We are Cedar Valley Taekwondo. We currently have two

locations, Waterloo, IA and Mason City, IA.

All classes are taught by qualified, WT and Kukkiwon certified instructors

Affiliated with:
Pak Family Martial Arts, Cyclone Martial Arts, Rice Tae Kwon Do, Grand Master Yong Chin Pak, Grand Master Ron Rice, Master Matt Hamann, State of Iowa Black Belt Association
Owners: Master Teresa Nickell & Dr. Master Kent Nickell









Many people ask us, what is Taekwondo? Taekwondo directly translates to;
Tae, "kick"
Kwon, "fist or punch"
Do, "the art of. 

So summed up, many call it the foot and hand way. That sounds silly right? We will just stick with Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is a military martial art developed for combat use in South Korea. It gained immense popularity over the last few decades in the US thanks to movies based in Martial arts, and We're sure you can name one or two. What makes Taekwondo so special? There are many components that go into proper technique. When we think of the biomechanics of taekwondo, a big one is speed, slow techniques don't work very well. Another important one is power, tip-tapping something quickly but softly won't do a whole lot of damage. Balance, coordination, flexibility, and focus all play into this as well, and when you wrap them all together with many more, you get a pretty fun Martial Art!

We are also known for something we call the "Snap". We know, what is that? Well, if you ask any seasoned black belt, its a sound that just makes us smile, it's the best thing we can hear! This sound is achieved when a practitioner executes a technique by initially starting in a relaxed position, then at the last second, tensing those muscles and striking hard! The first techniques students tend to achieve this on are side kicks and Punches. 

What things are included in Taekwondo? Most people are aware of Sparring (Kyorugi), Breaking (Kyuk Pa) and Forms (Poomsae), but some schools also include Team or Pair forms (Poomsae) and weapons (Mu Ki)! We offer many opportunities for not only tournaments, but also symposiums and seminars! There's so many opportunities in Taekwondo! Did you know, Taekwondo is also an Olympic sport?

As always, feel free to contact your instructor(s) should you have any questions!
Master Kayla Rommann