Honor Thy Country and Respect The Military
"Local martial arts studio caters to military
students"
Reprinted with permission
By Melissa Renahan
The Fort Lewis Ranger - Tacoma, Washington
A martial arts
dojang is similar to the military: there are
people you call Sir, there is a sense of order
and a feeling of pride surging throughout.
Furthermore, the first code of the Korean
martial art of Tang Soo Do – which comes before
‘obedience to parents’ and ‘honor of friendship’
- is ‘loyalty to country’.
At Northwest
Martial Arts Education Center in Yelm, that
comparison is more than accurate considering
that 75 percent of the students are active
military, dependents or retirees. Kiersten
Slevin and her six-year-old daughter Riley have
been studying there for two years now. Her
husband, Major John Slevin, is a Physician
Assistant with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger
Regiment and watches their three other children
during classes.
“This is my
outlet from everything,” said Slevin. “As a mom
and military wife, I need it!”
“A community is
only as strong as the support within it,” said
Bob Aubrey, dojang Master and owner of the
center. “And this community is military.”
Supporting the military is part of life for
Aubrey. In addition to serving 12 years in the
Air Force, he also coached and competed with the
US Armed Forces Martial Arts Champion team in
1982.
Karen Fulp, whose
husband Specialist Scott Fulp is currently in
Afghanistan with the 5-3 FA (part of the 17th
Fire Brigade), loves what the center has done
for her children. Both Dallas, her 10-year-old
son, and Constance, her 5-year-old daughter,
attend classes and look forward to it all week.
“It is like an
extended family here,” Fulp said, which is a
relationship that she has relied on. Since her
husband’s deployment, Aubrey has made a point to
spend time with Dallas and has even provided
one-on-one lessons. The result of this extra
attention has helped Dallas overcome issues with
his father’s absence and according to Fulp he
has a better attitude and improved schoolwork.
“I think that
having martial arts as an outlet allows children
to handle stress better as well as learn problem
solving,” Aubrey explained. “When faced with a
parent’s deployment, that is valuable.”
Besides the 10
percent discount Aubrey offers to all active
duty military, he makes a point to provide
scholarships and financial assistance to those
who need it.
“I don’t think
we’ve ever turned a military family away,” he
said. “They deserve to be here even if they
can’t afford the full price.”
For more
information or to start classes, visit http://nwtangsoodo.com
or call 360.960.8346.
