Bought this class pass as a Groupon for my son and he loved it!!! He has not done this before but the staff there did their best to make sure he felt comfortable and really took the time to show him the proper technique. I loved the orientation lesson they gave plus the detailed beginner packet It's not only a great class for kids but a great confidence booster for the kids as the staff really are great at making each kid feel special and acknowledged. Really good instructors, fun class and small enough group where they don't feel ignored. Highly recommend for your first time!! read more

My son has been enrolled here for 5 years. The dojang is under new ownership and we could not be more thrilled. Master Dalton (the new owner) takes a special interest in each student's learning and progress. He seems to genuinely care and we are so proud of the example and standard he sets for our son. Master Lee is still an instructor here and I'm very grateful to her as well- we always appreciated her and Master Kim for the exceptional training they offered. They're the reason we've stayed these 5 years. If you are considering trying tkd- this is a great place to begin your journey! If you tried Seattle TKD before but were turned of by the owner- I would urge you to give it another look. read more

Extremely unpleasant and disgusting experience. Wasted my time and gas TWICE and got an attitude for something out of my control. I have never experienced such disrespect from a martial arts establishment before. Very happy I never gave these people my money. This is a bad business. Thank you. read more

They lie about free months when signed up. Membership can't be paused while you are on vacation. They will say they give you free months but keeps asking for renewal, when you don't renew, they will threaten you and say that the wait list is 6 months to 12 months to rejoin and when you disagree they will terminate your program before agreed program duration. Maybe they don't know how to do math. Brandon Richard is a con artist he would lie about his house burned down to get money from members when he is driving a nice car and his uniform didn't get burned down with his house. He makes his kid 13 year old to do a private lessons when he is not old enough to work. When your kid is late for class he shuts the door and won't let them in. Testing is a joke, kids don't learn much. Watch these kids in above blue belt sparring while testing. This is why he let parents to watch kids testing using zoom. That's right he won't let you in to watch kids do testing or take classes. He would even try to sell his t shirts for 50 bucks in summer time and won't let kids wear any other T shirt while he keeps his place hot. So if you don't buy his shirts, your kids will suffocate in summer heat. There are so many problems...I can't stop complaining. Avoid at all cost. Don't waste your money or kids time here. read more

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The instructors (Master Kim and Master Lee) are wonderful. Grand Master Richards however, is rude, disrespectful and aggressive. We called to cancel our membership and were met with being told our six year old child "lacks integrity and the apple didn't fall far from the tree." We were also told that a third party handles the financial portion of their business and he could not cancel our membership or help us. Unprofessional and clearly not following the tae kwon do creed himself--zero integrity. read more

When our son Ryan was in kindergarten we enrolled him in taekwondo classes at Seattle Tae Kwon Do, not only because of his obvious enthusiasm for martial arts, but also to help him stay physically fit and to promote focus and discipline since he is such an active boy. That was seven years ago. Since then our whole family has committed to taekwondo training at Seattle Tae Kwon Do and we are all second degree black belts. At 13, Ryan has been practicing taekwondo longer than he has not. I can say with confidence that Ryan lives the tenets of taekwondo everyday. He exhibits courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and absolutely has an indomitable spirit. For Ryan, taekwondo has never been a sport but a lifestyle and he really can't remember any other way of living. It has taught him the value of patience and determination and he has learned that these qualities can be applied to other aspects of his life: to his schoolwork, his music, and his relationships with friends and family. Each day at Seattle TKD demonstrates to Ryan the value of leading a healthy and principled lifestyle. Taekwondo at Seattle TKD has given all of us a warm and supportive community of friends made up of instructors and fellow students. The quality of instruction is beyond anything you will experience at any other taekwondo school. Seattle TKD offers training not only for children, but for adults and for families, and it has been training as a family that has bonded us in ways I had never anticipated. I highly recommend Seattle Tae Kwon Do and the only place I would train or recommend anyone to train at. read more

