Four years ago, Mike Thorpe and his elementary-school-age son took the first Tae Kwon Do class ever offered by Park & Rec.

Wednesday, November 03, 1999

Four years ago, Mike Thorpe and his elementary-school-age son took the first Tae Kwon Do class ever offered by Park & Rec.

"I wanted my son to try something," Thorpe said. "But he dropped out after a few tests and I stayed with it."

Thorpe is now on the brink of testing for his Tae Kwon Do black belt.

He never envisioned the Korean martial art having a major impact on his life. But it has.

"The physical fitness I like," said Thorpe, 37 and a chef at The Old Mill. "Then there’s the self defense. And the learning. You’re always learning something new. You can never get too good at it.

"You always have to practice."

Thorpe learned that lesson well while he on the verge of testing for a black stripe to go with the red belt – the fifth of six belts – he currently wears.

A self-described partier, Thorpe realized five weeks before the test that he was spending too much time having a good time.

"I asked Master (Fred) Gommels ‘If I bust my butt for five weeks can I pass?’ " Thorpe said. "He said ‘Yes’ …

"I guess personally, Tae Kwon Do has helped straighten out my life."

Gommels teaches Tae Kwon Do at his Martial Arts Fitness Centers in Austin and Rochester.

Thorpe accompanied Gommels and a host of others on a recent trip to Seoul, Korea.

There, Thorpe was immersed in the land that spawned Tae Kwon Do, a martial art that places a heavy emphasis on using the feet and legs. Tae Kwon Do has more kicks than Yudo, a Koren martial art heavy on throws and joint locks, and less emphasis on hands than the Japanese Karate.

"It was very awkward at first," Thorpe said. "I couldn’t kick higher than my head."

In Seoul - his first trip out of the United States – Thorpe visited Kukkiwon, the world Tae Kwon Do headquarters. He worked through training sessions with Grand Masters and met a wise old man who’d just earned his ninth-degree black belt, one short of the 10th and final degree.

Thorpe said 10th degree black belts are tough to come across.

"That means you have nothing left to learn," Thorpe said. "But there’s always something else."

Thorpe plans to keep training and learning. His black belt test is soon after the New Year.

As an assistant instructor, Thorpe also plans to teach others.

He said it’s never too late to start Tae Kwon Do.

"Anyone from 6 on up can do it," he said.

Austin’s Martial Arts Fitness Center does not train its members for competition. Rather, Master Gommels simply teaches the discipline.

"You’re competing with yourself," Thorpe said. "We do have sparring partners, but we don’t compete."

Though Tae Kwon Do is a self defense, Thorpe said, "we teach the kids to first holler for help and try get away" from potentially violent situations.

That’s not to say the Tae Kwon Do isn’t effective.

"It’s not like you can stop a bullet or anything," Thorpe said. "But there are so many moves. If one isn’t working, you can always get them some other way."