How old does my child need to be to start Tae Kwon Do?
The youngest age Galvan’s Martial Arts accepts is 6. Beginners join the 5pm or 6pm class on Monday and Wednesday, and no previous experience is needed.
Kids & teens · Ages 6 and up
Tae Kwon Do classes in Brownsville, TX
Five evenings a week, taught by two 7th Degree Senior Master black belts and a team of national champions. Your child starts as a beginner and never trains alone.
No experience needed. Beginner classes every week.
What it is
What Tae Kwon Do looks like here
Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial art built on kicking, striking, forms and controlled sparring. At Galvan’s Martial Arts it is the program most children start with, and it has been taught on these mats since 2003.
A class runs for about an hour. Students warm up, work through technique and forms, drill with pads, and — once they are ready and wearing full protective gear — spar. Belts are earned by grading, not by turning up, and children progress at the pace they actually train at.
Classes are grouped so that a six-year-old on their first evening is not put in front of a teenager with a colored belt. Beginners train with beginners — and when the beginners finish, the Elite Team stays on to train further.
Every instructor is a national champion
Seven black belts teach Tae Kwon Do at this school. Two hold 7th Degree Senior Master rank — Master Meme and Master Manny Galvan. Master Alex Galvan holds 5th Degree, and Master Martha Galvan and Master Joey Aguilar both hold 4th Degree. Coach Cristian Castro and Coach Emiliano Hernandez are both 3rd Degree.
All seven have competed individually and on the Black Belt Team, and the team has been undefeated national champions for 16 years. That is who is on the floor during a Tuesday evening beginners class, not just at tournaments.
The Elite Team
A Tae Kwon Do class runs an hour. The first 45 minutes is the class everybody trains. The last 15 minutes belong to the Elite Team, who stay on the mat after the beginners head home. That happens at the end of every class — and on Friday, the whole session is Elite Team.
Elite Team students cover the same Tae Kwon Do foundation as everyone else, and then go past it, into three things you will not find in a standard syllabus.
Self-defense drawn from several arts. Master Manny Galvan has spent decades training beyond Tae Kwon Do — Fugakukai Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, Haganah and Escrima — and the Elite Team is where that material gets taught. Not as separate programs with separate fees, but as one self-defense curriculum built out of all of it.
Sparring, in full protective gear and always supervised.
Weapons forms — nunchaku, kama, bo staff and sword.
To be clear about what that means: there is no separate Krav Maga, Haganah, Escrima or Aikido class at Galvan’s Martial Arts. There is a Tae Kwon Do program whose advanced students learn from everything their instructors know. If you are specifically looking to enroll in Krav Maga and nothing else, this is not that.
How a student joins the Elite Team
By invitation from an instructor. Instructors invite students based on hard work — at school, at home, and at the academy. All three count.
That is deliberate. A child who trains hard on the mat and coasts everywhere else has not understood what is being taught here. Parents tend to find the invitation does more for behavior at home than anything they could say.
Class times
When Tae Kwon Do runs
Tae Kwon Do runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Elite Team trains in the last 15 minutes of every class, and Friday is theirs entirely. Jiu-jitsu, MMA and kickboxing fill the other evenings.
| Day | Time | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 5:00pm | Kids Tae Kwon Do |
| Monday | 6:00pm | Kids Tae Kwon Do |
| Wednesday | 5:00pm | Kids Tae Kwon Do |
| Wednesday | 6:00pm | Kids Tae Kwon Do |
| Friday | 5:00pm | Elite Team — advanced Tae Kwon Do (full session) |
Common questions
Questions parents ask
Who teaches Tae Kwon Do at Galvan’s Martial Arts?
Seven black-belt instructors teach Tae Kwon Do here, including two 7th Degree Senior Masters, a 5th Degree Master and two 4th Degree Masters. Every one of them is a national champion.
Do adults train Tae Kwon Do here?
The Tae Kwon Do program is built around children and teens. Adults at Galvan’s Martial Arts usually train kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or MMA, which run in the 7pm and 8pm slots.
What is the Elite Team?
The Elite Team is the advanced group. They train in the last 15 minutes of every Tae Kwon Do class, and the whole Friday session is theirs. They cover advanced self-defense drawn from Fugakukai Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, Haganah and Escrima, plus sparring and weapons forms with nunchaku, kama, bo staff and sword. Students join by invitation from an instructor, earned through hard work at school, at home and at the academy.
Do you compete?
Yes. Galvan’s Martial Arts has been undefeated national Black Belt Team champions for 16 years, and students compete both individually and as part of the team. Competing is encouraged, never required.
Find us
In front of Sunrise Mall
Galvan's Martial Arts2310 N. Expressway 83, Suite A1Brownsville, TX 78521
The front desk is open 5:00pm – 9:00pm, Monday to Friday.
Students train here from across the Rio Grande Valley — Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, Olmito and Port Isabel.
First month free, uniform included
A free month of beginners classes, a tour and consultation, a private lesson, online access through GMA Coach, and a uniform.