They're around the corner from Fitness 19. I tried out their 3 months special that was available on Amazon Local. I must say, their Thai kickboxing classes were fun and energizing. It gave me a good excuse to get off my bum (whether office chair or couch at home) and enjoy being active once again! Parking may get pretty packed, I would advise to come early. That will also give you time to do more stretching before the class starts. Everyone from Beginners to Intermediate worked together, I have never gone to any martial arts class before and as a first timer - my experience was great! read more

I was so excited to have enrolled our 6 year old in Seattle Tae Kwon Do. From our initial inquiry to our trial class this afternoon, Grace at the front counter was extremely responsive, knowledgeable, friendly, and welcoming. Thank you YELP for this wonderful find. We looked around on yelp, did google searches, and thought about trying Tae Kwon Do through the Lynnwood Parks and Recreation, but we are so glad we decided to try this Tae Kwon Do studio. I am even contemplating signing up for their adult class. Located in the strip mall next to the Fitness 19 and the same parking lot as the Sound Community Bank, I had a fun time making a couple of U-turns to find the place. GPS will tell you to make a right into the wrong plaza so make sure you do not listen. If you miss the turn you will end up making two u-turns (yup, I did it twice and ended up being late by my standards). Grand Master Richards is wonderful with the kids, full of energy, stern yet patient, and my daughter had "SO MUCH FUN!"(her words exactly) They offer plenty of class options, and a variety of monthly packages. You can choose to attend classes 2 or 3 times a week or opt for the unlimited package for the month and attend as much as you would like. They have an August special, the registration of 6 weeks for only $69 plus a free T-Shirt. You can also get a discount if you prepay for a year. If you are looking for Tae Kwon Do classes, I HIGHLY recommend sending Grace an email and trying a class. Do not let the lack of reviews deter you! After one class at Seattle Tae Kwon Do I did not have the urge to look further. Winner! read more

Brandon is a bully and he is all about theoney. On top of monthly fees, he does not tell you that he is actually squeezing double out of you. How do? On top of your ungodly highway robbery of close to $200 per month ( he convinced me to join the "black belt club" so we could save on "other fees" such as exam testing fees, sparring equipment, names put on uniforms, pictures, patches, books, private lessons, Xmas sale items, etc. The list never ends! Brandon won't tell you THAT when you sign up. I learned the hard way. Don't make the same mistakes I did! When I confronted him about certain things, he would get defensive and never take accountability of what he said to parents. He reminds me of a bullied child (he is a short man) and now he wants to "show them". He is a bully to the parents all the time. My husband & I felt very deceived to say the least. When I wanted out of the contract, he harassed me instead saying someone else needed to take over. Then it was like "we gotta get him back into class" among other texts. I want out. read more

We had such a bad experience here and have finally heard enough bad experiences from other people I finally have decided to try and warn others. Stay away from Brandon Richards and his problematic studio. read more

This place is troubling. During my daughter's yellow belt performance, another child of around age five was demonstrating some beginner's moves all by herself, in front of dozens of people. Instead of encouraging her, the instructors criticized her in front of everyone, telling her she didn't practice enough. Now, they cherish this attitude as a value. But I'm glad my family knows better. There's enough bullying in the world without this crap. Never mind the unethical way they take your money. I'm sure many have already described it though. We've decided to just let them keep the automatic payments, and not use the lessons very much. No one needs extra servings of childhood trauma. read more

October 2017. I paid to sign up my child for the "introductory class". There was a questionnaire. I answered NO to the question are you able to commit to $100 - $$$$ a month. The receptionist/guy/front desk person told us that we should come back when we can answer YES to that. I told him things happen and if something comes, like medical bills, then I'll have to pull my children out. And besides, this is the introductory class. He gave me some story about it is not fair for the child to get excited about the class then be pulled out. So the school would rather NOT give my children some basic knowledge now and turned them away because they want money. To me that's not integrity. read more

