Our Story
About Charleston Taekwondo
Charleston Taekwondo was founded in 2012 at a Rec Center in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina by Donovan Rider. After competing at the 2012 Olympic Team Trials for the London Olympics, Donovan decided to retire from competition and share his life-changing experience of Martial Arts with his community. Through hard work, and an amazing team, Charleston Taekwondo is South Carolina’s largest and most Award-Winning Martial Arts program.
Donovan started Taekwondo at a local Rec Center in Orangeburg, SC at 7 years old. After earning his Black Belt at 10 years old he fell in love with the competition aspect of the sport and started traveling nationally to compete. Throughout high school he traveled nationally and internationally, earning medals competing as a US Taekwondo athlete.
He joined the US Army at the age of 18 in the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) as a Soldier-Athlete in Taekwondo. His mission was to compete internationally with a goal of making the US Olympic Team. He won many US National Championships and was named “Athlete of the Year” in 2010 by USA-Taekwondo.
The Military Athlete Program’s motto is “Friendship Through Sport” and Charleston Taekwondo shares this mantra. Our goal is to provide our students with a fun and safe outlet to build confidence and character while making friends in a positive environment.
Charleston Taekwondo is a proud partner with MUSC Children’s Hospital and hosts an Annual Charity Fundraiser, Kicking For a Cure. To date, we have raised and donated over $300,000 to our local Children’s Hospital.