6 minute read
Ken Willingham
Age Is Merely A Number
By: Laura Bradley
“I would rather be the oldest guy in the gym than the youngest guy in the nursing home.” Cameron Davis
While I was pondering on what to put on the cover of January’s issue, I knew I did not want to go with the standard “New Years Resolution” theme, I wanted someone inspirational but someone who not many people knew about Someone who does not just wait until January to start reaching goals and new achievements. I wanted someone others could look up to and say, “If they can do it, I most definitely can too!” That is how Ken Willingham came to be on our January cover. You see, Ken does not fit the stereotypical image of an older gentlemen. He is not frail nor weak and he does not use his age as an excuse to not do something, he uses it to push himself to do more. I met Ken in the summer of 2023 when my husband and I joined the Martial Arts gym he was a member of At first glance, I assumed we needed to be extra careful when it came to doing drills with him, but I quickly learned just how wrong I was. I believe I can add the famous phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” here. At 76 years old, age is merely a number to him, and he can roll around on the ground sparring with the twenty to thirty year old’s and never tap out. The strength and determination this man has intrigued me. I wanted to learn more about who he was and the life he lives, and I knew I wanted others to know him as well.
Ken grew up in Farmers Branch Texas, and now lives in the North Texas town of Valley View with his wife of fifty years, Nancy. Their beautiful family consists of three sons, six grandkids and six great grandkids. In 1965, around the age of eighteen, a friend invited Ken to join him for a Judo class at Tamura’s Judo This is where his love of Martial Arts began. Since 1965, Ken has only stopped training long enough to get his college degrees and for the ten years he served in the US Navy. At the age of 76, Ken now proudly holds a Fourth Degree Blackbelt in Taekwondo, Third Degree Black Belt in Krav Maga, and a Brown Belt in Judo. He trained in Taekwondo for over twenty five years and has also kickboxed for around six years. He has over fifty years of Martial Arts Training under his many belts. He is now a certified teacher of Krav Maga and highly trained in Israeli Combat Shooting methods.
In October of 2023, my husband and I personally watched Ken test for and obtain his most recent rank in Krav Maga, his Third Degree Black Belt. The testing consisted of two grueling days of training and testing with one of those days being high level instructional training. Cameron Davis, Owner of Davis Martial Arts & Fitness and Ken’s current Instructor, brought in some of the best Krav Maga Blackbelts around to judge and spar with Ken during his testing. While watching Ken test, I sat in pure amazement at the resilience this man has. He never once gave up, backed down or took a rest He was truly in it to win it, and he did.
Growing up, Ken was a hardcore Atheist and lived a party lifestyle during his time in the Navy When he was in his thirty’s one of his close friends in the Navy overdosed on LSD and almost died. This friend decided he needed to change his life for the better and he accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior. Ken sat back and watched how this man’s life, his wife’s life and his entire family was changing by his decision to follow Christ and he wanted to know more He started reading his bible while at sea and learned about Jesus by reading and watching his friend. The more he watched and learned, the more he knew Jesus was the real deal and he made the decision to become a Christian as well and allow God to change his heart into a heart for servantship.
Around fifteen years ago, Ken’s servant heart was aching to find a local charity to become involved with and a friend told him about the Denton Freedom House. Denton Freedom House is located in Aubrey and offers housing and rehabilitation for men and women struggling with addictions. At the time, Ken was still working as a full-time Engineer with Raytheon Corporation, so he was only able to help financially at first After retiring seven years ago, he became more actively involved by teaching a personal finance class to the residents, then serving on the Board Of Directors to his current positions of Chief Financial Officer & Chairman Of The Board Of Directors.
I think we can all learn a lot from Ken. Age is truly a mindset, and we determine what mindset we will have at each stage in our life. So often we fail to take advantage of the ability we have to live a healthy lifestyle and we find ourselves making excuses instead of setting and accomplishing goals. Ken does not allow his age to dictate his life, he dictates his life. When Ken is not busy martial arts training or serving with Denton Freedom House, he enjoys riding his Harley, bowling, golfing, and practicing Israelite combat shooting.
