Velocity Taekwondo Philosophy and Class Structure

Teaching philosophy:
Our goal is to ultimately make all of our students good citizens to society; not just to teach our students martial arts but also to develop good character attributes and to become self-confident. We look at the bigger picture and makes sure students grow with disciplined minds and are understanding of others. Of course we also want to help them become great martial artist.


What to Expect in our Classes:
Students can expect a rigorous workout, some philosophy, and have techniques broken down into easy-to-learn components. We will be demanding of each student but also understanding of their limits.

Athlete Instructors

All Velocity Taekwondo classes are taught by black belt members of Team Velocity

Danielle Pelham: 2009 World Champion, 2009 USAT Female Athlete of the Year, US National Team Member

Jon Marc Cortez: 2010 U-24 National Team Member, 2008 AAU National Team Member

Christian Valencia: 2008 Collegiate National Team Member

Nicole Vancleave: 2009 US Jr. National Team Member, 2009 AAU Jr. National Team Member

Velocity Taekwondo Instructors

  • David Pelham David Pelham, USAT Level 2 Certified Coach:David Pelham is the head coach of Team Velocity. David has worked very hard to develop a world class competition Taekwondo program. David became the head coach of Team Velocity in 2003 and has helped a number of his athletes make different USA National teams. David is the only coach to ever develop an athlete from the State of Washington to become a World Champion. David was a member of the coaching staff for the 2008 USA Collegiate World Championship team which competed in Belgrade, Serbia. David is currently the only level 2 certified coach in Washington State and was awarded the 2009 Level 2 Coach of the year.
  • Danielle Pelham Danielle Pelham, World Champion & USA National Team Member:Danielle is the most celebrated Taekwondo athlete in the State of Washington. Danielle is the current World Champion in the female bantam weight division. She is only the 4th women ever to win a world championship in Taekwondo for the USA. Danielle has been a member of 12 USA National teams including 9 USA National teams and 3 AAU National teams. Danielle was awarded the 2004 collegiate female athlete of the year and the 2009 USAT female atlete of the year. Danielle is a 4th Degree blackbelt and is the head instructor for Velocity Taekwondo. USAT Athlete Profile
  • Jon Marc Cortez Jon Marc Cortez, USAT U-24 National Team member: Jon Marc is one of the top athletes in the USA and and has qualified for 2 World championship team trials. In 2009 he was the youngest competitor in the male flyweight division. In 2011 he will still be among the youngest competitors but with more expirence. Jon Marc won 4 straight National Blackbelt festival tournaments and has medaled at the Jr. and Sr. Nationals the last 5 years. Jon marc will assist in classes and will run some of our specialized classes.USAT Athlete Profile
  • Assistant Instructors Assistant instructures at Velocity Taekwondo and fitness Christian Valencia 2nd degree black belt
    Jon Walter Cortez 1st degree black belt
    Nicole Vancleave 2nd degree black blt
    Joanna Cortez 1st degree black belt
    Veronica Benson 1st degree black belt
    Manny Guzman 2nd degree black belt