A hard-to-reach youth demographic in the North has found a reason to stay in school – and in shape. Taekwondo, the Korean martial art, is expanding rapidly in the North and having a markedly positive effect on at-risk youth as well as the community at large. What’s more, the program has close ties to Ottawa’s taekwondo community.

“As a principal (of an Iqaluit school) I was dealing with a lot of behaviour problems and really just a lack of interest,” said Don Peters, 58, principal of Aqsarniit Middle School. Peters created a taekwondo after-school program two years ago and he has been seeing some encouraging results.

“It has turned around the attendance at the school as well as a lot of the behaviour problems, it’s been a godsend for us,” said Peters.

Grandmaster Phap Ken Lu, 54, is a Canadian taekwondo leader who runs three taekwondo schools in Ottawa. He has mentored the Iqaluit taekwondo experiment since it started. He says the program is successful because it “builds up the trust between the student and the instructor, this way we can help them to achieve their goals, not only in taekwondo but also to improve their schoolwork and behaviour at home.”

According to Lu, taekwondo goes beyond getting kids into shape, it helps build good citizens. “We can guide them on how to exercise, how to focus and learn discipline and at the same time how to respect their elders and carry themselves more confidently in public,” said Lu.

Lu has travelled twice to Iqaluit to award students belts and oversee training. Iqaluit students have journeyed to Ottawa four times for friendship competitions against Lu’s students, which, for these northern youths, is a rare chance to travel and compete in their sport.