The saga continues. The owner's wife message me pretending to be a lawyer and telling me to take down my review before the company sees it. When I refused and let her know I knew who she was, she blocked me from Yelp. I then got a message from a supposed new owner and when I asked her to verify for me that the past owner I had my issues with was no longer affiliated with the company oh, she stopped messaging me. Myself and other people within the community looked to see who owns this business, and it's still the same owner. They offered to pay me a $10 Amazon gift card to remove my review in order for the business to start fresh, which was a complete lie. Obviously, nothing has changed here and at this point I'm feeling harassed. read more

Don't enter into any type of contract. Any school / training worth attending will give you two months for free and not try the hard sell nor push the uniform. Experience with this gentleman has been dodgy through and through. Even when working to get out of the first 8 month agreement in writing and now he says the paperwork hadn't been received although it was provided to a representative in person at their location. Now the 8 month agreement rolls into a new 12 month agreement at $1500. read more

The owner sent me a message through Yelp claiming to be the new owner trying to get a fresh start. I foolishly gave them the benefit of the doubt. It turns out it is still owned by the same individual that has left a long trail of angry customers for years. Don't be fooled by the good Yelp rating. read more

Seattle TaeKwonDo - Example of owners deception - Summer Camps Near Me - Mountlake Terrace, Washington

I will only give two stars 1 * because the instructors were great. A second star because the classes did start at the time they said they would and there were no cancellations. I signed up for the 6-week web special​. My son loved it, was really having fun and asked me about the yellow belt graduation. I called and asked my question very clearly!!! I asked if he was able to graduate to the yellow belt within the six-week trial special. He said that if he earned his eight stickers and passed the test that he would be able to graduate to the yellow belt. And when the day came he was told he could not graduate because he was not registering for the full classes. So I asked just to be sure. Sure enough they told me if he was not registering that he could not graduate to the yellow belt. I was willing to pay the extra $30 for the graduation ceremony. They knew he was enjoying his time and that it would break his heart, and he was very sad. So that was their pressure tactic with me. They thought once they got him excited to graduate to yellow belt that I would change my mind just to please him. And yes they knew in advance that I was not going to sign him up because I sent an email during decision week saying that I would not be. So let me tell you they were ready for me, they knew exactly what they were doing!!! The classes are very expensive and not something that I can afford. Not only that my son will be going back to school and I can see it already that he will be too tired. From what I've read from the reviews they don't let you out of the contract for any reason. I'm so glad I did not sign up for a membership. Clearly the owner cares more about money than he does about the kids. I almost didn't post this review thinking maybe I was being too mean but then I read more than 25 reviews that said basically the same thing!!! read more

I am a big Yelper and always check out a business before going there. My son's classmate goes to Seattle Tae Kwon Do, so I checked them out and was really impressed with what I read. So last month we enrolled for the 6 week trial course. So far my son is loving it and I am very impressed with the business. It is well run and has been around almost 30 years! That says volumes about the business as I have noticed many Martial Arts schools opening and closing around my house over the years. The have great systems in place and really fun classes for kids. This is definitely a great place for kids! read more

Our family has had such a great experience at Seattle Tae Kwon Do. We came in with our kids hoping they would gain a bit more focus. What we got what a whole lot more! Everyone is very friendly and there is a true family feeling at the school. Everyone know each other and truly shares their lives together. The classes are super fun and the instructors always keep things fresh and exciting. My two boys and I are taking classes and just love the new family with have at Seattle Tae Kwon Do. If you are looking for a great school that really caters to families, then look no further than Seattle Tae Kwon Do in Mountlake Terrace, they are terrific! read more

