By By Matthew Nascone
At the beginning of October a new class became available at the Atmore Area YMCA. That class was Golden Dragons Taekwondo. Rhecy and Dan Currie opened their "dojo" in the back room of the Y.
"There was no class in Atmore, or near Atmore and we wanted to bring Taekwondo back to this area," Dan Currie said. "We talked to the Y and they let us borrow this room for our lessons."
The room was picked because it was the biggest room with a mirror. And Currie said to have a successful class the class must have a mirror so the students can see what they are doing.
The program will occur all year long and will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are two classes, one from 3 p.m. until 3:45 p.m. and another immediately afterwards from 4 p.m. until 4:45 p.m.
"We have a way of positive reinforcement during our class," Dan said. "We don't say 'You did it wrong,' we say 'That is good, but let me show you how to do it better.'"
So far the class has 14 children and Dan said that is the ideal amount for the type of instruction given. He said if the class gets much bigger it will lose the quality.
According to the Golden Dragon handbook, Taekwondo first came to the United States in 1956. Jhoon Rhee, a third degree black belt, began teaching in San Marcos, Texas.
Students of Taekwondo learn six tenets before they ever start practicing the art. Those six tenets are, courtesy, humility, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit.
"We don't have a lot of rules, but we have a lot of repetition," Dan said.
Membership at the Y is not required to be a part of the Taekwondo experience and Dan said anyone is welcome to join the class.