Pacific Martial Arts of Lynnwood is a member of a small association of schools located in Western Washington State, USA. Other school locations include: Everett, Olympia, Anacortes and Lake Stevens. Pacific Martial Arts is a "family" oriented school. That is, we emphasize the "art" of self-defense which encourages the growth of self-discipline, self-confidence, and self-esteem.

The association was founded in the early 1980's by Robert Levy. Originally the schools were called "Pacific Taekwon-do" and the Inter­national Taekwon-do Federation (ITF) style was taught. Mr. Levy's school, however, was taught in a "relaxed" style. That is, students were encouraged to bring in ideas and questions about other styles of martial arts. Often guest instructors taught classes on arts such as: Karate, Kung-fu, Akido, Escrima, Wing Chun, Kickboxing, Jujitsu, etc. Mr. Levy himself is also an expert in Hung Gar Gung-fu. Mr. Levy currently teaches Tai Chi Ch'uan (Taijiquan) at the Lynnwood Recreation Center.

Because of this relaxed style of teaching, Mr. Levy attracted students and instructors of many interests. Even though the foundation art was Taekwon-do, the schools could not be considered strictly Taekwon-do anymore. Therefore it was decided to rename the association to "Pacific Martial Arts" and the following logo was adopted:

PACIFIC MARTIAL ARTS
Keeping the art in martial arts

Instructor Derek McClinton began studying Taekown-Do in 1989 under instructor Ron Shultz. He began assisting teaching classes in 1990, and has since studied various styles including Gung Fu, Taijiquan, Arnis stick fighting, Aikido and Brazilian Jujitsu.

Taekwon-do:
"Tae" means "jumping or flying, to break or smash with the foot"
"Kwon" means "to punch or destroy with the fist"
"Do" means "the 'art' or 'way' of"

So... Taekown-do is the art of kicking and punching. It is considered a "hard" style meaning that the classes tend to be aerobic and somewhat strenuous. You can expect a good, sweaty, workout. Concepts include: learning proper technique, hyung or patterns, self-defense, sparring, board breaking, stick and knife fighting (at advanced levels). A uniform is required to advance with colored belts given for each level of competence.

Beginning students are taught primarily the techniques developed by the International Taekwon-do Federation (ITF) style of Taekwon-do. As students progress, they are introduced to techniques and forms from other styles of martial arts. Advanced students learn techniques from styles including: Hung Gar Gung Fu, Yang Style Taijiquan (Tai Chi Ch’uan), Arnis Stick Fighting, and Aikido Short Staff fighting.