I would give no stars if possible. Our experience with the owner of Seattle Tae Kwon Do has been terrible. Poor customer service. Even when trying to work to get out of the first year agreement in writing, with a doctor's recommendation for our son to stop, this business has refused, always deferring to their lawyers. They have threatened us with lawyer letters saying our medical recommendation is not valid since our son is basically not fully disabled, or dead for that matter. And since their relocation exception is 25 miles from STKD, you would have to move all the way to Marysville in order to get out of it; not even moving to Everett gets you to terminate the contract early! At the time we wrote several letters letting this owner know that 1) we moved to North Lynnwood and were unable to attend; 2) the primary after school child care provider (grandfather) had just being diagnosed with cancer, going through chemotherapy, so we were not able to arrange transportation to STKD; and 3) our son's anxiety level every time he went to this school somehow continued to increase to the point that he was missing many lessons. Our son was seen by his doctor several times and the doctor recommended in writing to stop STKD given that this level of worry and anxiety was not at a healthy level given the resurgence of OCD behaviors. We wrote a letter with our concerns, citing their own claim posted in their website, "However we understand we do not live in a perfect world and sometimes we try our best to work with people", when referring to canceling contracts. The owner still refused to cancel our membership. I have not taken time to review businesses on Yelp before, however, I felt this was important for other families to know. Please don't sign anything at this school. Please don't enroll your kids at this school. It does not seem that this owner is honest with his business practices and seems to lack integrity. At least, it doesn't seem the motivation is for the benefit to the child, but to keep folks locked in to unused long term contracts. I regret signing a contract for my son in search for a sport that could help him with confidence and social anxiety. It just didn't work for him, and now we are going to battle a case with lawyers and collection agencies because this owner refused to grant us an exit from the contract and/or settle with us before we had to stop the charging of our accounts (since they kept on taking their monthly fee even when no services were rendered.) I do not recommend this place to anyone. read more

My two kids and my nephews all take classes at Seattle Tae Kwon Do. The classes are well structured and the Masters are all very good. The kids seem engaged and seem to be having a great time. I love seeing my kids now setting goals and working hard to achieve them. Previously the only things they did was play video games. Now they are focused on attaining all the color belts in a quest to become Black Belts. Our family really loves this school! read more

Seattle Tae Kwon Do is an amazing school with amazing classes. My kids love the classes and I am so impressed with how organized and professional the school is. I recently found out that they have been in business for 26 years! They are well established and have a great team of instructors and Masters. My kids love the school and so will yours! read more

Grand Master Richards and his teach of super star instructors and masters at Seattle Tae Kwon Do are amazing! I love their teaching style as they are firm but fun. My son, Allan loves to play, but I want him to develop good skills. The instructors at Seattle Tae Kwon Do make all the classes fun, yet are excellent in developing great skill sets in their students. I appreciate at how patient all the instructors and how eager they are to go the extra mile. The only down side to STKD is their is only one location in Mountlake Terrace. I wish they were everywhere, like Starbucks. If you are looking for a great martial arts school, then them out. read more

We were looking for a place for our son to learn martial arts. We wanted a good balance of hard core training and still keeping the "fun" in learning. We wanted credible masters in martial arts, not someone that received their certification from a cracker box. A school with a good teaching curriculum was also on the list. After looking over several martial arts places we found Seattle Tae Kwon Do. The school was everything we wanted and more. Having taken martial arts before, I can see how they mask important learning drills and making it seem like play. The lessons are fun, but yet the students are learning important skills such as team work and self confidence. Our son's progression was also quick because the teaching was efficient and effective. He wanted to be there to learn. He sees his classmates getting better and they encourage him to get better. The whole school's vibe is very positive. We highly recommend this school. read more

Be careful of the details! They say you can be refunded if don't want to continue classes. WRONG! My SPECIAL NEEDS son no longer wanted to attend classes. We asked for our refund and were told NO! After we had signed up we heard the many stories of this kind or instance happening here. We chose to keep going and deeply regret the whole thing. read more

Couple years back I joined to take classes since I used to live in Mountlake Terrace. The "headmaster" Brandon Richards was very rude and very disrespectful... There was a sparring class and one of the instructors invited me to join... As I was using my own gears and equipment that I brought from my country; since I was already a blue belt level when I moved here, he then came up to me in front of everyone and said "what are you doing?? You cannot be here or join the sparring class"... And also because I still had my white uniform and because the only way for me to join is if I bought the black uniform... I know I had potential in me, but because I did not "upgrade" to the black uniform, he wouldn't let me join. He could have at least been decent in asking but instead he yelled at me in front of everyone. The instructor then felt bad for me and apologized for Brandon's actions... but Brandon simply walked away as if it nothing happened.. since then I never came back. So please stop sending me your generic spammed mails that "you've missed me and want me to come back"... You don't miss me, you miss getting more money. He's a ripoff. Just another business minded person who does not care for people to succeed; just want their money. read more

