Mark Anawski has always been there cheering Colton on from the day we started this journey of taekwondo. Mark and his wife Kelli Larson Anawski have help me through so many things in my personal life! There were times of celebrating and times of anger stress and confusion they have always been my biggest supporter. I know they say only superheroes wear capes but in this situation these two black belts are my superhero! There is so much I wish I could give back to tell them how thankful I truly am! Looking back at these memories are always the best feeling!

We just finished up a private self-defense class with Mark & Kelli and it was such an invaluable experience. My friend & I both have two teenage daughters, the oldest of whom will be heading to college soon, so we both wanted to give them the techniques & skills necessary to defend themselves in a real life situation. First, Mark clearly has a deep knowledge of what he is teaching, is passionate about you not becoming a statistic, and is wonderful at communicating how to not live in a fear based mindset, however be able to identify dangerous situations when they occur and react accordingly. One aspect I really appreciated was that he kept the moves simple, yet effective, rather than complicated techniques that you may forget while in the heat of the moment. He was extremely considerate in wanting to know our expectations & making sure we walked away from the class feeling empowered. We enjoyed the class so much we plan to go back for a refresher in a few months to build upon the moves & concepts Mark & Kelli taught us. I feel this is a must class for all women & teenage girls. You will never regret taking a self-defense class, however you may regret NOT taking it.
Thank You Mark & Kelli!

I have a really great experience here! I would definitely recommend anyone who wants to get fit, learn, and be apart of the community to join! The people who run this place are amazing and super supportive!

I enjoy training at Brookings TaeKwonDo. I also enjoy the opportunities Taekwondo has given me, such as competing in different states. I have competed in Kansas, Nevada, Wisconsin, and many other states. I am grateful to be able to compete at higher levels such as state and national competitions. In addition to that I have been able to have access to training camps and other Taekwondo seminars, with coaches such as Olympian and AAU National Coach, Juan Moreno and Olympian Stephen Lambdin. Also I enjoy training with other athletes and getting new knowledge that will help me in the future and help me to grow as a person as well. Taekwondo has given me access to these amazing opportunities. I also enjoy meeting new people through Taekwondo. The people I have met are athletes from other schools , various instructors, my teammates and coach on the competition team. My Coach Mark and his wife Kelli have helped me to develop as an athlete over the years I have been training. The people on my competition team are absolutely amazing and I would recommend trying out Brookings Taekwondo.

I have 2 kids in Tae Kwon Do. The boys have excelled greatly in all areas since we started in April. The instructors are knowledgeable, very patient, and really care about my kids! I tell everyone I know how awesome Brookings Tae Kwon Do is!

This is a very fine program.  The instructors really care about each person.  Our child has attention problems and the staff works with everyone's abilities from youngest to oldest.  We love (<3) it there!!!  Great job team!

I began my journey in Taekwondo for one reason, I wanted to become healthier. I had been getting told by a friend of mine that I should go with her to class for months! She kept asking me if I would like to go with her. Finally one day, I said yes. I went to my first class on a Thursday night not knowing what to expect, and not coming equipped for the workout I was about to receive. It was intense, it was exhausting, but most if all it was absolutely the most thrilling thing I had ever done.From that night on I was hooked. I started going every Thursday night. It took a while to get my first uniform because of me being such a large person. After I got my first uniform I started feeling more and more appreciative of starting this journey. Like I said, I had started Taekwondo to become healthier, but what I got from it was so much more. I received a family, when mine was so far away. I received knowledge, friendship, and respect of everyone that takes the path of Taekwondo. I want to thank my friend Erica whom without her I might have never started this journey. I thank the black belts that pushed me to go further, dig deeper, and to always keep learning growing and trying to be better than I was the day before. I thank all my fellow students for being my, friends as well as helping me learn. Then finally, I thank my instructor Mark and his family for giving me a place to go to, to not only learn, but to grow. It was a place that not only was for learning, but a home away from home. I now continue my journey with thankfulness, and knowledge that I can achieve whatever I want as long as I put forth the effort to attain it.

We have 2 sons who have attended classes for a year. They absolutely love going, and we as parents love everything about the school. The atmosphere is fun and encouraging, while also encouraging discipline and respect.
We held my 8 year old's birthday party there in February, and it was wonderful. It was so nice to not have to worry about a single detail - games, cake, prizes, decorations - everything was taken care of. My son and his friends had so much fun. The birthday boy said it was the best day of his life!

Brookings Taekwondo is more than just a club it has been more like a family. Over the past 4 or 5 years of being part of Brookings Taekwondo there instructors and class members have welcomed us into their community as we commute to their club from Baltic and now Brandon. If it wasn't for the instructors and class members I feel that we would no longer be involved in Taekwondo as we would not want to participate for any other club. Mark and Kelli have become more than just instructors and leaders to our family but they have become great friends along with all other families involved in club.

My children joined Brookings TKD in the fall of 2013 as brown belts.  Previously we had belonged to another TKD gym in town and had been for 3 years.  We had heard wonderful things about Mark and his program, so decided to make the change.  Mark and the other instructors welcomed us and even took Ben and Kaitlyn aside and personally showed them the changes between the programs and what would be expected of them.   With the difference in programs, they were starting from the beginning with their training, but would be recognized as the brown belts they were. After almost 2 years of hard work and perseverance they participated in their first testing at Brookings TKD summer of 2015 and passed to receive their red belts.  I believe if it would have been any other gym the burnout would have won over and they would have quit.  As children, waiting almost 2 years to advance when they are used to every 3-6 months, wasn’t easy!   Mark wouldn’t let that happen.  He and the other instructors are personally invested in each and every student at the gym.  My kids come to respect them and honestly think of them as extended family.  Looking back the only regret for joining Brookings TKD is that it took us so long to do it.