Tom Bishop, 45, and his kids, 9-year-old Christopher and
7-year-old Carrie, are on the cusp of their black belt test at
A-West Karate and Fitness in Arvada.
It could be said the family that kicks together stays together.
A-West might appear like any other martial arts school from the
outside. But inside, it's a much different experience, owner
Daniel Klenda said.
The martial arts studio,
with 15 years in the community, has a knack for turning entire
families into black belt arsenals.
It's what owner and Tae Kwon-do master Klenda does different than
most studios. Instead of separating groups by age, he places his
students by belt, which, he said, often puts entire families in
the same boat.
"We'll have a 41-year-old and a 4-year-old in the same class,"
Klenda said.
Klenda has the look of a sixth-degree black belt — which is what
he is — as he stands over his class with broad shoulders and a
chiseled jaw.
A martial artist since 1978, Klenda has trained some 1,500
students and certified 200 of them as black belts. His approach
to teaching, he said, is unique from many other studios because
of his mixing of various ages.
That mixing was evident on a recent afternoon as Bishop sat
among a gaggle of children — two of them his own youngsters.
"It's quality time," Bishop said.
The family first got into martial arts when Bishop's son,
Christopher, expressed an interest. Bishop said he liked A-West
because the studio wasn't trying to turn his kids into "little
ninjas," so he got involved too.
"It's very practical," Bishop said on a break from exercises in
the studio.
Bishop told a story about slipping on his driveway one cold
morning this past winter. After his many years of martial arts,
Bishop said as he fell, he instinctively rolled into a position
he's been trained in and saved himself from injury.
Besides helping his health — and conditioning his body to take
some bumps — the whole experience of doing something as a family
lets Bishop identify with his kids even more, he said.
"We're a pretty close family anyway," Bishop said. "But this is
a great thing to do together."
Even on their worst day at the studio, Bishop said they still
come away from each session gaining something, be it physical
strength or mental discipline.
The Bishops are nearing the end of three months of preparation
for their black belt tests. The test can sometimes take hours,
but the Bishops are prepared, Klenda said. As an early spring
hailstorm pelted cars outside, the trio eagerly got back to the
Tae Kwon-do action, going through a series of drills putting them
closer to their belt goal.
For Klenda, he's just glad other instructors can help him teach.
Besides teaching Colorado's next possible Bruce Lee, Klenda also
runs the business and keeps his building up to code.
But a passionate sparkle in his eye is evident whenever he talks
about his students and all they have done.
On a wall inside the studio, pictures of martial arts students
from past years are proudly displayed. Klenda points to the
pictures proudly, saying only, "That's 15 years right there." |