Attending the Hiruko martial arts school for the past 3 yrs. earning my third black belt, watching it grow to the over 200 students. The growth is driving changes from the mom and pop school to needing to hire employees as well as manage time and projects better. The instructor's wife controls this part of the business. She teaches occasionally as well. They are planning on moving soon to Midtown Palo Alto (2741 Middlefield Road) for a larger space and "better demographics", but may be able to keep the Los Altos location as they have two more years on their lease.....who will be teaching where? (info in public records) Classes are composed of 10-15 min. warmup, 20-35 min. instruction/practice, 5 minutes closing. Very young students are regularly led in physical games the last 10-15 minutes of class. Be careful in allowing your info to be posted on the website/parent's forum. It has been used to send unwanted and negative emails. Gossip is tolerated causing rumors and conflict. Policies for resolution aren't in place. The "head instructor" Jonathan, while terrific, is leaving Hiruko in the Summer for college. Overall, for kids in need of afternoon activities locally, Hiruko provides a nice place. At $149/month (+ $65 annual "comm. fee), it's mid-level price is reasonable. Hiruko attempts to teach "life changing" concepts to all students which may or may not align with parental views. Some students have been offered "scholarships" to Landmark Forum (see Wikipedia). The "master instructor", while earnest in his efforts, sometimes misapplies language, is wordy and difficult to follow for children and adults. Parents should be attentive and help their children through confusion, frustration and double messages. Validate the feelings of the child and maintain a solid view of reality. Be wary of medical advice. Black belt candidates are required to achieve certain levels of fitness, some of which are extreme (i.e. 50,000 push ups over a 6 month period or 277+ per day*). As adults or parents, keep in mind that YOU have the final authority in what is safe. *Requirement from 2009 Black Belt candidate documents. (This is an update from my original review in 2006.) read more

Natalia/Jorge & Angela are fantastic. Jorge is so experienced. He is fantastic with my special needs son and gives him extra 1:1 time at no additional cost so he can keep up with the class. It is really helping my son's self esteem and strength. The kids in the class are very nice. There is a boy who is one year older than my son who looks out for him at the Middle School they both go to. They host special events like "bring your teacher", "bring a friend". They also will host movie nights at moderate cost which is wonderful for parents. read more

Hiruko with Natalia and Jorge is a great martial art studio. My son started there in the Pandas ( 3-4 yr old) class. After his first visit he turned and said "Mom - can we do this every day! " The structure and tone of the Panda class is just right for the learning environment and the limited class size keeps it under control and allows each child to get some focus and attention. We are looking forward to having our son progress through the next course levels and highly recommend Hiruko read more

I've got three little kids with half a dozen after school activities and Hiruko is the only one that matters. Natalia and Jorge run the place and teach your kids not only tae kwon doe but respect, focus, meditation, and integrity. Their school is without compare. read more

Great Taekwondo studio for kids. From what I saw every time I've been there, they love the practice. Instructors are awesome. read more

I chose Hiruko Center for my children, ages 9 and 4, because I wanted a disciplined martial arts studio with an understanding of the whole child and sensitivity to my son's special needs. Hiruko has surpassed my expectations. the instructors do an excellent job of motivating my kids to push themselves beyond limits. Jorge and Natalia have a unique talent for breaking down skills in a way that minimizes frustration and maximizes success. With every session, they introduce a variety of fun activities that develop my kid's strength, flexibility, endurance and problem solving skills. My children look forward to their lessons and feel pride in their accomplishments. Hiruko's focus is on building community. Hiruko teaches more than tae kwon do. They are interested in the bigger picture of what parents hope for their children as they grow and mature. read more

Hiruko is a well rounded Martial Arts Dojo that not only teaches TaeKwonDo, but also teaches the student mindfulness skills; meditation, focus, how to recover from mistakes. It's a beautiful well rounded program with skills taught to carry throughout life. My children and I have been students here for 10 years. They also offer a kickboxing program for adults in the morning. read more

My girls, now 7 and 9, have been taking classes at Hiruko for two years. It's a wonderful program for kids, with an emphasis on focus and responsibility. It's also physical but not particularly aggressive or intimidating for young children. I feel it's enriched my daughters' lives. read more

My son is a very bright, sensitive, and active boy who, when he was 5 was diagnosed with some sensory integration issues. His father and I had taken him to occupational therapy to address these and they recommended we try also try enrolling him at Hiruko. (They specified Hiruko...not just TKD.) I was hesitant, not knowing much about Tae Kwon Do in particular and martial arts in general. I was concerned that it might encourage physical violence but I decided to give it a try. I couldn't have been more wrong. We are now in our third year with Hiruko in their KinderDojo and will soon be moving into the youth group. Jorge, Natalia, Jonathon, Gilbert and the other instructors have all done a wonderful job and are very patient and caring. The focus is very holistic and our son has benefited greatly. His focus is much improved as is his ability to transition from a highly active to a quieter state which is something he struggled with. He has gained self-confidence and is proud of his achievements. He has a lot of respect for his instructors as do his father and I. Ironically, we stopped going to occupational therapy not long after enrolling in Hiruko as we felt that his time at Hiruko was helping him much more than the occupational therapy. Bonus...given that the OT cost almost 10x as much! HIs father is also a student now and is working toward his black belt. I highly recommend them! read more

