Frequently asked questions.

October 2026. The exact date will be announced once construction of the school at 650 Portland Street is finished. Registering now puts your family on the list for the first classes, and Master Kim will contact you with the opening-week schedule.

At 650 Portland Street, Unit 17, Dartmouth, NS B2W 6A3 — in the Atlantic Superstore plaza where Highway 111 meets Portland Street. Parking is free in the plaza lot. Cole Harbour, Portland Estates, Portland Hills, Woodside, Westphal and Forest Hills are all a short drive along Portland Street or Highway 111.

Master Sanghee Kim teaches every class. He is a Kukkiwon-certified 6th Dan with a taekwondo degree from Kyung Hee University, and has been a head instructor since 2010 — first in Chicago, then at his own academy in Korea for thirteen years. Nova is his first school in Canada.

Kukkiwon is the World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul, and the body that issues the black belt ranks recognised internationally in taekwondo. Sixth Dan is a master-level rank. It means the instructor’s rank is registered with the sport’s governing body rather than awarded in-house.

Four. Little Stars is a thirty-minute class for ages four and five, built around what a young child can actually do — balance, coordination, listening and taking turns. Kids Taekwondo takes over at six.

All ages, in classes grouped by age. Little Stars is 4 to 5, Kids Taekwondo is 6 to 12, Teens & Adults is 13 and up, and Family Taekwondo is one class parents and children train in together. There is no upper age limit.

No. Fitness and flexibility are what the training builds, not what it asks for. Beginners and experienced students train in the same room and nobody is expected to keep up with anyone else — you work at your own pace from your first class.

No. Nova is a brand-new school, so when it opens every student is starting at the same time. Classes are grouped by age rather than by belt or experience, so a beginner joins the class for their age and starts from the beginning there.

It should do the opposite. Taekwondo is taught with rules about when technique may be used and when it may not, and classes spend as much time on listening, waiting your turn and respect for the people around you as they do on kicking. Sparring in a regular class is controlled and instructor-led, not free fighting.

The physical side is coordination, balance, fitness and self-defence. The habits that come with it are focus, discipline, respect for others and confidence. A University of Surrey study published in Developmental Psychology in 2021 followed 240 children aged seven to eleven doing two taekwondo classes a week for eleven weeks, and found teacher-rated improvements in self-regulation and attention.

Yes. Every class at Nova can be watched — parents and family are welcome to stay for any program, including Little Stars. You do not have to drop your child off and leave.

Taekwondo is Korean and built around kicking, footwork and speed, with set forms and Olympic-style sparring. Karate is Japanese and Okinawan in origin and leans more on hand strikes and grounded stances. Both teach discipline and self-defence; taekwondo is the one that is an Olympic sport, and the one with a single international governing body issuing black belt ranks.

Usually three and a half to four years, but it depends on the student. Everyone progresses at their own pace, and the belt marks progress rather than being the point of training.

No. Regular classes are about fundamentals — forms, technique, fitness and self-defence. Sparring and competition training run as their own separate classes for students who want them.

Yes. The first class is a complimentary trial — free, with no obligation to sign up. Families who register before Nova opens also join as founding members under the Founders Special.

Membership depends on the program and on how many members of a family train, so the school gives rates directly rather than publishing one price. Call 902-706-5789 or email master@novataekwondo.ca.

Comfortable clothes you can move in are fine for a first class.

Yes. Parking is free in the plaza lot — the Atlantic Superstore plaza, where Highway 111 meets Portland Street.