Ready For Your First Class?

• Wear something comfortable, typical workout clothes usually do the trick. Wear a T-shirt and long pants that fit loosely about the legs and ankles. Track pants, sweats, or yoga pants work best.
• Avoid wearing shorts, jeans, or pants with zippers in the legs. What ever you wear will get sweaty and could rip, so don’t wear anything you want to keep nice.
• You will not wear any footwear during class, so don’t worry about that, however, it is important that your fingernails and toenails are trimmed and clean.
• Don’t wear any jewelry.

A dojang (Korean for martial arts training hall) has different expectations for respectful behavior than a gym. You will do a lot of bowing. Don’t worry though. We don’t expect you to know rules yet, just keep an open mind and listen to the instructors and observe other students in the class.

Before taking any classes you will need to sign a liability release. Students under the age of 19 will need a legal guardian to sign the release as well, and students under 17 must be accompanied by a legal guardian to their first class. To speed things up you may print out and complete this Liability Release Form and bring it with you.

We have a single restroom which is large enough for you to change in but we do not have a locker room or shower facilities. Most students come to class already dressed for a workout, though a few change on site.
We have a sink in class for water but we ask that you bring your own water bottle or plastic cup. You may fill your bottles at the school. We do not allow any food or any beverages other than water in the dojang. If you normally drink sports drinks while working out, you may keep these in the spectator area.

Hapkido emphasizes using all parts of the body. Typically students learn from the “ground up.” Your first class you can expect to learn basic warm up exercises, practice stances (which means learning new ways of standing and moving) and a few basic blocks, kicks, or strikes. One of the most important things you will learn is how to fall correctly. Hapkido utilizes several takedowns and throws, it is important that the student knows how to fall correctly so we can practice safely and efficiently. Your first class will progress slowly. We will work with you to make sure you learn the basics before we move on to more difficult and demanding techniques.