Biased training and acceleration through belts. No ability to end attendance without a huge $ hit, had to report auto deduct as fraud to end as they would not. lack of customer support when you have an issue. Head Master rude and uncooperative, Prices getting spendy for too large of classes. read more

Rude owner, poor billing practices, shady sales tactics, zero integrity. Your child is better off enrolling in fitness 19 around the corner and working with a trainer or taking the classes. Maybe even Brazilian jiu-jitsu its a style that teaches integrity and doesn't have wierd titles like "MASTER". At least whomever is the instructor will be in shape and someone with integrity you wouldn't mind having around your child. read more

We had a very frustrating experience with this place. We bought the living social deal, 2 months unlimited for $50. Checked out their website, no mention of price except a summer offer of 3 months for $99. We called and mentioned we had bought the living social deal and wanted to register, made an appointment and headed in. Once there, they make you answer this questionnaire. On the questionnaire they ask if you can pay $150 a month for martial arts, to which I replied I would have to go back over our budget and see, wasn't sure, that would be a lot of money a month for us...they told me they wouldn't redeem my deal unless I answered yes. This was not in the fine print of the living social deal! This does not seem forthcoming to me at all. We left offended. Livingsocial was great about it, refunded my money and have forwarded on the issue to their merchant services team. read more

I only wished I'd read the reviews BEFORE trying them out. Quit months ago and guess what? Still charging my account now that the 8 month contract is up. read more

I'm a big Yelp user, but never felt the need to sign up and write a review until I experienced the poor and unethical business practices of this company. We had a positive experience with the initial training and classes (good instructors), but with school, homework, and other activities, this was simply too much for our young daughter, and she was too tired to make all the classes, and I wasn't going to force it. Because she didn't attend the required number of classes within the initial time period, they wouldn't let us out of the contract. I would have been glad to pay for the classes she didn't attend, but they demanded payment for a full year - despite our only going to a few classes over the course of one month. Our attorney wrote them a letter regarding the contract not being legal in terms of requiring a child to participate in an activity, which they ignored. I didn't want to go to court, though we could. We put a block on their charges through our bank, but the charges kept coming and needing to be reversed, as according to our bank, STKD changes to a different credit card terminal and/or merchant name to get around the stop-pay. Even Chase bank has commented on the clever trickery of this company. Someone not as determined or aware of their finances could really be taken to the cleaners. It's really so unfortunate, as I might have considered going back when our daughter got older due to the good instruction, but would never recommend the business. read more

Very bad experience, no customer service what so ever, I had one accident when the owner didn't allow my 7 years old son to go to class, becuase we were late trying to figure out the time of the practice, when I called the owner, he put me on hold for 8 minutes and the then hang up on me without an answer. I decided to go to go to the center to check out the class, I droped my son, then he went back crying becuase of the way he was treated and was about to cross the street by him self to get to the car, OMG, it was one of the horrifying experience of my life. No parking spaces avialabe, small waiting room for perents, expensive compareing to other centers. Not recomemded! read more

The behavior of the owner of this business totally changed when the contract was up for renewal. Mr. Richards became rude, abusive, and obnoxious when all I was trying to do was explain that I didn't have the time or money to commit to another long term contract during these difficult economic times. The experience went from positive (the instructors) to terribly negative in two minutes. I would give 0 stars if I could! STAY AWAY! read more

My daughter recently went to this place for a friend's birthday party (they rent out their studio to host birthday parties). The kids played lots of games and were very physically active for the first part, all organized/supervised by two instructors from the school; the kids had a lot of fun. Then came cake and presents. Again, the kids had fun. So why the low review? Because of the cynically manipulative hard-sell at the very end. The main instructor (not Brandon R.) lined up the kids, gave them a small bag with toys, and told them, "In this bag is a coupon for a discount to come back here. If you had fun, tell your parents and then you can come and we can be your teachers"! And I got off easy; our next door neighbors (who had their child at the same party) have started getting junk-mail from these guys, and at least one phone call, pressuring them to sign their child up for class. Very slimy. read more

Avoid the area during class times, kids running laps around the other retail businesses is annoying.

