Gajok Taekwondo | Where Taekwondo Becomes Family

Gajok is the Korean word for family, and it is no coincidence that Claire Howard’s club in Burscough has become a place where all members feel at home.

For more than two decades, Gajok Taekwondo has grown into a close-knit community where children, teenagers and adults train alongside one another, friendships develop on and off the mats, and generations of members become part of a family that continues to support one another on and off the mats.

At the centre of that community is Claire, the club’s owner and Lead Instructor, whose passion for Taekwondo is matched by her commitment to creating a welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment for everyone who walks through the doors.

Claire first started ITF Taekwondo in 1994 before moving to Southport and returning to WT Taekwondo in 1997. After achieving her black belt, she began teaching and taking classes into schools, before finding a dedicated home for her own club.

“It became apparent that the kids were getting really quite good, so we needed our own place, and we’ve got to start taking it seriously,” she reminisces on the early days.

What began with a strong group of students has continued to develop over the years, with the club now boasting remarkable results while retaining the close community atmosphere that has always been at its heart.

The walls of Gajok tell much of that story, covered with photographs of former students and adorned with trophies and medals earned throughout the club’s history. They represent championships and sporting achievements, but for Claire, they are also reminders of the people who have grown up within the club and the journeys they have taken.

“I’m unbelievably proud of them all, honestly,” she says. “The kids are amazing. They work so hard. It’s the work ethic that they’ve got, and

I think you can’t teach that. The kids’ passion for the sport is just great, because there’s a lot of bad press about young people, and things like that.”

For Claire, the value of Taekwondo is rooted in the opportunities it gives young people and the confidence, discipline and resilience they can carry into every part of their lives.

“If you can get a kid involved in a sport, particularly Taekwondo, then it just keeps them on that right track,” she says. “It’s just giving them opportunities, and I look back now at these pictures on the walls, I look back to kids that have been with us for a lot of that journey.

“It gives them the discipline and the life skills that they can take away from the club.”

That philosophy is evident in the way Gajok is structured, with Claire choosing not to separate members strictly by age but instead allowing different generations to train together and learn from one another. Younger athletes have the opportunity to watch and emulate older members, while senior students develop patience and responsibility as they help those coming through behind them.

It is a system that creates a powerful sense of belonging, with members encouraged to look after one another and celebrate each other’s progress, regardless of whether their ambition is to compete at the highest level or simply become a more confident version of themselves.

Sue, a parent at the club, has experienced that environment first-hand and believes Claire’s approach is one of the reasons Gajok has become such a special place for so many families.

“I think there is potential when you come to a Martial Arts or Taekwondo environment that you could be a little bit intimidated or concerned about the discipline, but Claire is so nurturing, it’s unreal, she absolutely loves these children completely and treats them all as her own.”

That nurturing approach is accompanied by clear expectations and a strong sense of responsibility, with older members encouraged to support younger athletes and help them develop, creating a cycle in which students gradually move from being the ones receiving guidance to becoming the role models for the next generation.

“She is so heavily invested in their development and their progress, she’s just such a special lady,” Sue continues. “She instils discipline but she also the kindness to take responsibility and help others, so that when you’re an older senior grade you’re looking after the little ones, you’re helping them, you’re guiding them.”

For Claire, creating an environment where young people feel comfortable being themselves is particularly important. Moving through teenage years when confidence and self-image can become increasingly difficult to navigate, the club provides a place where members can focus on their abilities rather than worrying about how they are perceived.

Claire herself has become an important role model for many of the young women in the club, demonstrating that leadership can be strong and authoritative while remaining compassionate and respectful.

In a sport where coaching has traditionally been male-dominated, her presence gives the girls at Gajok the opportunity to see a successful female instructor leading from the front, and encouraging them to believe that they too can pursue their own ambitions.

“A lot of girls get into Year 7 and 8, 9, and they are always very conscious of themselves and their image,” Claire explains. “But in here we don’t get that. The girls don’t feel like that. They’re very much like brothers and sisters together, they’re just all one, they’re together.”

Natalie, Gajok’s Club Welfare Officer and a parent, has seen that influence in her daughter Sofia, who has grown up within the club and has been inspired by Claire and the female athletes who have come through its ranks.

