Before he cracks the books, Koda Sanborn thinks about breaking boards.

“You can hit a board as hard as you want and as fast as you want, but if you don’t hit it with the proper technique, you’re going to fail,” he said. “It’s like school; if you study the wrong way, you’re not going to be able to yield the results that you want.”

Sanborn, sophomore in industrial technology, is a seven-time ISU champion of tae kwon do and a two-time medalist at the U.S. Open. As the president and co-instructor of ISU Tae Kwon Do Club, Sanborn said he feels that academic success is one of the main benefits of his club and martial arts in general.

“I take a look at everything that I’ve accomplished so far within the martial art world and I translate that into the discipline that I need for academics,” he said.

Members of the club agree that discipline is a large part of tae kwon do.

“That’s the majority of why my parents got me into it, just to settle me down,” Nicholas Sadd, freshman in sociology. “You learn discipline, you learn rules and you learn how to practice and improve.”

Sadd began learning tae kwon do when he was 6 years old and he stopped training five years ago. He recently returned to the martial art for new reasons.

“Right now I’m just trying to get back into it and get my technique back,” he said. “I hope to be in law enforcement so I want to learn this for self-defense. Plus, it helps keep me in shape and gives me something to do.”

Richard Coulson, co-instructor of ISU Tae Kwon Do Club, has been with the organization since 1979 and has seen many of the advantages of tae kwon do during his tenure.

“You learn concentration and how to not give up,” he said. “You learn the mental toughness because when you’re going up and down the floor doing your drills, you’re pushing yourself past the point of exhaustion but you keep driving.”

Coulson believes that anyone can learn tae kwon do, but many don’t give it a chance.

“A lot of people are afraid to try tae kwon do and feel intimidated by it,” Coulson said. “But once you try it, you learn the techniques, develop more confidence, get in better shape and learn how to breathe right.”

Club member Gulden Unal is proof that tae kwon do can be picked up quickly by even the busiest student.

Unal, graduate student in chemistry, joined Tae Kwon Do Club four months ago and broke her first board earlier this month at the club’s open house.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “I’m learning techniques and practicing. I just like learning new things and staying busy.”

Sanborn says that personal attention and friendships formed in the club allow members to progress quickly through lessons at any skill level.

“It’s a pretty small club but we like to focus that to be a positive thing; we can really give individualized attention,” he said.

“Because we are so small, we form a strong bond to one another.”