618.345.2953

McArther's Tae Kwon Do & Fitness
Building Bodies. Shaping Minds. Changing Lives.

Our Philosophy and Approach...

Outstanding Character Through Martial Arts Excellence.

Mission Statement ...

Our Mission is to enhance the lives of our clients through world-class martial arts instruction; to develop outstanding citizens through character development; and to provide a safe, positive environment where our clients can develop and achieve success.

Tenets of Taekwondo...

  • Courtesy (예의)

  • Integrity (염치)

  • Perseverance (인내)

  • Self Control (극기)

  • Indomitable Spirit (백절불굴)

Tenets of Koryo Gumdo...

  • Cheung - Love for your country

  • Hew - Filial piety for ones parents

  • Yeah - Respect for elders

  • Liee - Honor and virtue

  • Shin - Justice

A bit about our philosophy...

We are an elite martial arts school, not a gym. We value quality education and approach the martial arts from that perspective.

In business since 1997, our focus is to develop individuals physically, mentally and spiritually. It is our desire to guide individuals along the path to becoming a Black Belt as opposed to simply selling them one. We are unlike many of the "fast food" martial arts schools that push students through without providing them any real skill or sense of accomplishment.

We are not a production line. Producing high numbers of Black Belts is not our aim. We strive for excellence on every level and that takes time, patience, discipline, courage and a lot of hard work.

We believe in teaching life skills, such as courtesy, integrity, commitment and focus, respect for self and others, discipline, humility and courage. These make up the core Tenets of our Art and align with Musado (Bushido, Jap.), "the way of the warrior". These shape our character and make us better human beings.

We believe in quality over quantity. This theme is apparent in our curriculum, which focuses on teaching technically correct and useful techniques. Many times, these techniques lack the "flash and glitter" that the movies typically depict. We want our students to be able to use what we teach in the event they ever have to defend themselves or protect a loved-one.

We focus on teaching Korean martial arts. We are experts in what we teach and wish to share that expertise with you. We believe in continuing education and constantly strive to learn new skills. As we become proficient in new techniques and training methods, we will incorporate those into our classes, but not before we are confident in our own abilities. We are committed to maintaining our current core skills and hold regular workshops for all of our instructors.

We believe in competition as a tool for self-improvement. While it is not a requirement for rank advancement, nor our primarly focus, it is encouraged and supported. We have a history of developing top level competitors and strive to carry on that tradition. To that end, we offer separate competition classes geared to train competitive athletes in the art of Tae Kwon Do.

We practice what we preach and operate with the highest level of integrity. We take this very seriously; it is a part of our daily lives. It is in our DNA.