I recently had the pleasure to meet and interview Salvador Rodriguez Jr., a 20-year-old martial artist, an instructor at SRE Taekwondo, and the youngest member of the Rodriguez family. He has been a dedicated student of Taekwondo his entire life and his current dream is to gain recognition in regional and national competitions and try out for Team USA as an Olympic athlete. I am excited to share his story with you today because I am so impressed by the passion, ability, and determination they bring to this community and surrounding areas. If you're interested in learning more about this Taekwondo program in Elberton, or for a free trial class, call 706-452-1801.
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SRE Taekwondo Comes to Elberton
Four days a week, the Rodriguez family travels to local communities to practice, train, and teach martial arts to children and adults. Mondays in Crawford, Tuesdays in Lincolnton, Wednesdays in Washington, and Fridays in Elberton. They arrive at the local VFW post and work together as a team to unload piles of safety equipment and fighting accessories such as foam pads, paddles, combat mannequins, nunchucks, swords, fighting sticks, and flags. Then it's time to set up, warm up, and train their students for the next 6 hours! That's just a normal day for the head instructor, Mr. Rodriguez along with his three children who act as the second instructor and trainees.
SRE Taekwondo: School of Martial Arts was established in Washington, Georgia in 1998, and has since expanded into Lincolnton, Oglethorpe, and Elbert County. Each year, the program continues to grow and now includes traditional Taekwondo, Olympic Taekwondo, MMA, and weapons training classes. Classes are 70 minutes long and the weekly schedule as follows:
3:00 - 5:00 pm: Private Lessons
5:00 - 6:10 pm: Kids Class
6:30 - 7:40 pm: Adults Class
8:00 - 9:10 pm: MMA Class
Price: $65/month - one class per week
A registration fee of $160 includes the first month of class, uniform, and belt.
These classes teach appeal to students of all ages. "We have classes suitable for children, teenagers, and adults. Our youngest student is 3, and the oldest is 56 years old, both right here in Elberton. Because we have two instructors and two trainees, we can split off into small groups and help different skill levels."
What is Taekwondo?
According to the World Taekwondo Foundation, "Taekwondo is one of the most systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial arts, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. It is a discipline that shows ways of enhancing our spirit and life through training our body and mind. Today, it has become a global sport that has gained an international reputation, and stands among the official games in the Olympics." Taekwondo shares some similarities with other martial arts, but it is more diverse and combines fighting, strikes, kicks, and defensive movements.
Taekwondo teaches safe and effective ways to use Tae and Kwon (fists and feet), how to control yourself, calm down a fight, and keep the peace.
In Korean, the word Taekwondo is made of three parts Tae = foot / leg, Kwon = fist / fight, and Do = discipline / way. Overall, "Taekwondo" has a deeper meaning of "the right way of using all parts of the body to stop fights and help to build a better and more peaceful world."
Compared to other martial arts, Salvador explains, "Karate consists of basic hand and feet movement at a slower pace without jumps. Jujutsu has arm locks and slams (which are also taught in Taekwondo). Kung Fu is similar to Jujitsu with kicks, striking, grappling, arm locks, submission poses, and takedowns. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has gained popularity among adults with aspects of kickboxing, boxing, and jujitsu. MMA has no ranks or levels, and many MMA fighters began their career with Taekwondo. If you study Taekwondo as an adult, you will practice MMA as well."
The Family Tradition Continues...
Dedication. Resilience. Flexibility. Passion. Salvador Rodriguez Jr., a.k.a. "Sal" started learning martial arts at an early age, and has continued to train for his entire life. "My dad has been teaching Taekwondo ever since before I was born. He established SRE Taekwondo when my brother was born and I officially received my uniform and enrolled in the school at age 3, the minimum age requirement. I have been around the sport for my entire life, and I feel compelled to follow in the footsteps of my father," Salvador explained. At age 14, he learned all the necessary skills to obtain a black belt.
