Having taught an Olympian who began their training journey at Metro Performance Taekwondo, owner and dojang master Jason Ruiter has no shortage of impressive tales. Yet, when he is questioned about his favourite student success story, he can’t decide: “All of them!” Jason emphasizes that each student’s growth and confidence is what means the most to him.
In 2004, Jason opened Metro Performance Taekwondo, a martial arts school located on Hastings between Willingdon and Alpha. Over the next two decades, Metro Performance Taekwondo grew 11 staff members strong, the majority of whom went through the business’s very own martial arts programs. Additionally, some of their senior students teach their younger peers for volunteer hours.
Originally from Winnipeg, Jason is a decorated national athlete himself. He found that the business flourished under a growth-oriented lens, much like athleticism. He credits his determination to keep the business running to his personal martial arts experience; stating “Quitting wasn’t an option.”
The studio offers multiple forms of martial arts at varying levels of teaching experience. “If [our dojang was] a university student, we’d have a Doctorate in Taekwondo, an MBA in Jujitsu, and a Bachelor’s degree in kickboxing.”
Jason is enthusiastic about his love for Burnaby Heights, describing it as a tight-knit, welcoming community where businesses are full of familiar faces and that “everyone wants to move here!”.
He, along with everyone at Metro Performance Taekwondo, believes in improving self-defence, confidence, fitness, and socialization skills for everyone who walks through their doors, no matter what ability level they’re starting at. “You come into a place like Metro Performance, and all of a sudden you have a community.”