It's been a great privilege to be a part of the Hiruko community. The opportunity to train along side my daughters has been a huge blessing for our family my parent/child relationship development. Also, the school rekindled my love for sports and athletics. Jorge went out of his way to show up at the track at 630AM to help me train for my first run competition! Thanks for letting us be a part of your story. read more

I went through a number of martial arts programs with my kids. Hiruko is much more than just a martial arts studio - it's a community lead by people who love kids, love martial arts and have a vision. My son is not an athletic child and did not do well in previous martial arts, tennis, skating, etc classes. Hiruko made him much more coordinated, helped him to loose weight, but most importantly showed him that he can achieve the goals that he sets for himself with wonderful guidance from Jorge and Natalia. This is his fourth year and he still loves it. read more

MANY months ago, I would have been able to give more stars but since Hiruko moved to PA, it has been a victim of its own success. Classes are getting too large, owners are less involved and less of the personal touch. The teachers aren't horrible, it's not the same vibe and energy as before. Jorge used to be more involved in teaching which was a big factor in the classes being fun and energized. Replacements are fine, but no match toJorge's energy and personal input. Other thing kids are bummed about.The 'new' system of giving out stripes is based (mainly) solely upon when you received your last belt. Your kid could be going to every single class but it doesn't matter because at the end of class, instead of individual props (the stripe) for learning moves, the kids are called up by the color of the stripe (which indicates when he or she received the last belt). Some kids think its really bogus because it has nothing to do with the individual progress cuz if it did, not everyone would be getting a stripe at the same time in the same color group, right?! Kids aren't unaware of what's going on. Nor sure why they changed it but my goal is to keep my kid going, but I am looking for a new place that has more individualized progress before my younger kids starts classes. Before you sign up, talk to some of us parents that have been around for awhile. read more

Parents Beware! Carefully read your Hiruko agreement before your kids join Master Journey. Master Journey is a very crafty way for Hiruko to have a guaranteed number of students for three years while providing little in the way of benefits to the student! What do you pay? Students have to pay a hefty initial down payment of $500+ which I found out recently was NON-REFUNDABLE when you leave Hiruko (despite being assured orally by Natalia that a refund would be available if we changed our mind later). If you quit, you are supposed to provide 30 days written notice and pay a cancellation fee of $200 (they waived this fee for us). And then Natalia wanted us to pay the monthly fee for the coming month (when my son will not be there at all). Is Hiruko for real? What do you get for joining the Master Journey?? A Master Journey class once a week and a nice crisp uniform and of course losing money. Want to attend a vaunted Master Journey pep class? - no problem, for an extra $20 per class. My son didn't need to be in Master Journey. However, my son joined because of all the hype and peer pressure generated at the place. My son has been in Hiruko since they started at Los Altos. Last month, we quit Hiruko. We liked it when they were in Los Altos. The teachers were more involved, intimate, friendly, and provided a personal touch and feedback. The atmosphere was nicer. Hiruko promised a bigger space in the Palo Alto location. However, the bigger space was also conducive to accepting more students, and therefore larger classes. We hardly see Jorge anymore. This is the main reason why we stayed with Hiruko for as long as we did - my son likes Jorge. However, whenever we sign up for private lesson, we got someone else. Moreover, Hiruko has so many holidays. During those days when I need to bring my kids to Hiruko, they're closed. This has become an overriding theme of Hiruko - provide less and less service while adding more and more fees. You are mercilessly nickel-and-dimed to death at this place. My "favorite" example of the Hiruko business philosophy can be illustrated by their yearly martial arts show. They have their students prepare an extensive demonstration show. Guest performers from other martial arts groups are typically involved in the show also. Then the public is invited to attend. Of course the reason the show is put on is it is an advertising exercise to bring in more business, which I have no problem with. To attend the show, they charge the public an admission fee. Nice touch. But here is the good part. The wide-eyed students who are performing in the show - every one of them is charged a fee to participate in the show. That's right, they charge the public AND THEIR OWN STUDENTS to fund Hiruko's marketing activity. Every time I think about it I want to explode. I should have listened to my husband's warning about Hiruko long ago - this place is not a martial arts school, it's a marketing scheme. read more

Fantastic place. My son takes karatte here and loves it. They do a great job. I would recommend you go at least 2x per week. I think 3x per week is ideal. I would recommend this place without a second thought. I think they are especially helpful with kids who need a little extra help/time. Best Martial arts place in the area without a doubt. read more

The very best attention to the confluence of mind, heart and body. I have absolutely loved watching my daughter mature through her experience at Hiruko. read more

My son has been at Hiruko since 2010 and is now a purple belt. I am amazed at the transformation he has undergone. I saw him sparring in his head gear and didn't even recognize him. His focus, strength and agility are all thanks to the folks at Hiruko. read more