Sal attended Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School and graduated in 2020. Now he has been an instrumental role in expanding the school into Elbert County. Sal explains, "My dad always wanted to expand to Elbert County, but it wasn't possible without additional instructors. So after I graduated, we had the opportunity to expand our school."
He continues to teach Taekwondo and train every day to improve his skill, with a focus on flexibility and delivering powerful kicks. At each tier, each martial artist must learn certain skills and train for a minimum duration of time between levels. In May 2021, Sal was confident in his ability and obtained his 4th-degree black belt. He is still training for the next degree along with his daily practice. Admittedly, Sal reports "If I take the test and don't pass, I have to wait another year before I test again. So I prefer to be cautious and wait to take the evaluation once I am fully prepared with all of the criteria to become a 5th-degree black belt."
The highest honor in Taekwondo is currently 10th-degree black belt. It is a symbol of ultimate honor and respect in the community, reserved for the highest level of commitment and reserved for those who spend their entire life dedicated to Taekwondo. There is also a minimum age requirement for upper-level black belts, often 45 years of training or more.
Olympic Goals
Sal's current dream is to gain recognition at regional and national competitions and try out to join TEAM USA for a chance to participate at the Olympics. "The first stage is to participate in state championships, which I hope to attend this year. After that, you move on to Nationals to gain recognition from TEAM USA Olympic Committee and be invited to the US Olympic training camp. From there, you may qualify and get a chance to join the team. Every step of the way is highly competitive, and even if you are selected for the Olympic team, you are not guaranteed to participate for your country." However, Salvador is dedicated to his dream and will continue to train in hopes to achieving his goals.
Along the way, Sal is extremely motivated by his father, the head instructor of SRE Taekwondo. "My dad is very passionate about martial arts and fighting. He has spent his entire life dedicated to training in the sport. He wanted to participate in the Olympics, but suffered a knee injury and could not continue down that path. Now, I will continue my father's dream, and I hope to be the first person in our family to achieve that goal. I will continue in his place and fulfill the goal for both of us."
Tips for Getting Started
- You're Never Too Old or Too Young to Start: If you start martial arts at a young age, you will have a good foundation of discipline. After the age of 3, you can begin training, but it's never too late to start because martial arts is good for all ages, and takes time, effort, and determination which are all good lifelong traits to practice.
- Positive Mental and Physical Side Effects: You'll gain physical benefits such as agility, faster reactions, health, and stay in shape. Positive mental benefits such as sharp focus, discipline, mental balance, mindfulness, and awareness.
- Salvador's Words of Wisdom: The most important thing to succeed as a martial artist is to have passion, be dedicated, and never give up. You won't go far otherwise.
Enroll Now & Sign Up for Your Free Trial Class
SRE Taekwondo offers free trial lessons at one of the four locations. Classes run all year long in Crawford (Oglethorpe County), Lincolnton (Lincoln County), Washington (Washington-Wilkes County), and Elberton (Elbert County). They also do demonstrations, camps, and more.
"I love being able to share my knowledge with those who are willing to learn, and watching their constant measurable growth as they improve under the instruction that we give." - Salvador Rodriguez Jr., instructor at SRE Taekwondo
SRE Taekwondo: School of Martial Arts
VFW Post 5456
1004 Calhoun Falls Hwy, Elberton, GA 30635
Phone number: 706-452-1801
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sretkd
Email: sretaekwondo@gmail.com
Class Times:
3:00 - 5:00 pm: Private Lessons
5:00 - 6:10 pm: Kids Class
6:30 - 7:40 pm: Adults Class
8:00 - 9:10 pm: MMA Class
Price: $65/month - one class per week
A registration fee of $160 includes the first month of class, uniform, and belt.
FREE TRIAL CLASS AVAILABLE for KIDS & ADULTS
Contact SRE Taekwondo by phone, email or Facebook page for more information.
