Gold Medal Taekwondo

We discovered Gold Medal in Sept of 09, referred by a friend, and consider it to be one of the best activities for kids in Las Cruces. The gym is owned and operated by Marcy Shoberg, who is the TKD master, along with her dad and her brother. They are all quite friendly and laid back and seemingly concerned more with self-confidence building than with churning out nationally ranked sparring champions, which is just fine with me. The facility is serviceable although the swamp cooler is a bit wonky and the changing rooms need updating. And the classes are great; my son will soon be a green belt and he loves to go to them, has learned a lot, and made some good friends, too.The only thing I sorta hate about Gold Medal is the lack of free wi-fi in the place; I end up having to flee to the nearest Starbucks instead of hanging around during the class.UPDATE:There has been free wi-fi for a while now, which is an improvement, but the swamp cooler is still wonky and the place is generally in need of updating (the floor paint is chipped, for example). The staffing has also been pared back so that sometimes people coming in to inquire about classes have to wait for someone to show up and wait on them.

Our four year old son has been attending classes at GMTKD for about a year, and we love it!! As mentioned by Jamie B., Master Shoberg focuses more on building self confidence and how to deal with bullying than anything else (at least for the classes directed at the younger set). That being said, they do spend plenty of time focusing on technique and prepare students for tournaments as they gain skill. They are especially good at teaching to children. My son learned enough to move up to the white belt class and has continued to excel, with their guidance, in that class too!

My sons and I started GMTKD in January and it is the best investment I could have possibly made. The mixed age classes allow us to learn together as a family and helps when practicing at home. I have seen so much improvement in my children's behavior and confidence since attending. They are taught self-defense techniques and are definately reinforced on their stranger danger, which as a mom gives me a little more peace of mind. Master Shoberg works so patiently with the kids and tries to keep everyone at a level they are comfortable with. So no matter your age or athletic ability GMTKD is a great place to grow!!!!

This is a great place for learning self defense. The instructors are very committed. Safety is their priority. I have my 7 year old and 4 yr old here and they have been loving it.

I would not recommend taking your smaller children here, as that is all I can speak for. They allow the more experienced children to beat up on the newer children without any direction for the inexperienced or beginner child. My five year old was basically set up to be beat on by another more experienced child and I left feeling like I just allowed my child to be beaten and like I should have had to defend her myself! I really feel the man running the class should have offered more direction and treated this as a learning opportunity rather then what it seemed like offering my daughter up as someone to beat up. We left and never went back it has been a terrible experience for the both of us and if you don't want to feel you have to be in a position to protect your small child when you are paying to have them learn then stay away from this facility, or at least that was our experience.

My grandson began taking taekwondo classes at Gold Medal when he was 5 years old in 2007. He earned his black belt at age 10. I began taking classes with him about 3 years ago, therefore I have seen the various changes in the dojang and in the staff over the years. The big changes have been in the curriculum. We rotate every three weeks with a week of olympic sparring, a week of traditional and a week of self-defense. Master Shoberg makes sparring such that any student can feel successful. Traditional week is my favorite with practice in forms and techniques of breaking boards. Self-defense has changed the most with more practical and modern techniques from a variety of sources being taught. I really enjoy the classes now mostly because of mixed ages and ranks. Since the white and yellow belt students are grouped together in one class and green through black belt grouped together in a class, adults with children, everyone seems to enjoy it more plus more learning and less discipline problems take place. The current staff is great and the dojang is amazingly clean and orderly thanks to David and others who are in charge of housekeeping. Improvements in the evaporative coolers have made the classroom more comfortable. It is a very large dojang so it is understandable that refrigerated air would not be cost effective. I believe if you and/or your child want a well-rounded and varied curriculum, want to learn in a reduced-stress and comfortable environment, and feel you can have a life outside the dojang and free to take time off for other extra curricular activities occasionally, yet able to meet your martial arts goals, then you may like to check us out.