We recently connected with Alexander Clary and have shared our conversation below.

Alexander, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

My only regret, is that I didn’t take the risk to start my own Martial Arts sooner.

My story of going from student to instructor, and then to black belt many years later, is a strange one because most people become black belts and then instructors afterwards. But, at my very first martial arts school (which was also my very first job), the testing processes were separate for achieving black belt and becoming an instructor. At most schools, once you are a high belt or black belt they just start having you assist with classes. But, at my school the testing process to become an instructor was long and arduous, easily more difficult than the black belt test.

So, once I was a deputy black belt (poom) I did almost finish the testing for my black belt. But I DID finish the testing to become a Head Instructor. So, as a 16 year old ALMOST black belt, I was teaching the first and second degree black belts in class and judging blackbelt sparring (kyorugi) and weapons divisions in tournaments! A very strange path indeed.

Shortly thereafter, my original school closed down, and though I continued to train in Tae Kwon Do as well as other martial arts, I only wanted to recieve my blackbelt if it came from my original master, Master J.C. Choi. So I never tested for it anywhere else, not even when I trained with his brother Master Y.S. Choi at Sun Do Sul in Lakewood, Colorado.

I didn’t know where he moved to, and long story short it took me nearly 20 years to track him down and reach out. Thankfully, he was gracious enough to meet with me in Colorado, and at long last I tested for and received my First Degree Black Belt after many years of teaching martial arts at other schools.

Part of me wishes I had continued to test elsewhere, and if I had I would probably be a fourth or fifth degree blackbelt by now…..but, the other part of me is so happy that I waited to recieve it from Master J.C. Choi. It just felt right to do it that way.

So, the name of my school couldn’t be any more perfect. Not only is Reunion the town where I live, but a reunion is also what finally sparked my comfortability opening my own club. Now that I am finally both a Black Belt, AND a certified head instructor.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I first got into martial arts at 12 years old, after watching “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. It was just so incredible watching Chow Yun Fat as Li Mu Bai, effortlessly flying through the air, and swordfighting with ease. I thought to myself….”That’s it! I am going to learn how to fly!”

So, I searched and searched through various martial arts and schools, looking for the most traditional martial arts I could find. I wanted to learn how to fight, use weapons, grapple, box…..everything. All while looking graceful doing it. I found that with Master J.C. Choi at International Martial Arts (IMA). IMA was mostly Taekwondo, but unlike all the other schools I found, on Mondays we practiced Karate style sparring. On Tuesdays Nak Bup and joint locks from Hap Ki Do. On Wednesdays Jiu Jitsu. On Saturdays. Specialty martial arts, like Kung Fu, or a guest Capeoria instructor from Brazil. All in addition to our Taekwondo. Master J.C. Choi was big on two things:

Firstly, that we didn’t get stuck into one style of sparring or fighting and were well rounded. AND that we knew what to do when on the ground.

And secondly, that we knew what it felt like to actually get hit a little bit. Of course, we wore protective gear but….for example during Black Belt testing we had to fight with multiple opponents, which increased in number every round! So, you were going to get hit no matter what. The goal at that point is to survive and escape. Not really to win.

Now that I have my own training program, I have tried my best to maintain that very traditional training as much as I can. I think that’s what separates me from many other TKD schools. And I think that fact is evident to my students and their parents, with a heavy emphasis on discipline and character building. They absolutely love it. Believe it or not, most people would rather an instructor tell them that they need to improve before receiving their next belt, and that they must wait until they improve those areas, than to just have it given to them because they have attended a certain number of classes or something. Most people want real discipline, honesty from their coach, and tough training because that way they know for sure that their Instructor is truly committed to their own self-improvement.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Pride. Particularly in my younger years, I had a real difficult time admitting that I was wrong about anything, ever.

Now, it isn’t that pride is wrong all the time, there are certainly times where a little bit of pride is justified….but MOST times, it’s simply just better to behave in a humble way.

Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone who is always right about EVERYTHING? It’s downright painful at times. Because of course we know that no one is always right and yet….we all know that person!! I started to see other people, my friends, upset at my own inability to admit fault in our conversations. And I just thought, man. Don’t be that person. Be the one who is willing to say I’m sorry or, looks like I was wrong.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

I began this school at my community recreation center run by the Metro district. And, it was going really well. Rec centers and schools are really common places for beginning instructors to start out when launching their own programs.

For whatever reason, late last year, they lost their program coordinator and rather than hire another one, they made the decision to have the YMCA manage the rec center. Well, I was a contractor leasing some training space there, and the YMCA was unsure of how to proceed with myself and the other contractors that were renting space there. I explained that it was very important to me that I maintain control over this program to ensure its success.

Well, come Januray of 2023, after many emails back and forth and a couple of meetings, they basically said “We don’t want contractors here, so we would like to “absorb” your program and have you continue to teach it, and we will pay you as an employee of the YMCA.” That was pretty much an immediate no for me, as it would have led to me making less money, the students having less training time and an inferior experience, and potential barriers for me to overcome as far as how I want them to train and do extracurricular activities like tournaments.

On top of that, when they told me this, I only had five days to make the decision. Where I live, in Reunion, there is very little commercial retail space available, and what is available is double the cost you may see around the rest of the Denver Metro Area. So, I would have to train students at my house if I said no to the YMCA, at least temporarily.

So I had this choice to make. I was concerned that if I said no and trained students at my house that I may lose many of them. I was concerned if I stayed at the rec center that the program quality would suffer severely. I called Master Choi for advice. He told me to pray, think, and rely on the community around me. Ultimately, after doing exactly that, I chose to keep traditional training and quality, over having a larger space and free advertisement.

Filled with fear of what would come next, I sent out the email to my clients and student’s parents. We would be training at my house for a while. I don’t know how long. The future is uncertain. But, I want to be able to offer my students the best that I can give. And that meant keeping control of my business that I built, and my training criteria, and not handing over the reigns to someone else.

In came the outpouring flood of support. Every single parent, email after email. “I want to stay with you.” “We will follow you wherever you go.” “You made the right choice, they are messing up the other rec center programs too.” It was then that I knew I had made the right choice. It was then that I knew I owed these students the best experience that I could possibly deliver. And, it was then that a grown man teared up and promised himself that he would train these students for as long as he possibly could, wherever he could, whenever he could.

Well, here we are a couple of months later. I have more students now than I did then. I am doubling class availability soon. We are competing in two separate national qualifying tournaments by April 1st. My program is registered with the AAU and USATKD. My wife has now become my business partner. And hopefully I will test for my second degree soon.

I am humbled completely by the grace of God, the wisdom of Master Choi, and the love of this community around me. I could not do this on my own.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.reuniontkd.com
• Instagram: @reuniontkd
• Facebook: Reunion TKD

Image Credits
Tessa Ciaramitaro