T. Kang Taekwondo Dojo in Tribeca: Free Kids Trial, 1969 Lineage

T. Kang Taekwondo's Manhattan school is tucked onto Franklin Place, a one-block alley of cast-iron loft buildings between Franklin and White streets in Tribeca, and at 9 Franklin Place it hides a 4,000-square-foot training floor behind an unassuming door. The family behind it calls itself America's First Family of Taekwondo, and the claim rests on a school their patriarch opened in Brooklyn in 1969, decades before most New Yorkers could find a dojang on their block.

The story starts with Great Grandmaster Suh Chong Kang, who began martial arts training in 1938 and, in 1945, took up taekwondo at the first taekwondo school established in Korea under its founder, Won Kuk Lee. In 1969 the family moved to the United States and established the New York Taekwondo Academy in Brooklyn, which the school describes as the beginning of the Kang System in America.

His son, Grandmaster Tae Sun Kang, began training in Korea in 1967 with his father as his first instructor. He earned his black belt in 1973, became head instructor of the New York Taekwondo Academy in 1977, received master status in 1986 and grandmaster status at 9th dan in 2007. In 2020 he was awarded a 10th-dan black belt, and in 2024 he was inducted into the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame.

Grandmaster Kang founded the Tribeca branch in 2002, after earlier schools in Bensonhurst in 1990, Marine Park in 1992 and Sheepshead Bay in 1994. Today the network runs four New York centers plus the Johns Hopkins University taekwondo club in Baltimore, which he has directed since 1990. Along the way he served as director of the MIT taekwondo program in 1982 and won an All American title in 1983.

His biography says he has personally taught more than 30,000 students and guided over 3,000 to black belt, including five 8th-dan masters. He also authored two Traditional Taekwondo Forms DVDs and the book Black Belt Fitness For Life, a seven-week wellness plan. That forms-heavy background shows in class: patterns are drilled until stances are exact, and seniors are expected to demonstrate them cleanly for the room.

Manhattan is not new territory for the family either. The homepage features an interview video recorded at one of the school's first Manhattan locations on Worth Street, a few blocks from Franklin Place, in which Grandmaster Kang explains how taekwondo shapes both his own life and his students' lives, and why the family has dedicated their lives to the art.

The Tribeca location page lists the specifics. The primary training area covers about 4,000 square feet of protective Swain mats, with a separate warm-up space so that one group can stretch while another trains. Medium and heavy hanging bags line the room for striking drills, and there is dedicated children's equipment for the youngest students, which matters in a neighborhood where many members arrive straight from nearby elementary schools.

The size also lets the school run classes for adults without squeezing them between kids' sessions. Teens and adults aged 14 and up train in their own program, and private training with Grandmaster Kang or his staff is available for anyone preparing for a test or returning after a long break. The space is also booked for children's parties, a popular option for Tribeca families.

Little Dragons covers ages three and four, focusing on balance, listening and basic kicks rather than contact. The Children program runs from five to thirteen and follows the full color-belt curriculum of forms, kicks, sparring and self-defense. Teens and adults from 14 train separately, and the homepage features a testimonial from Emmy-winning actor Michael Imperioli, who describes reaching 4th dan under Grandmaster Kang as one of the top achievements of his life.

Children can take a free trial lesson, according to the location page. For adults the path is to contact the staff at the front desk by phone or email and arrange a first class; tuition is not listed on the website. Arrive early in loose athletic clothes, and expect to bow on and off the mat and to address instructors formally.

Tribeca posts its student calendar openly, which helps families plan around school holidays. In 2026 the color belt tests fall on March 4, June 3, September 30 and December 9, and black belt tests on April 19 and December 6. The remaining color belt test of the year is in early December, so new students who start in the fall have a realistic first target before the winter break.

The school also lists its 2026 closures: January 19 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, February 14 to 16 for Presidents' Day weekend, April 1 to 5 for spring break, May 22 to 25 for Memorial Day, June 27 to July 3 for summer recess, September 7 for Labor Day, November 25 to 28 for Thanksgiving and December 23 to January 2 for winter recess.

The Franklin Street station on the 1 line is a short walk west, and the Canal Street hub serves the N, Q, R, W, J, Z and 6 trains a few blocks north. After class, wander to Duane Park, a small triangle of benches and trees surrounded by former butter-and-egg warehouses, or walk east to Collect Pond Park, which marks the site of the freshwater pond that once supplied early Manhattan.

Families with energy left can head west to Hudson River Park, where Pier 26 has a lawn, a science playground for kids and wide views of the river, a ten-minute walk along Franklin or North Moore Street. It is an easy way to turn a Saturday class, which wraps up by 3 pm, into a half day outside.

T. Kang Taekwondo Tribeca is at 9 Franklin Place, New York, NY 10013. Phone (212) 219-0043, or email the staff through the website. The location lists its opening hours as Monday to Thursday 12:30 pm to 8 pm and Saturday 10 am to 3 pm. Programs: Little Dragons (3 to 4), Children (5 to 13), Teens and Adults (14 and up), private training and parties. Free trial lesson for children.