Couples that Train Together, Stay Together

By Chosun Taekwondo Academy student, Deborah Szajngarten

We all lead busy lives. Creating time to take care of ourselves, both physically and spiritually often comes last, after ensuring that the needs of our jobs, our partner and children are met. How many times have you said, “I’ll take that class tomorrow,” only to find the life gets in the way?

What if you could find a way to take care of yourself while spending quality time with your partner? Couples that decide to train in Taekwondo together create a unique bond based on positive emotions and healthful living.

Not only does it help you keep off those extra pounds, but it also helps couples create dedicated space in their daily lives for shared experiences, some of which can be profound.

According to Psychology Today, couples that train together are more satisfied with their relationships. Working together on coordinated motions— like forms or one-step sparring— helps the couples become more attuned to one another, based on physical cues. What’s more, all that sweating, heart racing, and endorphin building can keep your physical attraction to one another strong.

“When a couple works out together, the actual exercise itself can physically and emotionally have a positive impact,” explained Dr. Jane Greer, a marriage and relationship psychotherapist in New York City and author of What About Me? Stop Selfishness From Ruining Your Relationship in an interview with YouBeauty Magazine. “Both partners come away with feelings of synchronicity, cooperative spirit and shared passion. Then you throw in some spicy endorphins and it can be a real power trip for the relationship.”

I’m happy to be among several couples that train together at Chosun Taekwondo Academy. My boyfriend and I met at the school when I was just a white belt. Taekwondo was the foundation of our early relationship. Even though he was a much higher belt than me, we practiced together often, both on and off the Dojang floor. It’s been two years now, and we still happily practice together. We even woke up early on vacation to do our forms on the beach at sunrise.
Happily, our experiences are not totally unique. Here’s what some of the other Chosun Taekwondo Academy couples have to say…

• “My first thought was ‘a couple that kicks together sticks together!’ But my wife says that relationships, as well as Taekwondo training, are based upon the philosophy of contrary yet complementary forces...eum ~ yang...she's so smart."   ; ) – Tommy Lennon and his wife Patricia are currently brown belts.                                                        
•  “There is nothing like taking down your hubby with a Tiger Mouth Sweep!!” – Pam Pyke, and her husband Hal are third-degree instructors                                                                                                                                                                                                         
• " The path of a martial artist is a unique one that very few understand. It is an incredible gift to have a partner that is not only capable of truly understanding the journey, but walking it right beside me." Bryce Parkinson and her husband Brian are brown belts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
•  “Well for us, training together is wonderful. We encourage and motivate each other to train regularly. Even when we are on vacation, we find a private location on the hotel property to practice our forms so that we can stay up to date on our training. We also enjoy going through the ranks together – we can appreciate each other’s accomplishments and understand what we have both achieved. It is a passion that we can both share, and it makes our training stronger because we enjoy helping each other succeed.” – Laura Towey and her husband John are first-degree black belts.                                                                                                                                                                     
•  “We began our Taekwondo journey seven years ago, never dreaming what it would mean to us. Today we are 3rd degree black belts and instructors at Chosun Taekwondo Academy. It is what we do and it is a large part of who we are. We have had ups and downs in our training and our competitiveness over the years has caused more than a few temper flare-ups. But, after all this time we still ask, “How was class?” And then we talk about what we did or didn’t do well, and what we learned. What we do know for certain? It’s better together.” – Nancy Garrett and her husband Jake are third-degree black belt instructors

As you can see, training together ensures that you both make time for yourselves, helps to deepen the bonds of your relationship and keeps you physically fit and attracted to one

another. So if you can’t think of the perfect gift for your loved one this Valentine’s Day – give

the gift of training together. In fact, 
Chosun Taekwondo Academy is running a Valentine’s Day special offer:  
2 Join for $29!   
Sign-up for the:  *$29 Basic Training Intro Package, and your partner’s Intro Package is FREE. 

For more information contact us: 

info@chosuntkd.com or click here to sign-up NOW!

*Includes 1 month of unlimited classes with uniform. Valid through February, 2015.

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