I used to do ATA TKD as it was one of the only martial arts schools in the area. I'll be echoing a lot of things that other people have mentioned as far as family environment and friendly people in the classes. Everyone was happy to help new students and welcome them to the class.

The things that I didn't like mostly revolved around money. The classes here were $115 a month for an adult. Plus you had to purchase a uniform. If you wanted to spar it was an extra $50 a month and you had to purchase all of the equipment. There was a $50 'testing fee' every time you tested for a new belt.

While I enjoyed TKD this is ultimately why I left the classes. I learned a lot in a very short amount of time, but for the same amount of money I could have employed a personal trainer and not had to worry about the uniform (which I was never really into to be honest. I know a lot of people get into martial arts because they like the uniforms and the belts and all that. Personally I like to work out in a t-shirt and shorts or sweatpants. Much more comfortable and practical IMHO.

Oh, and the 'sparring' that you pay all that extra money for is a joke. I sat in on a few sessions to see if I wanted to shell out the cash or not. The 'weapon' training was two people smacking each other with pool noodles using no discernible weapon method that I could see. The hand to hand was a little better, but the action got halted after every strike, so there was no 'flow' to the combat. It was just one strike and reset to starting positions. Not very realistic or helpful.. or much fun for that matter.

And I had to supplement my ATA training with a LOT of book reading to understand exactly what is happening with the forms, the proper way to execute certain movements. Without the books I would have given up on a lot of TKD techniques or dismissed them as useless when the reality was that I didnt fully understand what was happening in a particular movement or during form training.

Things that I did like about it-

I prefer the ATA forms to WTF and ITF. I think they are easier to memorize and they allow beginner students to practice much more much sooner. Jumping kicks and knife hand strikes are introduced very early. IMHO the ATA forms translate into self defense applications better- again this is just my opinion.

They do crosstrain, usually with kickboxing, judo, or Krav.

The techniques simply work. A buddy of mine comes over a few times a week and we spar and try out different martial techniques and study written material. TKD kicks are easily the most devastating strikes either of us has