With her petite figure and lack of bulging muscles, senior Emily Gardner is the last person one would believe works out with real life ninjas. She spends up to 45 minutes a day during the week working on her Tae Kwon Do skills.

“I was looking for a different way to work out,” Gardner said, “I didn’t like just going to the gym or running around my neighborhood. It was boring to me. I just decided to stop in to the White Tiger Martial Arts dojo (the place where Tae Kwon Do takes place) on a whim, but I’m so thankful I did.”

Martial arts isn’t always a solo workout, it runs in the Gardner family, a family who realized that running and weight training aren’t the only ways to work out.

“My dad took Tae Kwon Do when he was younger. There are a lot of families that take classes together,” Gardner said.

Tae Kwon Do can also be a way to work off all that stress from school that can pile up during the week. It also provides the health benefits of working out more muscles than most other sports or workouts.

“It’s a great stress reliever for me. After a bad day, I can go kick some people,” Gardner said.

The worst way to upset someone taking Tae Kwon Do would be to confuse it with Karate. Karate originated in Japan while Tae Kwon Do comes from Korea. 

“It’s not Karate. They are from two completely different countries and have nothing in common except they are both a martial art,” Gardner said.

Getting involved in a sport doesn’t just lead to physical fitness or relaxation, it can also lead to having a support group that is almost like a family.

“It’s such a positive and uplifting environment where everyone supports each other. To me, I have a Tae Kwon Do family,” Gardner said.