By Misty Cryer
Grand Master Cho’s Korean Martial Arts Academy is a local school that teaches a wide range of students Taekwondo, a form of Korean martial arts. The school will host the Korean Eagle Demonstration Team, which is traveling here from Korea. Local students will perform demonstrations followed by a one-hour demonstration by the Korean team.
Andre Cho, the owner of Grand Master Cho’s Korean Martial Arts, said the demonstration will be at P.R. Leyva Auditorium on Sunday, January 19, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The admission fee is $20.
Cho said the members of the Korean Eagle Demonstration Team are not just regular kids. “They train three hours a day, Monday through Saturday, every day because they choose Taekwondo as their career. Actually, Korea has a lot of colleges for Taekwondo, to get a degree, so they are actually preparing for college as well.”
Cho said he came to the United States in 1992 to attend UTEP (The University of Texas at El Paso). “I was an international student. I already trained in Taekwondo in Korea. There is a martial arts school in El Paso,” he said.
“The Master of the school changed my life,” Cho said, adding, “I did learn how to speak English in Korea, but I learned totally different pronunciations. I couldn’t understand anything when I came here,” he said.
After teaching Taekwondo to little kids and talking with them, not only did Cho’s English skills improve, but he found it fun. He said he chose to make it his life. “I’ve been teaching since 1993,” he said.
Cho has taught martial arts in El Paso, TX, and Connecticut. Previously, he taught with Richard Granger, Jr. at the school located on Greene Street, Elite Tae Kwon Do. “He was my friend,” said Cho. “We had a business partnership.”
Recently, Grand Master Cho’s Korean Martial Arts Academy moved to the Carlsbad Mall. “We have good kids and parents. All of our parents are supporting,” said Cho.
“I appreciate, and I’m so glad we work as an extended family. Besides just teaching Taekwondo, we care about each other. We try to understand each other. That’s what I like about it. A lot of the parents appreciate what I’m doing; I’m doing my best,” Cho said.
Cho said students come in for different reasons, providing examples like being shy or having a short attention span. “We try to provide them with what they need,” he said.
“I’m not running my martial arts school like Mr. Miyagi or Cobra Kai. We have a competition team separately, but it isn’t teaching them how to fight; it is teaching them how to compete,” said Cho.
When asked about age groups instructed at the school, Cho said, “The youngest students I have are four years old, and the oldest student I have is 72 years old.” He explained that the academy has the Little Tigers (a 4–5-year-old class), Little Dragons (for ages 6 to 12), and a teen class for ages 13 and over. “We do have a teen and adult class as well,” he said.
The cost of classes varies. “It depends on what kind of program design, but on average, it’s about $120 a month,” Cho said.
“We went to Korea last year. I took some students and parents to visit the Taekwondo headquarters in Korea and to do some sightseeing. We are going this year, too, at the end of May,” he said.
“We have a headquarters; it’s called Kukkiwon. They are handling all the official black belt certifications in the world,” Cho said about the organization established in South Korea. He explained that some schools give their own black belt certifications, which may not always be recognized. He likes to introduce his students to headquarters where “official” certifications recognized all over the world come from.
Parents and students are currently selling tickets to the demonstration, said Cho, adding that arrangements to purchase tickets can be made by messaging through the Facebook page for Grand Master Cho’s Korean Martial Arts Academy or by calling the school. Tickets will also be sold at the door, if available, on a cash-only basis.
