Palacios ATA Martial Arts

Thank you Ms. Amanda and Ms. Palacio you guys are incredible, you made Trillian feel confident and special. You both where very good with chil­dren and it showed that you truly cared about all of them. I can’t wait for T to start. Your place has a fam­ily feel that is very wel­com­ing. Just in that short Hour I saw the work you put in to develop the stu­dents phys­i­cally, men­tally and spir­i­tu­ally. I will highly rec­om­mend this school to Anyone. I can’t thank you enough. Trillian and her friends said this is the Best party Ever. They get 10 stars in my book.

My 5 year old daughter was telling me a story about a kid experience in school. It was unpleasant and involved some boys pinching her. She said, when the teacher was talking to the boys she knew the boys were lying to the teacher about what happened. I asked her how she knew they were lying? She said, «I was watching their eyes move and well, they sounded scared.» I asked, well, maybe they were scared and that is it, maybe they were not lying. She says, «in Karate class, they taught me this, speak confidently and hold your head up. I use to hold my head down, (demonstratively) like this. But, when I know something and when I am confident, I know I am telling my truth.» This was from a year ago and she reamains a student of ATA through Magellan International School. When we re-​register and ask her what she would like to do after school, Karate is always first on her list. She now has an orange belt and is super proud of her accomplishments in class.

My son, 11, recently started classes and loves it. He is excited to come to class every time and says Ms. Palacios is the best teacher he has ever had. He is inspired to do well in school and be his best self at home as well.

My son has been participating in tae kwon do with Ms. Palacios for two semesters. He absolutely loves having tae kwon do at his school and he has been thriving in her environment. Me. Palacios and her staff are patient, kind, and they instill the morals and values into our children we all want them to have. I am looking forward to having my son participate in her program for many years ahead.

Palacios ATA Martial Arts is the most rewarding extracurricular program in Austin I have found for my children.
While we first enrolled them in ATA for the self-​defense, we quickly learned that our kids were learning subtle lessons about such topics as self-​esteem, respect, leadership, bullying, selflessness, etc. While I think most parents try to teach these same things to their kids on a daily basis, the professionals at ATA are able to message much more effectively than I can. When we have a «teaching moment» at home, my wife and I are often able to use the ATA lessons as a reference point they understand. And my kids have never been more motivated to stick with an extracurricular activity — each is determined to get a black belt.
I should mention, the gym was recently renovated, which allows me to watch comfortably (and knock out urgent work with on the wireless network — yeah, sometimes I’m that parent).
Bottom line: As a life-​long boxer, I enrolled my kids in Tae Kwan Do so they would have exposure to a form a self-​defense. While they have certainly learned to defend themselves quite effectively, the reason why I will remain so loyal to ATA is the life-​skills that my children are learning.

Ms. Palacios has a really great program. Beyond learning Tae Kwon Do skills, she encorporates life skills (like confidence, loyalty, anti-​bullying techniques, leadership, and self-​control) into the lessons. My 3 children have progressed so far in just a couple years of training. I, myself, started taking classes and have become more confident and physically fit than I really could have imagined.
The facility is huge and it is a really positive and supportive environment. Very family friendly! I highly reccommend this school for martial arts training and life!

Annette Palacios is an awesome instructor and a great martial artist.

We love Ms. Palacios and Palacios ATA Martial Arts!
Our first grader started taking taekwondo (TKD) lessons from Ms. Palacios one day per week in his after-​school program at Magellan International school. We were so impressed with the resulting positive changes in our son, we soon had him attending additional evening and weekend classes at her studio on South IH 35 between Wells Branch and Howard Lane. He’s preparing to test for his 3^rd belt in just a few weeks and TKD has become a huge part of our family life.
The gym space in a North Austin industrial park is nothing fancy, but it has everything a TKD student at any age from 3+ needs to progress, especially caring, knowledgeable, and motivating instructors. While Ms. Palacios (5^th degree black belt with 20 years of experience) is the owner and primary teacher, there are several other advanced black belts on staff (all of whom have undergone background checks) who take turns leading different aspects of each class. Further, during each class, students at all belt levels are challenged to take on responsibilities and lead small groups of others below their belt levels, a great way to foster leadership skills.
Beyond the fitness, self-​defense, and discipline aspects of TKD, Ms. Palacios emphasizes academics, leadership, and good citizenship. She even teaches bullying prevention at local schools and incorporates many of those lessons into her TKD classes.
Another thing we love about Palacios ATA: they offer summer and school holiday day camps for elementary school ages. These camps aren’t just about martial arts and character building, but also offer other fun activities like tumbling, inflatables, and popcorn flicks with a good lesson.
I’ve been so happy with the positive experience for our child, I’m now considering taking up lessons myself. When I do, I’ll update this review with more info on the adult TKD beginner experience at Palacios ATA.
Note: this business has another listing as ATA Blackbelt Academy, but it is the same gym as Palacios ATA. I’ve asked Unilocal HQ to merge the two pages, but that may take a while to happen.

Annettte Palacios and her staff are AWESOME!
They are all very friendly and responsive. I enrolled my 4 year old last September and am very pleased with program. The children that have been there are very respectful and do very well as helpers during the younger kid classes.
If you are looking for a Taekwondo program for you child, I would really suggest that you give ATA Martial Arts a call.