Unfortunately, I agree 100% with all the others above, it's very sad as the instructors are great. We felt 0 respect from Master Richards, and I thought that was part of what Taekwondo teaches. Cancelled our contract the correct way and paid 30 days extra and still he sends us a collection notice! BBB will help us though! And if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. Thanks! read more

My Son has gone to Seattle Tae Kwon Do for almost two years now. They teach respect, self confidence, commitment and hard work. The instructors are all fabulous. You can tell they love the kids. I've seen tremedous growth in my son's approach to life and the skills he learns at Seattle Tae Kwon Do are a huge part of that! read more

Having joined Seattle Tae Kwon Do for their Thai Kickboxing over a year ago now (my first and only martial arts experience), I have really been able to get to know the school and their instructors; all of whom have been extremely helpful and supportive. Working long hours and sitting much of the day, this class provides a great outlet to relieve stress and get in a great workout. I am still amazed how much better my flexibility, balance, and cardio are from Kickboxing. As another poster mentioned, the parking lot does fill up quickly so be sure to come early to ensure you can get a spot. If you are looking for a new way to work out and challenge yourself, I highly recommend giving this a shot! read more

I am only now discovering the value of online reviews from experiences with other businesses. My kids have been going to Tae Kwon Do for 1 1/2 years now. Many years ago I had a close friend who owned a Tae Kwon Do school and learned some about the operations of it. Like most gyms, most of the martial arts schools have annual contracts and many of them use outside sources to collect and manage the financial portion of the business It does not take me by surprise that Seattle Tae Kwon Do does as well. Just like a gym, without a commitment from students, they would struggle to operate. On to the good stuff. My kids love the teachers. My ADHD daughter's ability to focus in school and respect for school staff has changed dramatically in the last year. The only thing we have changed is adding Tae Kwon Do. Her teachers actually stop me to comment about how much she has improved in academics and behavior. It is the only sport that is all positive for her. My other two kids love the classes as well. My husband and I love the fact that the kids have small goals to reach (moving to the next belt level) as they work toward black belt. We also love that they show off their stuff at a graduation ceremony so they learn to deal with fear in front of a crowd. It gives us all a reason to go out and celebrate after. We love the mottos and lessons they teach, like "A goal you set, is a goal you get." How powerful is that for a kid to understand!! My kids love all the special events as well--board breaking, parent's night out, glow-in-the-dark nunchak night, summer camps, etc. Overall, Seattle Tae Kwon Do has been a great addition to my life. read more

My experience was exactly the same as Patrick. Very shady business practices. There is an automatic 12 month renewal with a very steep cancellation fee. This automatic renewal wasn't brought to my attention at the time I signed the contract. My mistake, but this is a very sneaky business practice. Read the fine print before you sign anything! read more

My son is 6 years old. He has strugged with his coordination and motor skills. We enrolled him into Tae Kwon Do because his Kindergarten teacher recommended it as possibly helping his coordination. We have had an absolutely incredible experience with this center. The instructors are enthusiastic, caring and extremly professional. My son has built up his stamina, coordination and discipline in the short amount of time he has been coming here. He has signed a contract that promises he will put his education first and strive to eat a healthy balanced diet. Most importantly, he has found a sport that he feels successful in, his self confidence has risen three fold. I am not quite sure what all of the negative reviews are about. I never felt pressured to sign up for anything that we did not understand. The program gives you ample opportunity to back out within the first few months. This program has also sold a mom on a sport that she did not understand. I wish I had signed him up when he was 4. read more