Kendall Taekwondo Dojo With Olympic Sparring: Dream Taekwondo

Dream Taekwondo occupies a storefront on Kendall Drive, the stretch of SW 88th Street that carries most of West Kendall's after-school traffic, and at 12566 SW 88th St it has built a timetable around the hours when local kids are actually free. Classes start at 4:30 pm, end before most families sit down to dinner, and on Fridays the last slot is a dedicated Olympic sparring class rather than another round of forms.

Two instructors are named on the About page. Master Cho holds a 6th-dan certificate from Kukkiwon, the World Taekwondo headquarters in Seoul, and the school credits him with more than a decade of teaching. Instructor Lee holds a Kukkiwon 3rd dan and has been teaching for over seven years. The school does not list a founding year or tournament results, and its pages keep the focus on day-to-day classes rather than trophies.

Kukkiwon certification matters to parents comparing schools because it is the rank system recognized by World Taekwondo, the federation that runs Olympic taekwondo. A child who tests through the color belts here is working toward a Kukkiwon poom or dan certificate that transfers if the family moves to another WT-style school.

The posted schedule is marked effective January 2026, and it splits the week into two patterns. On Mondays and Wednesdays the Little Tigers open at 4:30 pm, followed by a 5:15 class for white, yellow, high yellow and orange belts, a 6:00 class for green belt through black, and a family class from 6:45 to 7:25 pm.

Tuesdays and Thursdays start with an all-belt children's class at 4:30, then split the kids into a green, blue, purple and brown group at 5:15 and a high brown, red, deputy and black group at 6:00. A white-to-orange class follows at 6:45, and the only adult and teen session of the week runs from 7:30 to 8:10 pm on those two nights.

Friday is shorter and more athletic: an all-belt class for ages four to eight at 4:30, ages nine and up at 5:15, and the Olympic sparring class from 6:00 to 6:40 pm. Saturdays are set aside for private lessons, which you book by contacting the studio. The school's weekday hours on its contact page run Monday to Thursday 2 pm to 8 pm and Friday 2 pm to 7 pm.

The schedule doubles as a map of the rank system. Children start at white belt, then move through yellow, high yellow and orange before reaching the middle ranks of green, blue, purple and brown. Above them sit high brown, red and the deputy ranks, the last stage before black belt. Each group trains in its own slot, so a newer student spends most of the week next to classmates at a similar level.

Splitting the ladder this way also means that moving up a belt sometimes moves a child to a new class time. Parents planning around Kendall traffic should ask which slot comes next after a promotion, since the green-and-up group on Mondays starts 45 minutes later than the beginner group.

Olympic-style sparring uses electronic or padded body protectors, head guards and a points system that rewards clean kicks to the trunk and head. Plenty of neighborhood schools fold it into a general class once a month; Dream Taekwondo gives it its own weekly slot, which suits kids who have learned their forms and want to test their timing against a partner.

Because the class sits at the end of the week, it also works as a reward. Students who have made their regular two or three classes can stay on Friday for the sparring block, and parents get a predictable finish time of 6:40 pm.

The programs page lays out three tracks. Little Tigers covers ages four to six and builds coordination, focus and the habit of following instructions in a group. Kids Taekwondo, for ages six to twelve, adds full color-belt curriculum plus stranger awareness and self-defense, which is a practical draw for parents of elementary schoolers in Kendall.

The Teens and Adults program trains on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The FAQ says classes accept students as young as four with no upper age limit, so a parent who starts in the family class can carry on into the adult slot. Family classes on Mondays and Wednesdays are the easiest on-ramp for a household that wants to train together.

New students can take a complimentary introductory class, and the home page runs a limited-time offer of a free uniform for new students. Tuition and testing fees are not published, so pricing is discussed in person after the trial. To book, call the studio or use the contact form on the website.

The FAQ also answers two common parent questions. Parents are welcome to stay and watch classes, and all techniques are taught in a controlled, age-appropriate way. Bring water and loose athletic clothes for the first visit; students train barefoot on mats, and it is normal to bow when stepping on and off the training floor.

Kendall Drive is lined with shopping plazas, so the studio is easy to combine with errands while a child is in class. For green space, Kendall Indian Hammocks Park is a short drive east on SW 79th Street, with sports fields, a playground and shaded hardwood hammock trails that are pleasant on a weekend morning.

Families with older students can also detour to the Miami Dade College Kendall Campus a few miles east, whose grounds and lake are open for a stroll. Closer to the studio, the surrounding West Kendall neighborhoods are mostly residential, and many students arrive straight from nearby schools.

Dream Taekwondo Kendall is at 12566 SW 88th St, Miami, FL 33186. Opening hours are listed as Monday to Thursday 2 pm to 8 pm and Friday 2 pm to 7 pm, with Saturday private lessons by arrangement. Programs: Little Tigers (4 to 6), Kids (6 to 12), Teens and Adults, Family Class and Olympic Sparring. Free introductory class for new students.