With Hungarian descent, and as a young child who grew up in Denmark, Gergely Salim began his path to mastering Taekwondo during his time at elementary school. He and his family soon realized his enjoyment for it, but they also acknowledged he was ready to move up to a more challenging instructor.

After settling into more advanced training, he eventually made qualifications for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics where he won a Gold Medal along with several World Taekwondo Championship titles. But before all of his early successes in Taekwondo, he knew at an early age that he wanted to become a Taekwondo instructor in Los Angeles. For the last 15 years, he has been fulfilling that early dream of passing on everything he has learned to his students, and now to his own four children, three of which are Black Belts and national champions.

He and his wife Sabrina have Taekwondo in their blood, having both competed at the highest levels from an early age. Their own children are just as interested in learning Taekwondo as they once were when they started. This isn’t just their family business, this is their lifestyle. And much of their success can be seen and felt through their instruction and in their students dedication to succeed.

Why Taekwondo for my child?

Salim’s Taekwondo Center offers age-specific classes that are beneficial and fun. Give your kids a head start by improving their confidence, discipline, fitness, focus, and self-control, all while learning self-defense and safety awareness. Every child is taught to build confidence and respect while having fun at each class.

At Salim’s, we provide students with the best possible martial arts training while surrounding them with a fun, positive learning environment. Throughout time Taekwondo has gained a reputation for proven benefits:  improved physical fitness and conditioning, better focus and concentration, improved coordination, increased self-confidence and the development of valuable self-defense skills. We pride ourselves in offering all of these benefits to each student and have developed many innovative programs so that all of our students can enjoy the rewards of Taekwondo training, regardless of your child’s age or initial ability.

Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art style of fighting that uses feet and hands by way of kicks and punches without weapons, to help overcome an opponent.

The earliest records of martial arts practice in Korea, known as Taekkyon, dates back to 50 B.C. during Korea’s three-kingdom era. The art grew vigorously on temple grounds with a spiritual angle that was interlaced with a flow of physical technique. As a result of heavy combat and violence between the three kingdoms, the average citizen began learning the necessary skills for self protection.

As a martial art, Taekwondo aims not only to develop power and skill for self-defense, but to develop the ability and attitude necessary to safeguard justice, act respectfully and responsibly, and embody the tenet of universal equality.