A new taekwon-do club is kicking up a pile of enthusiasm in Arviat.
The club is led by the husband-and-wife team of John Arnalukjuak High School (JAHS) principal Don Peters and his spouse, Joanne.
Taekwon-do (art of kicking and punching) is the Korean art of unarmed combat that is based on karate and the earlier form of Korean self-defense known as tae kyon.
Is is primarily a stand-up or striking style of martial arts that offers a supreme focus on kicking techniques, but also includes other forms of striking such as punches, knees and elbows.
Students also work on their blocking techniques, balance, stances and footwork.
Don, in his first year as JAHS principal, started doing taekwon-do in his early 20s and is now a fourth-degree black belt after more than three decades involved in the martial art and is certified as a national instructor.
Joanne is a second-degree black belt and has been involved in the art for about nine years.
Don, who was principal of Aqsarniit Middle School in Iqaluit for the past nine years, is one of the original founders of the Iqaluit Taekwon-Do club.
He said in forming the Arviat club, he and Joanne were primarily looking for a lifelong-skill activity for youth to get involved with.
"I have a Saturday program here I call the attendance program for high school students and it was a natural addition to invite little school kids, kids more than 11 years old and parents from the family to make it a real community activity," said Don.
"I had been doing some instruction with people here who knew I was black belt, but we've been officially running for about a month now and we have just a little under 50 members.
"We train two afternoons during the week at noon and, on Saturday afternoons, from 3 p.m. until 4:30 or 5 p.m."
Don said taekwon-do is an organized activity with lots of movement and challenges.
He said at this stage, when you first start a club, it's all about getting the kids active and enjoying themselves with others while benefiting from the structure that comes with the practice.
"There's also a lot of history to taekwon-do, which is based on a lot of the history of Korea, so we spend a lot of time learning about the history of Korea and the character of someone wanting to be a black belt.
"It's a wonderful program."
Don said he and Joanne talk to the students a lot about the tenets (belief or principle) of taekwon-do which include self-confidence, being courteous with everyone, perseverance and self-control.
He said the hyphenated 'do' in the name is the most important part of the martial art.
"The hyphenated 'do' in the name means using your mind to be able to know when to use taekwon-do, which is basically used for defending yourself and your family – not for bullying and harassing people.
"I've always found when kids get a chance to get out and do some kicking and punching in an organized setting, they do so much of it that it's not something they want to do outside of the Dojang.
"They, sort of, get all that steam burnt off during their formal sessions. I find it's a really good activity that way."
Don said the kids watch Kung Fu Panda and all the kung fu movies on TV, so they have a kind of an awe for the martial arts right off the bat.
He said, generally speaking, if a new student lasts the first 10 lessons they usually stick with it.
"When I left Iqaluit we had about 150 members, including more than 50 in our three-to-six-year-old program, with our evening program being for adults, middle and high school students.
"In fact, there are three-or-four members of the Iqaluit Taekwon-Do Club who made the Canadian team that went to the world championships in Melbourne, Australia, on March 9 and 10.
"My wife and I are so happy to be in such a traditional community like this. Arviat is a wonderful, warm place and the activity of martial arts is a good fit here.
"The kids here love the outdoors and are very active, so they really take to all the movement and social interaction that go with taekwon-do.