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At times,
the pain of life can be a blessing in
disguise. That’s been the case for one
Kyrene Corridor resident who eased the
despair of losing his wife by opening
what he calls his “dream” martial arts
studio.
Glen Wong
had a rude awakening in 2004. When his
wife died he realized he had to choose:
The high-paying career he had held at
Freescale Semiconductor for 19 years or
his family and health.
The answer
was obvious.
“I had to
make a choice,” Wong said. “If I (die),
my boys have nobody.”
Thus, with
his two sons, Jared, 13, and Bradley, 9,
as his motivation, Wong opened JB
Martial Arts Academy in 2005.
JB, from
the first letter of each son’s name,
focuses on Jhoon Rhee American Freestyle
Tae Kwon Do. Rhee is considered the
father of American taekwondo, a form of
martial arts that closely resembles
Japanese karate.
Wong makes
it a priority to stay faithful to the
discipline, taking particular pride in
the accuracy of his students’ belt
rankings.
“We are
not a belt mill,” said Wong. “We want
orange belts to be true orange belts.”
One way of
ensuring the integrity of the system is
by keeping a good student-to-teacher
ratio, Wong says. As head instructor,
Wong works with a team of other teachers
to give students what he feels is the
best experience possible.
For Wong,
receiving a positive reaction from a
pleased student is more rewarding than
the monetary gain that comes from
operating his school.
“Fewer
things (are) more satisfying than having
feedback that you’ve influenced them
positively.”
Wong’s
classes take up the better part of a
3,000-square-foot facility, nearly
double size of a typical studio. He
also offers videotaping to supplement
the learning process.
Wong says
this kind of personal attention helps to
keep a strong relationship with each of
his understudies.
“For us,
we’re really concerned about each
student as an individual.”
Wong and
his instructors also offer free private
lessons to help assuage the difficulty
of falling behind. Offering the little
things that other places do not helps to
define the differences of Wong’s
approach, he says.
Posted at
the studio are three sayings from which
their ideology is constructed:
“Everything we do falls into these three
things.”
The basis
for what Wong preaches is also a
foundation for how he lives his new
life.
“It’s a
personal challenge,” Wong says of his
philosophy. “First and foremost this
change allows me to take better care of
myself mentally and physically, which
will in turn allow me to meet my number
one priority which is to grow old
enjoying my sons and family.”
Wong
realized he had to make sacrifices in
his life to find true happiness, and
while it has not been an easy road, new
meaning comes to the saying that “every
new beginning comes from some other
beginning’s end.”
JB Martial
Arts Academy is at 5865 W. Ray Road,
Suite 10, Chandler. Information:
www.jbmaa.com or (480) 855-5262. |
