Taekwondo: Local instructors teach students values

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At USTA Martial Arts, we understand how a proper martial arts education complements a successful life and strive to instill the same attitude and values in our students.” USTA Martial Arts trains any student regardless of age. ere are three groups: Little Tigers (4-6) learn focus, listening, following instructions and basic taekwondo movements, Children (7-12) learn behavior, discipline and basic to advanced movements and Adults and Teens (13 and older) learn basic and advanced movements while also using taekwondo for selfdefense, losing weight and stress relief.

When one door closes another one opens USTA Martial Arts Instructor Jaiden Schmit was a struggle kid. Experiencing anger problems, Schmit was in therapy for a while, and martial arts was one of the interventions suggested to his parents to help channel his energy and focus on the activity rather than taking his anger out on others. Like Ross, Schmit also had an interest in watching kung fu movies featuring Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Schmit earned a black belt in karate before taking a break and later enrolling in taekwondo his freshman year of high school. He said before taekwondo, he would lose his temper and get into heavy arguments if he believed someone was rude to him. e art soon taught him to control his breathing while also showing kindness toward the other person, which he said helped him make more friends in the classroom. Schmit’s taekwondo instructor? Master Ross. eir relationship would prove to be key in expand-

Aug. 27

August Birthday Party ing USTA Martial Arts into north Whatcom County. Because Schmit had already trained in a di erent martial art before joining taekwondo, he was able to jump a few belts, giving him less time to earn that black belt required to become an instructor.

“It’s always been a passion of mine being able to teach. My original idea was to create my own martial arts kind of like what Bruce Lee did. en, I started falling in love with this speci c style, the culture and everything like that,” Schmit said. “I recently visited South Korea, and I was able to see all about the culture and history behind [taekwondo]. … After I opened my business and started teaching here, seeing all the students grow and parents thanking me for what I do, it just became a passion.”

However, Schmit did not quite nd the passion for teaching martial arts until one of his other dreams fell apart. Being a Ferndale High School graduate and a top-notch trombone player, Schmit attended Central Washington University (CWU) with hopes of majoring in music. He said CWU was one of the more competitive schools to get into for trombone, so his dream of becoming a music major just wasn’t in the books. He joked he could have taken up tuba for the rst time and made it in, but even though he was good in high school, he was not good enough for the competition that CWU needed for their trombone section.

Not liking psychology or business, he said college wasn’t for him, so he returned to the area a year later and talked to Ross about expanding the martial arts program into Lynden. Located in Towne Plaza, the studio opened in the early months of 2016.

Teaching world values

If your birthday is in August, come and celebrate with the Lynden Community/ Senior center on Thursday, Aug. 31. There will be a special lunch at noon, for $6 to begin the party and then cake to celebrate at 12:30 p.m. Come join your friends at the center, 401 Grover St., or call (360) 354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter.org for more information.

Sept. 1-30

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When both instructors’ career and life paths didn’t turn out how they expected, it was teaching martial arts that helped them call Ferndale and Lynden their home.

“Anytime I’m out in the class with the student, I know I’m always making some kind of di erence with them because that’s what martial arts is for,” Ross said. “We’re here to mentor them [and] tell them the same things that mom and dad say, but because I’m not mom and dad, it feels like some kind of outside reinforcement.”

Ross said the studio also has etiquette each local food and of people who grow, raise, fish, make and cook it. Meet your chef, farmer, fisher and grocer and experience the unique flavors of the region. For more information, email annikas@sustainableconnections.org.

Sept. 9

Whiskey Walk festival student is required to adhere to in order to be a part of the program. Rule No. 14 states that no student is allowed to spar without the instructor’s permission. He also said that just because students wear “USTA Martial Arts” on the backs of their uniforms, every student is still expected to keep up their good behavior inside and outside the studio.

From 4-10:30 p.m. Sept. 9, come enjoy the Whiskey Walk festival at 115 BC Avenue, Lynden, a downtown celebration of music that includes Petty Or Not, the Whiskeydicks and other performers. For more information, email erik.v@e-hosp.com.

“I bring up the home rule chart that says be kind to other people. And so if use taekwondo on someone else, is that being kind? No. When do we use taekwondo? For selfdefense,” Ross said. “So if you’re mad at somebody, are you protecting yourself or are you ghting? Because I don’t teach ghters; I teach martial artists.

Martial artists have control.” Schmit said some teaching challenges he faced at the beginning was explaining forms and memorization, trying to balance not teaching too much to where his students forgot everything but also not teaching too little so that his students didn’t lose motivation and wanted to quit. He said his work would not have been done without support from other instructors who have been down that road before and could o er him advice.

“When they rst start out, I have lots of kids who are really hard to focus and when they get to blackbelt, they change it. At the beginning, they had no focus. At the end, now they have great focus,” Schmit said about his students’ progress. “It’s not just about punching and kicking. When I see them grow as a person, it makes me feel good. [It] makes me feel like I’m making a great impact in the world.”

-- Contact Taras McCurdie at taras@lyndentribune.com.