Join the Wolfe Pack

Wolfe Pack Taekwondo combines traditional taekwondo training with an inviting, family-friendly atmosphere.

Owners Lisa and Mike Wolfe with students at Wolfe Pack Taekwondo.

Martial arts training can teach children self-confidence, fitness, coordination, respect and self-control. Wolfe Pack Taekwondo teaches self-defense techniques, life skills, leadership, empowerment, Olympic-style competition techniques, traditional weapons skills and breaking.

Head instructors Mike and Lisa Wolfe founded Wolfe Pack Taekwondo in 2007. They are certified as fourth-degree black belts by the World Taekwondo Federation and are USA Taekwondo-certified athletes and referees. Wolfe Pack Taekwondo now has two locations: 6243 E. 61st St. in the Park Plaza Shopping Center in Tulsa and 10031 S. Yale in Jenks.

The Wolfes have used their martial arts experiences to create a practical curriculum. “We come from a traditional Korean martial arts background,” Lisa says. “It was strict, with a heavy emphasis on physical discipline. We stayed until we received our black belts, then moved to a more lax place; it was more fun, but it lacked some of the skills – it was not a complete martial arts experience. At Wolfe Pack Taekwondo, we’ve combined ­traditional training with an open, inviting, family-friendly atmosphere. Parents love our curriculum because of our hands-on and individual approach.”

Taekwondo, which ­translates as “the art of kicking and punching,” is a modern Korean martial art with emphases on kicking and ­keeping attackers at a distance. Taekwondo is more than a ­self-defense technique – it’s a way of life by which students can improve themselves physically and mentally. In addition to the curriculum and techniques of taekwondo, students also learn the principles of physical fitness, stretching, forms, throws, breaking, sparring, respect and mental discipline. The five tenets of taekwondo, which are displayed in large letters on Wolfe Pack Taekwondo’s wall, are courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit.

“Taekwondo should be philosophical,” says Lisa. “These principles are necessary to progress through the ranks of taekwondo, and we encourage our students to apply them to their lives and live by them.”

Taekwondo is currently the world’s most popular martial art, with millions of practitioners in over a hundred countries. Taekwondo has been an Olympic Games medal event since 2000.

“Martial arts aren’t just physical; they’re about self-control,” Mike says. “We teach our students to respond to a bully with equal force – if he’s calling you a punk, that’s not an excuse to attack him; but if he attacks you, you defend yourself, but don’t attack back. You use only as much as you need to defuse a situation. In today’s school settings, where a lot of bullying occurs and most fights are broken up within a minute or two, it’s very successful.”

Some taekwondo schools feature light or no contact in sparring; others can be brutal, Mike says. “We do heavier ­contact sparring here, but with an appropriate amount of ­equipment. That full contact is important so that you can learn how it feels to get hit in a safe place with minimized chance for injury.”

“Sparring is an area where our higher-level students learn both street application and self-control,” says Lisa. “Requirements are tailored to the individual student. All students are expected to work to the best of their ability: as our ­students gain experience, they’re expected to set a good example, to be leaders.”

The majority of Wolfe Pack Taekwondo’s students are between the ages of 3 and 15. “Many kids are bullied at school, or don’t socialize well with others,” says Mike. “We help them learn to interact with others more comfortably outside the training hall.”

Wolfe Pack Taekwondo also hosts a large number of events and programs. “We do a lot of events and competitions,” says Mike. “We have a new after-school program starting at the beginning of 2012 where we pick up the students at school, come back here for lessons, and then they can do homework until their parents arrive. We also host birthday parties here. We’re always trying new things, evolving, growing. We want to put Tulsa back on the martial arts map.”

Wolfe Pack Taekwondo is affiliated with the World Taekwondo Federation, USA Taekwondo, the US and World Breaking Associations, and the Fight Like a Girl self-defense ­system of personal violence ­prevention for women.

For more information, contact

Wolfe Pack Taekwondo

(918) 574-4614

(918) 402-1662