RISON - Grandmaster Han's Martial Arts classes return to Rison this week and instructor Master Jeremy Fox joins the newest episode of Free Range Conversations to talk all things Youn Wha Ryu.
The podcast is currently streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ClevelandCounty-Herald.com Classes begin this Thursday, Feb. 13 and will be held weekly from 6 to 7 p.m. at Rison Church of Christ all year long.
Fox previously taught classes at the church that were halted through the pandemic of 2020.
He expressed his eagerness to return to Rison with former students who will be assisting with the classes, Les and Stacy Walz.
Les Walz joined the podcast as well to share his testimony for the unique classes.
Fox teaches "a mixtures of several traditional martial arts" known as Youn Wha Ryu. This includes taekwondo, karate and hapkido.
"Taekwondo is going to be more of a sport, generally speaking. You're going to kind of be training a little more toward competition. It's a little more focused on speed," he said. On the other hand he says, "Karate is going to be more hard-line, traditional, just very structured, very, very disciplined. And it's going to have more of a focus on on power and getting down low in your stance and a low center of gravity." According to Fox, in karate, kicks aim below the belt, but in taekwondo, kicks are very high.
"You can kind of see why we might want to incorporate both," he said. "Because both both things are good." As training progresses, he introduces hapkido, a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, choke-holds, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks.
Fox likens the three focus areas to three movie stars known for their martial arts: Chuck Norris on karate, Jean-Claude Van Damme on taekwondo, and Steven Seagal on hapkido.
While those taking the classes will learn the skills of martial arts, Fox expects most will benefit in other ways, such as overall fitness, but more importantly a sense of respect, discipline and interpersonal skills.
In the classes, students will interact with others and over time, those mindsets will seep into every day life. According to Fox, it all comes down to rewarding behavior and highlighting accomplishments.
The classes also provide a unique opportunity for families. Fox said in most sports or activities, parents cannot participate alongside their child, but in martial arts, they can join in the fun.
This allows relationships to strengthen and find common interests, and also allows children the opportunity to see their parents overcome obstacles.
“The real magic is going through those things right beside your kid,” he said.
“By the time you've had kids, you already did most of your growing. You've been out of your comfort zone. You've done all those things in whatever way, maybe you played sports in school or in college. But when you have kids, sometimes you're past that season of life. So what do your kids see?” he asks.
“Well, mom and dad are and have always been good at everything they do. Because the only thing they see Mom and Dad do are things that they're good at. And what they really need to see is Mom and Dad doing some things that they're not good at. They need to see dad fall flat on his face once in a while, and get up and brush himself off and move forward,” he said.
“Your kids will think, ‘Well, II stink at this. Mom and dad never stunk at anything. Well they didn't see you going through that process and they really need to see you going through that process,” Fox said.
Of course the process will be much different for youth and adults due to age and agility.
Walz shared that he and his wife Stacy took classes with Fox over 17 years ago with their son Jacob.
“We were looking for an opportunity for Jacob to learn discipline, focus because he was being challenged in that arena and this just fell in our lap and it was absolutely wonderful,” Walz said.
“Jacob struggled for successes. He thought in his mind, and I don't know, he may have been seeing his parents, that he thought that if he tried something or did something, he should automatically be good at it,' he said. “The reality is that's not the case. You've got to pay your dues. You've got to go through the struggles, you've got to learn, be disciplined enough to train and all that. And so this was an opportunity for him to see that.”
Aside from that benefit, it also ignited the competitive spirit in Walz to get off the sidelines to join in the classes, and his wife saw the physical aspects and joined too. For both, it was an opportunity to share a common interest with their son.
Fox said the classes are open to all ages from young children to adults and will be taught by himself and his wife Holly, also a Martial Arts Master.
During the podcast, Fox shares his background of teaching for over 30 years, learning from his instructor Grandmaster Han, and what brought him to Arkansas.
For more info or to sign up, call or text Jeremy Fox at (501) 472-4859.