Our History

Cortez Martial Arts opened its doors on March 1, 2022 in a small area in the back of a tire and auto shop. At this time, it was founded as a subset of a larger non-profit aiming to bring high-level youth activities to Cortez and its surrounding areas with little to no cost barriers. This non-profit was named CAYAC (Cortez Area Youth Activity Center).

After explosive growth over the first 8 months in business, it was clear that CMA required a larger area to hold students in. At this time, it was decided that splitting off of CAYAC would be the best option. Therefore, CMA relocated to the Johnson Building in Cortez. This building was the original hospital for the county and provided the academy with a larger training space and more accommodations for students and instructors.

After 6 months in their new space and continued explosive growth, it became clear, yet again, that CMA required more space for students and instructors. To this day, CMA is working on the preparations for their next move to an even larger, stand-alone location.

Our school, now located in the heart of Cortez Colorado, currently has over 80 active students and offers a flexible class schedule and 5 different groups for students to fit in, both adults and children.

Cortez Martial Arts is internationally affiliated to the International Taekwon-Do Federation (ITF), founded on March 22, 1966, with headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Its founder was the father of Taekwon-Do, General Choi Hong-hi. We are affiliated nationally to the International TaeKwon-Do Federation of America (ITF America), an official ITF Allied Association (AA).