means learning and mastering new moves. Beyond that, you learn new board breaks, weapons, and teaching. It’s the same for black belts, there is always more to learn whether that is a new weapon or anything else. It is also the time to truly master your technique, to make it shine in testings and tournaments.

By viewing these small things as new challenges, you can change your perspective and embrace this year of taekwondo. Setting new goals, working harder than before, and truly using the life skills to help you in life is a great way to keep improving. All of these will help you get a fresh start on the new year!

We are so excited to share 2025 with you and can’t wait to see all of the growth in your life. Let’s start this year fresh with excitement and the willingness to put in the hard work! To learn more about our program, click here.

It’s that time of year again! Holiday season is upon us and can you believe it, we are almost done with 2024! We know that things have been crazy as this year is coming to a close, and we hope that you can take this time to give yourself a much needed break. We know that us at Mueller’s Martial Arts certainly will be! But before we get there, we have some big things coming up and we want to give you advice on how to stay on track for taekwondo during this time of year.

Testing:

First things first- testing! We have color belt testing on Thursday, 12/12. This is our last testing of the year! We hope that you take the time with your kids to reflect on how far they have come this year. How many belts have they earned? How much have they improved in their technique? Most importantly, we hope you notice how much they have improved their life skills during their everyday lives. We’re sure they have become more confident, focused, and respectful. They set goals and achieved them, persevering when times were tough. They remained disciplined, showing their true dedication.

Testing Celebration:

After testing we have testing celebration on Friday, 12/13. This is the perfect chance for them to get together with their fellow martial artists and celebrate all they have accomplished this year! We’ll take the night to let off steam and enjoy with a fun night of dodgeball, pizza, cake, and a movie. Not to mention, parents get a night to themselves to do the same. This will be the perfect send off for holiday break!

Holiday Break:

Every year, we take a holiday break that is part of our scheduled school closures. This is an intentional break from taekwondo, but also the hustle and bustle of daily lives. It’s the chance to take a breath, relax, and spend time with loved ones over the holidays. Our bodies are biologically meant to take breaks, especially with the cold weather and end of the year. So use it! Take your much needed break and enjoy it. Slow down, eat good food, and take some time for yourself. That being said, we don’t want to completely go off track over the holidays. Martial artists should still stay active, practicing their taekwondo when they can! That way they are still in the spirit when they return to classes.

We are so thankful that you chose to spend 2024 with us! We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday. We’ll see you in 2025!– Your family at Mueller’s Martial Arts.

About a month ago, Mueller’s Martial Arts started a new round of training new instructors in the NMAA’s NXT Level Instructor Program. The students invited to join the program showed leadership, confidence, and the potential to impact others. Because of their dedication to taekwondo and exemplary attitude each day, they get the exclusive opportunity to be a part of the NXT Level.

The goal of the program is to teach students how to become taekwondo instructors, just like the people that taught them. Each class they learn the life skills, instructors skills, and knowledge needed to continue to move through their certifications. Not only that, but they learn how to teach drills, forms, and lead classes.

If you’ve seen more junior instructors on the floor during classes, that’s why! They are training each day by shadowing and helping assist classes so that they can learn on the job. We believe that sometimes the best was to master something is to teach it, so in the process, they are becoming better martial artists themselves.

Throughout the program they will earn collars based on their knowledge and experience. That’s why when you see someone with a different color collar on their uniform, you know they are on the path to become certified instructors. The goal is to eventually reach the highest collar, which is a black collar. In order to get there, students have to test their knowledge for Grand Master and Master Horn to prove that they are worthy of being the highest ranked instructors in the organization.

The program is more than about becoming an instructor though. The students that take part in the program learn how to speak in front of large groups, become leaders, and gain confidence in their own voice. They take these skills into everyday life and become leaders in the classroom, growing up to become the future leaders of the world. These skills can translate into becoming amazing teachers, managing teams, and of course, becoming taekwondo instructors.

We’re so excited about this team of NXT Level Instructors and we can’t wait to see what impact they make not only in the dojang, but also in the world! To learn more about our program, click here.

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Motivation vs. Determination: What Parents Should Know About Taekwondo Training

Motivation: The Spark That Gets Them Started

Determination: The Skill That Keeps Them Going

How Parents Can Help

Long-Term Payoff

Discipline at Home

Midterming as Black Belt

Finishing What You Start

Taekwondo For Life

Fresh Start

Holiday Break and More

NXT Level Instructor Program