You may have noticed Fulcrum TKD meets three times a week very early in the morning. Perhaps you balked at the idea of learning Tae Kwon Do at 6:15am in the morning. If so, allow me to explain.

First, rest assured that I completely sympathize with your hesitancy. Despite being a good student in high school, I very nearly failed to graduate due to absences. Yup, just couldn’t get there on time every day, and I hated mornings as much as any teenager still does today.

However, since then, many things have happened. First, I spent about a decade traveling internationally at least once a month, often to Europe, South America, Australia, etc. At a certain point, with all that time zone changing, my perspective changed and I came to realize that mornings are… well… just another time of day.

But that still doesn’t answer the question of why the class is early in the morning now, when historically it was an evening class.

First, there is a psychology aspect. Back in 2013, I started training for half-marathons, and my training buddy and I always run in the early mornings. This was a choice we made because it was the only time we could make work around kid activities, etc. However, I soon realized there are several advantages.

When you get up in the morning and work out first thing, it is easier to stay committed to the workout routine. If your workout is in the evening, it is much more likely that things will come up, work will run over, etc. and soon enough you are missing workouts and then stopping altogether when the habit is broken.

It is much easier to stay committed to a morning workout. You get up, and before anything else, you work out. And I find there is a deeper psychology here as well in that by working out first thing you are making your workout a PRIORITY for your day. Not just something you will fit in later if you can.

No, this workout is for you and your health and deserves to be a high priority, so get it done first thing!

Moreover, morning workouts have ALWAYS been a part of our school history, just not as predominantly. You see, every year in the spring we would have two weeks of morning workouts in the park. Every morning, 14 classes in a row, no matter the weather. This was REQUIRED to get your brown or black belt, the promotions for which were usually held near the culmination of the two week period.

And yes, partly this was designed to ensure that you were as ready as possible for your belt test, but also it served as a measure of your dedication. If you couldn’t find the inner strength to make it to a morning workout for two weeks, then you clearly did not have the mental fortitude to be a black belt.

So, with the reboot of Fulcrum TKD, I have decided to switch to a morning workout. It’s easier to schedule around your day, it makes your workout a priority while making commitment easier, and it hardens your resolve to endure.

If you are ready to commit to learning Tae Kwon Do, don’t be afraid of the morning!