Back in 1996-97 several alums of C.W. Taekwondo/Cornell Sport Taekwondo Club began accumulating in Boston. Though we searched high and wide, we were not able to find a taekwondo school in the area that filled the void that the Cornell Taekwondo experience filled. As a result, we started to get together intermittently to kick pads, do forms, and keep the spirit alive.

As more alums came to the area, practices became regular several times per week and the momentum grew stronger. Soon, our friends and coworkers grew curious about what we were up to every night. They began to come by for lessons in Taekwondo. As the numbers increased, we decided to list our class as a course in a local adult education and recreation catalog. In the Fall of 1998, we organized as a non-profit corporation, under the official name of "The Boston Taekwondo Project, Inc.". And so began what is now known as C.W. Taekwondo at Boston.

Fast forward almost five years and we are amazed at what has evolved of our fledgling group. We now rent over 20 hours of studio time at "the church" in Harvard Square, a beautiful gothic church that has been renovated into dance studios. We hold 12 classes for adults each week spread across five days, including beginning taekwondo, intermediate taekwondo, advanced competition training, cardio-kickboxing and specialized sparring and requirements classes. Our ranks have grown from a handful of black belts and students to 20 instructors and black belts, 50 color belt students, 20-30 beginner students, and 50 cardio-kickboxing students. This is also an exciting time for our club because we have just promoted our first students to black belt and we expect about 8 more students to test for 1st Dan in the next year.

While this is all very exciting, I look back at it all and wonder how we got so far. It is not that I doubted that we could do such a thing, but my amazement is more for the fact that we did not really set out to. We never had a grand plan or design for C.W. Taekwondo at Boston. We simply have been focused on working out hard, continuing to learn and grow, having fun, and sharing our taekwondo with others. It is amazing where the journey will lead you when you are focused on just enjoying each step.

If anyone is in the Boston area, even if just for a night, come join us in Harvard Square and share in the fun! Contact us at 617-848-5833 or info@cwtkd.com. We are on the web at www.cwtkd.com.

-Chris Tuozzolo