Ms. Maria collaborated with other TKD women to bring the first ITF-USA’s Women’s Committee to fruition! Along with four other high-ranking black belts, they began the Women’s Committee which will focus on bringing awareness to women in the martial arts. ....
Read moreOur GDD instructors continue to learn! Ms. Maria, Mr. Kevin and Mr. Bill completed their International Umpire Course Certificate in April under the International TaeKwon-Do Federation. The course certifies them to serve as umpires in regional, national, and international TKD tournaments. We hope the tournaments begin again soon! All 2020 tournaments were cancelled due to COVID so we are anxious to get back into the circle and show all our GDD moves. ....
Read moreMany of our families remember our Dragon’s Night! Our new families got to see what the hype is all about! Friday, June 18 th , on the last day of school (for AACPS at least), we hosted 40 kids from 6-10 pm while their families got to have date night. Ms. Maria, Ms. Mary, Ms. Molly and Ms. Jade led our infamous nerf gun battles, laser tag, musical dots, and more fun games. We were so happy to be able to host this fun event for our new and continuing families! ....
Read moreIs coming back!!! We are excited to announce that we can safely resume our annual summer picnic. Information will be shared during classes. And, you know how Ms. Maria loves her nerf gun battles? Well, she loves her WATER GUN battles even more! And she promises you’ll get wet! Stay tuned for more information on this fun annual event which we are happy to bring back. ....
Read moreSummer is finally here! School is out and our TKD summer training has begun. Each week has a theme to it; this first week’s theme was “Kindness Week”. Our young summer trainees learned about how we show people kindness. Check out their kindness flowers along the dojang wall. In addition, Ms. Maria had our young dragon warriors doing running drills, curriculum knowledge, and cardio training. Our dragon warriors will be super-charged for their next belt testing with all this work! Upcoming weeks will include themes including: “Community Helpers”, “Independence Week”, “Imaginarium Week”, and “Ocean Week”. More info to come! ....
Read moreNew in 2021! GDD is happy to announce Summer Camp 2021. We will offer full or half day weekly options, beginning June 19 th through August 27 th . Full day: 8am-5pm; Half-days 8am-1pm. Let us help your child build Discipline, Self-Confidence, Physical Fitness, Leadership and Tae Kwon Do skills. In addition, we’ll have arts and crafts, movies, pizza parties, dance parties and our famous nerf gun battles! For more information, email goldendragondefense2@gmail.com . ....
Read moreGDD now offers birthday parties at the dojang on Saturdays and/or Sundays! Let GDD take care of the party for you: set up, clean up, supplies, tables, chairs, and most importantly- the ENTERTAINMENT! You can provide the food and drinks or leave that up to us! Additional options include a NERF gun party, board breaking, a ninja pinata, and/or goodie bags. Email goldendragondefense2@gmail.com for more information! ....
Read moreSome of you may have seen the progress on Facebook or in person during the month of January. We recently remodeled our interior and gained over 500+ square feet. Just in time for Spring, we have a fresh update: new floors and a new layout. We added more space which gave us a designated sparring area, a separate workout area, and more TKD space. In addition, the additional square footage allows us to safely accommodate more people inside! If you have not been here in a while, come check us out! ....
Read moreWhy did you start TKD? I started taekwondo because I wanted to do an extracurricular activity, and my dad suggested martial arts. I remember walking in that studio for the first time when I was six years old, and I told Ms. Maria “I’m going to be a black belt and I’m going to help you teach.” Look at me now, six years later- in two months I’ll be testing to do exactly that! It’s been such a long road filled with tough mental and physical training, testings, tournaments, board breaks, seminars, and many, many hours of pure training, but I’ve finally made it, and I’m so glad that all those years ago I told my dad yes when he asked if ....
Read moreGolden Dragon Defense will hold our next Black Belt testing in December. Two of our longest members, Nate and Heidi, will finally earn their black belts from Ms. Maria. We asked them about their experience with GDD and why they started TKD. Our first spotlight is on Nate, who is currently 16. · Why did you start TKD? I thought it would be fun, and help me be able to defend myself · What do you like most about TKD? The sense of family at GDD, and teaching because it helps boost my confidence · What do you like most about Golden Dragon Defense? Pretty much everything · Is Dragon Lady as scary as she sounds? No, because she has a huge heart · How long ....
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Great place for all ages. Engaging, challenging and fun.
There are not many instructors like Maria Patalinghug. My 3 children earned their black belts with her as a mentor and instructor. She is knowledgeable, strong, and unique in her teaching methods. Highly recommend her and Golden Dragon Defense!
Such a great place. They treat you like family when you walk in the door. They make an effort to know your name and make you feel welcomed!
