Photo by Jordan Hays.
Taw Kwon Do
Master Justin Scarsella is the owner and instructor at World Class Tae Kwon Do, which is opening a new, larger location this month.
Justin Scarsella said when people think of a martial arts school, the words that come to mind most often are small, dirty and smelly. The new World Class Tae Kwon Do facility opening in August will be the exact opposite in every way.
World Class Tae Kwon Do is currently located in Inverness Corners, but the new 7,500-square-foot building is located on Valleydale Road, next to Beaumont Pharmacy. Scarsella, the owner and master instructor, said the new building will offer several features, including the best training mats on the market, plenty of padded seating for parents, polished floors, a cedar entryway and over 60 parking spaces.
The new facility will be opening for classes in August with the official grand opening celebration on Aug. 22. Guest masters from all over the country will be visiting.
Scarsella said the reason for moving to a stand-alone martial art school of this size is for the students and families to benefit even more from their taekwondo training. The new location will be double the size of the current facility and will increase their training mat space by 2,000 square feet.
“With two main training floors, we will have the ability to have longer classes and more class options. We can also easily split classes to provide more personal attention for each student, so even though the facility is bigger, the classes will actually feel smaller and more personal,” Scarsella said.
With a new stand-alone facility of this size, Scarsella said they are able to host most of their special events there throughout the year instead of renting out local facilities. Some of the special events include picnics, festivals, charity board breaking events, black belt demonstrations and parent appreciation classes.
At the current location, Master Scarsella and his instructors have taught focus, confidence and respect to children and adults for more than 10 years.
Wende Berryhill, whose son has been a student of Scarsella’s for the last 8 years, spoke about taekwondo impacting her son’s life, as well as her own.
“Taekwondo has taught my son focus, discipline, respect and has boosted his confidence so much,” she said. “I believe that Master Scarsella’s TKD has given my son such a great foundation in physical fitness, in his respect and cooperation with others and most importantly, in the way he believes in himself.”
“The class schedule is also very flexible, which is of utmost importance to any mom or dad,” Berryhill added.
Berryhill’s son, James, was six years old when he began taking classes, and he is now one of the instructors at the school. She was so impressed with the program that she took up taekwondo herself.
“I love the bond that I have been able to share with my son all of these years,” she said. “For myself, Master Scarsella has made physical fitness fun with his high energy, positive attitude and enthusiasm.”
Scarsella has taught over 10,000 students across the country and has been teaching taekwondo for over 15 years. Scarsella said that when he was growing up, he was very small and shy.
“My size and lack of confidence made me feel like I was not quite good enough to make team sports. The positive impact taekwondo had on me changed my life in every way,” Scarsella said.
When the new Valleydale Road location opens this month, it will be part of Scarsella’s plans to bring these benefits to more children and adults in Birmingham.
“This building is part of the World Class Tae Kwon Do vision to impact our community by making it safer and more peaceful,” Scarsella said.
Visit alabamatkd.com for more information or call 981-9636.
World Class Tae Kwon Do
268 Inverness Center Drive
981-9636
Hours:
Mon-Thurs: 11:30 am-9 pm
Fri: 11:30 am-8 pm
Sat: 9 am-1 pm
