At your site
In a pilot, TRUETH instructors would lead small-group sessions at your clinic, hospital program or school, with your licensed clinical lead supervising where your setting requires one.
TRUST · Clinical, Academic and Research
A group practice your team can measure
TRUETH Jin Sun Do, developed by Grand Master Won Kuk Kim, combines breathwork, martial arts movement and emotional literacy. We invite clinics, schools and researchers to explore it in pilots that sit alongside the care children already receive.
TRUETH does not diagnose, treat or replace clinical care. We add a structured, supervised group practice to the plan your team already runs.
What a session holds
Sixty minutes, five parts
Every session follows the same shape, so children know what comes next.
- Arrival ritual (5 min)A bow, a greeting by name and a first slow breath together.
- Structured breathwork (15 min)Paced breathing that children practice together.
- Jin Sun Do movement (25 min)Sequences drawn from ten disciplines that ask for focus, memory, balance and control.
- Emotional literacy (10 min)Children name what they felt during practice and what helped.
- Closing ritual (5 min)A shared close so every session ends the same safe way.
The gap
The need
We invite partners to explore supervised group movement sessions alongside existing services.
1 in 5U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 17 had a current mental or behavioral health condition diagnosed by a health care provider, as reported by their parents or caregivers, in 2023.HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau, NSCH Data Brief: Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health, 2023, 2023
7.7% to 13.1%The share of pediatric emergency department visits (ages 6 to 24) that were mental health related, 2011-2012 compared with 2019-2020.Bommersbach TJ et al., National Trends in Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits Among Youth, 2011-2020. JAMA 2023;329(17):1469-1477, 2023
72%of U.S. counties had no child and adolescent psychiatrist.American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Workforce Maps by State, 2022, 2022
TRUETH does not diagnose, treat or replace clinical care. We add a structured, supervised group practice to the plan your team already runs.
| 2011 to 2012 | 7.7% |
|---|---|
| 2019 to 2020 | 13.1% |
Source: Bommersbach et al., JAMA, 2023
| 2011 | 28% |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 42% |
| Anxiety | 16.1% |
|---|---|
| Depression | 8.4% |
| Behavior or conduct | 6.3% |
Source: HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau, National Survey of Children's Health, 2023
These figures describe the need TRUETH responds to. They are not TRUETH outcomes.
Delivery
How a partnership could work
At our academy
Your team could refer families to classes at the TRUETH academy in Woodinville. With a family's consent, we would share attendance and agreed measures back with you.
Mixed cohorts
Children with and without a diagnosis practice together. No one is placed in a special class, which lowers the barrier for families who avoid clinical settings.
Family session
Pilots can include a session for parents and caregivers on supporting practice at home between classes.
Measurement
A measurement plan before the first session
We propose that every pilot start with a written measurement plan agreed with your clinical or research lead, using the same measures at intake and at set milestones so results can be compared across groups.
- Engagement: attendance, retention across a belt cycle, re-enrollment and time to first belt.
- Parent report: short, repeatable questionnaires on the behaviors the program targets.
- Child report: age-appropriate self-report on calm, enjoyment and accomplishment.
- Instructor observation: standardized session logs, comparable across sites.
- Validated instruments chosen by your clinical or research lead. Examples partners may consider include the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), SCARED, the Vanderbilt Assessment Scales and the BRIEF-2.
We commit to sharing pilot results with partners and publishing a public summary, whether the results are positive, mixed or null.
Evidence posture
What we know, and what we are still measuring
TRUETH has decades of practice and careful parent observation. It does not yet have controlled trial data on its own program. We describe it as evidence-informed: it draws on published research about martial arts and self-regulation, and it is building a way to measure its own outcomes so the evidence can grow.
Two small randomized studies in schools, summarized below, looked at taekwondo classes and children's self-regulation. They were short, they had limits, and neither studied TRUETH Jin Sun Do.
Lakes, K. D., & Hoyt, W. T. (2004). Promoting self-regulation through school-based martial arts training. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25(3), 283-302.
207 children in kindergarten through grade 5, randomized by homeroom. After three months of Tae Kwon Do, the martial arts group improved more than a physical education group on cognitive and emotional self-regulation, prosocial behavior and classroom conduct. Limits: One school, three months, a single study.
Read the studyNg-Knight, T., et al. (2022). Does Taekwondo improve children's self-regulation? If so, how? A randomized field experiment. Developmental Psychology, 58(3), 522-534.
240 children aged 7 to 11 in the UK. After an 11-week beginner course, teachers rated the Taekwondo group higher on attentional control, and the children scored better on an attention task. Limits: No effect on teacher-rated inhibitory control or activation control. The study was not preregistered.
Read the studyAcademic and research
For researchers and universities
We welcome research partners who want to study a structured group movement program in community settings. We can offer a consistent session structure and instructor session logs. Families would join any study only through that study's own consent process.
- Studies run under your institution's IRB, with separate, voluntary parent consent and the child's own assent. Enrolling in classes never means enrolling in research.
- Children's data stays under the study protocol and TRUETH's children's privacy policy.
- Null and negative findings are publishable. We will not ask you to hold them back.
Schools and districts
For schools
TRUETH works alongside the social-emotional learning your school already teaches. Sessions run as after-school programs, targeted-support groups or on-site classes, and they map to the skills your staff already use: self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills and responsible decisions.
- Secular content. The martial arts practice carries no religious or political teaching.
- Simple consent and enrollment paperwork for families.
- Our safeguarding policy requires background checks and safeguarding training for anyone who teaches children.
Where we are
Partnerships today
TRUETH welcomes conversations with health systems and schools in Greater Seattle. We will name partners on this page once agreements are signed.
Pilot terms
Pilot pricing
Pilot fees are set per partner, with published bands for schools and for clinics on our pricing page.
TRUETH does not assert that any session is billable to insurance. Your institution and its payers decide billing.
Questions partners ask
Is this therapy?
No. TRUETH is a structured group movement practice. It works alongside therapy, medication and other care, and it does not replace any of them.
Who teaches the sessions?
Grand Master Won Kuk Kim and instructors he trains in TRUETH Jin Sun Do. Our safeguarding policy requires background checks and safeguarding training before anyone teaches children. In clinical settings, your licensed lead supervises as your setting requires.
What size are the groups?
Small. Master Kim prefers about ten children per group.
Can children with high support needs join?
We talk with the family first and, where the family wishes, the child's care team, to plan accommodations before the first session.
Will you publish results we do not like?
Yes. We commit to publishing a summary of every pilot, whatever it shows.
Start here
Tell us a little about yourself and what you are looking for. The TRUETH team read every message. We aim to reply within two business days.
This form is for parents, guardians and adult partner contacts. Students, please ask a parent or guardian to contact us. We ask for your details and your child's age range. We never ask for your child's name, a diagnosis or proof of income on this form.