“As a mum, I try and be a strong female role model as much as possible, but coming to Gajok has been so important for Sofia’s development,” Natalie says. “She’s grown up seeing Claire as a great role model to her, and that you can achieve things, and do things the right way.”

For Sofia, the impact of Gajok has extended well beyond her Taekwondo performance, helping her develop the empathy, confidence and leadership skills that she now applies in other areas of her life.

“She might not win competitions, and she might not be the elite athlete, but it’s helped her massively,” Natalie explains. “All the tenets of Taekwondo and all the lessons that they learn about respect and resilience and discipline, it’s lessons for anyone, it’s not just for Taekwondo athletes.”

That inclusive philosophy does not prevent Gajok from producing elite athletes, with the club having developed a number of competitors who have gone on to represent Great Britain and achieve success on the national and international stage.

Former GB Taekwondo athlete Josh Tobin has returned to the club to be lead Kyorugi coach to give his wealth of experience to the next generation, while fellow alumni Ruby Mackay joined the GB Taekwondo Squad following recruitment in 2025 and recently competed at the Women’s World Championships in Taiyuan, China.

On British Taekwondo’s visit to the club, multiple-time National Poomsae Champion and 2026 World Poomsae Championships team member Olivia McGeoch is practising her patterns ahead of her trip to Korea later this month, while multiple National Kyorugi Champion Evelyn Taylor is preparing to defend her crown at Manchester Velodrome in October.

Their achievements are proudly displayed around the club, but the pathway to success begins in exactly the same place as it does for every other member: with an instructor who takes the time to understand the individual in front of her.

“Claire is very good at picking up everyone’s talents and nurturing them,” says Sue. “She is led by the child and goes with that. Kids know if somebody truly cares and I think she genuinely cares about them all.”

That individual attention is visible during every session, as Claire moves between athletes, correcting techniques, encouraging progress and making sure that every member feels seen, all with infectious positivity that permeates into every square inch of the dojang.

The same approach has helped build confidence among the younger members, who benefit from regularly training alongside athletes many years their senior.

Sue recalls the impact this has had on her own son, Rob, who recently competed in his first fight and came away with a victory after developing his skills and confidence through the club.

“If you’ve got a confident child, it helps with everything. His resilience has grown massively, his confidence is so much more. He’s emotionally mature because he’s mixing with 18-year-olds on a regular basis who speak to him like he’s equal.”

She describes the relationship between the different generations at Gajok as one of the most rewarding aspects of the club, with older students showing patience towards younger members and taking genuine pride in helping them succeed.

“They’ve got such respect for the little ones, they just have complete patience and persistence and feel a sense of satisfaction when they get them to do it,” she says.

“It’s just such a lovely cycle, and it’s lovely to see each stage. It’s lovely to see the little ones come in, it’s lovely to see them growing, and I look forward to when Rob’s older and he’s given some of the little ones to look after.”

That cycle captures what Claire has built at Gajok. The photographs covering the walls represent members from different generations, many of whom began as nervous children and went on to discover confidence, resilience and a love of Taekwondo. Some became champions, some went on to represent Great Britain, while others simply took the lessons they learned at Gajok into school, work and family life.

What connects them all is the community they became part of.

“Everyone’s got each other’s back, especially for the competitions,” Natalie says. “No one’s asking them to do that, they just do it because that’s how they feel.”

That support is one of the defining characteristics of Gajok, where parents become friends, athletes encourage one another and success is shared by the entire club. Claire has created a place where people are welcomed by name, where young athletes can find role models and where everyone is encouraged to contribute to the development of those around them.

For more than 20 years, Claire has watched generations of students walk through the doors of Gajok, and while their individual journeys may be different, the values remain the same: respect, resilience, discipline, kindness and the belief that everyone has the potential to grow.

The trophies on the walls demonstrate what Gajok can achieve in competition, but the photographs beside them tell an even more powerful story of the people who have been shaped by the club and who, in turn, have helped shape it.

For Claire, that is something to be immensely proud of, because Gajok is not simply a place where athletes come to train. It is a place where young people find confidence, where families find community, where friendships can last a lifetime and where every generation has the opportunity to help the next one succeed.

“It’s that family vibe we’ve got,” Claire says. “It’s just lovely because they build friendships here that can last forever.”

And perhaps that is why the name Gajok feels so perfectly suited to the community Claire has spent more than two decades building: because for so many of the people who have walked through its doors, family is exactly what they have found.