Our Pre-school Development program is designed to  provide young children with a warm and nurturing environment to instill the necessary skills, attitudes and mannerisms for them to embrace life with an “ I can do it!” attitude.

Age Groups

Little Dragon classes are designed for pre-school aged children, 3 - 5 years of age, to help them to develop the essential physical, cognitive, emotional, social and behavioral skills that they will need to embrace life with a positive mental attitude!

Philosophy on Discipline

With each class, every child has the opportunity to earn a special skill stripe for their belt. Children who listen, follow directions and try their best will always earn their stripes. Children who are disruptive or demonstrate poor behavior may not earn their stripes. (It is important to know that children are only evaluated  in comparison with their own development and not with the other children in the class.) Children must sit like a black belt (Focused) in order to have a turn participating in each activity. Children who are not sitting like a black belt may lose their turn. In this way, children learn through positive reinforcement, rather than negative reinforcement. Children are never “punished.” A child’s incentive for behaving well in class, listening  and following directions is to be able to participate in the activities and earn their stripe.

Belt System

At a young age, we are teaching children to set goals for themselves and to work to achieve these goals. Children who earn all of their skill stripes will have an opportunity  upon completion of each session to take a test to earn a new belt, signifying the next level in the Little Dragon program. For many children, this is the first time in their young lives that they are able to experience this sort of accomplishment. Children begin to believe in themselves and in doing so, develop their inner strength, confidence and self-esteem.

Little Dragons Sessions are eight weeks in length. Classes meet once a per week. Each class emphasizes a different skill. For each skill, students have the opportunity to earn a different color stripe. This is demonstrated as follows:

• Week One:   Focus = Yellow

• Week Two:  Control = Orange

• Week Three:  Teamwork = Green

• Week Four:   Balance = Blue

• Week Five:   Coordination= Purple

• Week Six:   Fitness = Red

• Week Seven:   Memory = Brown

• Week Eight:   Discipline = Black

Once a child has earned all eight skill stripes, he/she has the opportunity to test before his/her family and friends for a new belt level. In addition to practicing the skill associated with each stripe, with each new belt level, the child is taught one new Choi Kwang-Do technique. Throughout the course of  each session, students will be able to perform multiple CKD techniques, however, they will only be assigned one technique per rank to focus on. When a student tests for the next rank, he/she is tested only on the techniques up to his/her belt level. This is demonstrated as follows:

• White Belt:  Outward Block

• Yellow Stripe Belt:   Inward Block

• Gold Stripe  Belt:   Low Block

• Orange Stripe Belt:   Rear Inward punch

• Green Stripe Belt:   Front Inward Punch

• Blue Stripe Belt:   Front Leg Front Kick

• Purple Stripe Belt:   Rear Leg Front Kick

• Red Stripe Belt:   Outward Block, Rear Punch Combination

• Brown Stripe Belt:   Outward Block, Front Leg Front Kick, Front Punch, Rear Punch Combination

Class Size; Student/Instructor Ratio

Little Dragon class sizes are kept small so that children can receive the individual attention necessary for them to maintain their focus. Little Dragons classes hold no more than 8 students in a class. The minimum number of students required to run a class is 2.

Program Length

A complete Little Dragon Program runs 18 Months  in Length, providing students test every two months. The earliest a child can begin testing is 3 years of age. This would put a child at about 5 years of age upon completion of the Little Dragons Program. Children who start the program at 5 years old or older may need to accelerate through a portion of the program to prevent being in the program until they are 6 ½ or 7 years of age. It is ideal to move children into the Choi Kwang-Do Junior Program by the time they are 6 years old.

Testing Procedures

A Little Dragons test is a time for students to demonstrate to their relatives and friends, the skills they have been learning in class and also a time for students to demonstrate to their Instructor that they are ready to move up one belt level.

Students demonstrate their listening skills; attention; ability to follow directions and sit like a black belt; and proper responses to their Instructor. They will be asked to perform all techniques up to their belt level and demonstrate on skill activity from each of the eight skill weeks.

Students will be awarded their new belt, along with their certificate of rank and evaluation sheet, upon completion of their test.