Conversations with Valerie Holley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Holley.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a teenager, I struggled with a lack of self-confidence. My best friend in high school kept inviting me to come try out taekwondo with her. I put it off for a long time, thinking it wouldn’t be my thing. But she eventually talked me into trying a class, and it was love at first kick! Taekwondo changed my life in so many ways. Learning the sport as well as self defense radically improved my self esteem, as well as my fitness, discipline, and personal satisfaction. I have been practicing now for almost 23 years. I met my husband at the dojang, and taekwondo is a passion that we share. When we moved to Colorado, it was not our intent to start a dojang right away. We talked about it as a distant goal, when our kids were older maybe. But then our oldest son started getting bullied in kindergarten. I couldn’t believe what he was dealing with at 5 years old, and I realized that he needed self defense training right away. I started a small class in my garage with my son and some of his friends. That class grew, and soon their older brothers and sisters wanted to join, so I started a class for older kids too. Before long, my garage was bursting at the seams. My husband and I took a leap of faith and opened our first commercial location in 2021. Three years later, every class we offered had a waiting list and we decided to expand to our current, much larger location, where we continue to grow today. For the first several years it was just the two of us, but we have been blessed to be joined by several amazing black belts who have transferred to our area, as well as now having developed some of our own. Having great instructors has helped us to grow, and it also has enable to pursue my own dreams independent of the dojang. For many years I have been a taekwondo referee. In 2022 I earned my international certification and have since traveled to many countries across the world to referee. I have worked very hard to develop my skills and experience. Later this month I will be traveling to Wuxi, China, to referee at the World Championships, which is the largest and most important taekwondo competition in the world, second in prestige only to the Olympics. I am able to do this only because of the support of my husband and my incredible staff, knowing my dojang is in good hands. My students are so important to me, and I care about their well being and growth on an individual basis. At our school, we are not only creating great athletes – we are creating great people.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Running a small business is always a challenge! My mission when opening my school was to build up my community. While I have to keep the lights on, I strive to keep our pricing as reasonable as I can in order to serve as many children and adults in my local area as possible. On a normal basis we do just fine, but the unexpected always has a way of throwing a wrench in things – from red tape at the county when we were building out our new location to sudden plumbing catastrophes – and when it’s your small business, it can be very stressful trying to keep everything afloat.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
At Grand Valley Taekwondo, we maintain a very high standard for our students. We have a broad curriculum that includes fitness requirements, kicking, sparring, self defense, and traditional blocks, strikes, and patterns. We also develop mental and emotional skills. Our youngest classes start at 3 years old and even the little guys are building a strong foundation of martial arts technique, at an age-appropriate level. I am not in the business of babysitting. Our students mark progress with a series of belts that they earn through formal testing. Students are only invited to test if they have proven their skills in regular classes. I don’t believe in setting my students up for failure, but that just means we only invite them to test if they are ready to pass the exam. I’ve had students sit at the same belt for over a year until they have demonstrated the skill, respect, or progress requisite for testing. Sometimes we lose students over it – sometimes the student only cares about the new belt, and they aren’t willing to do the work. Sometimes the parents don’t see the value in holding the children accountable. But I don’t believe in just handing out belts like participation trophies. If a student earns a belt at my school, everyone around them will know that they earned it.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Martial arts has a broad appeal that I think we will see continue to grow. Taekwondo focuses on individual growth, as opposed to team competition. Many kids struggle with the pressure of competing with other kids. But in martial arts, the focus is on self-improvement. There’s no “letting down the team.” It has so much more to offer than just another after-school sport. Taekwondo develops self-control, concentration, coordination, respect, and confidence. It builds in goal-setting and achievement, but at an individual pace. And generally martial arts provides an accepting environment that attracts people who don’t necessarily feel like they fit in elsewhere. This is especially true for neurodiverse individuals. We’re seeing a lot of research right now on the benefits of martial arts training for people with ADHD and on the Autism spectrum. Unlike team sports, martial arts offers a unique blend of physical, social, and emotional development tailored to individual needs, provided in a structured, predictable environment. I have personally worked with many neurodiverse students and witnessed improvements in sensory processing, motor skills, self-regulation, and social skills.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.grandvalleytaekwondo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grandvalleytkd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grandvalleytkd/

Image Credits
#4 – World Taekwondo
#5 – Cole Estrada
#6 – Mundo Taekwondo