We recently connected with Karla Zuercher and have shared our conversation below.
Karla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made?
The best investment I have ever made in life is in my kids, and this carried over into the business I now own. Training and competing together in Taekwondo has been such a huge part of our life since my boys were 4 and 6 years old. Through the discipline of training, I watched them learn major life lessons, such as learning to accept failure and turning it into powerful motivation for future successes. Watching how Taekwondo shaped my own children into such amazing young men pushed me to continue making this investment into other people’s children, the children of our community and world. I have watched countless children grow and develop through a system that truly works, building confidence along with the drive toward successes that don’t always come easy.
In a world full of instant gratification and immediate results, I am so fortunate to be able to offer a system that both requires and rewards hard work and commitment. I will never grow rich in money off this major investment of my time and energy, but I absolutely grow rich in the rewards – their success, their growth, their future, and the amazing gratitude I receive from parents and students.
What have I learned along the way? That I will never be too old to learn more life lessons and those learned from children are so incredibly meaningful. I have learned that a Black Belt is just a white belt who never quit training. Along that same line, an adult is just a child who never quit living.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I became involved in Taekwondo when my boys were little because I was looking for a place for their energy to be used productively. They began training in January 2007. After watching from the parent viewing area for two months, I joined in March 2007 and trained with them. This quickly became a family endeavor and a huge part of our lives. Now the three of us are all part of the US CTF International Team. We are traveling to England in two months, July 2023, to compete at the TAGB World Championship. It is such a privilege to be doing this alongside my two boys. In addition, we are now bringing along three of our fellow students who are also competing in the TAGB World Championship. To have 6 competitors from Franklin Family Taekwondo on the US CTF International Team is quite an honor!
We offer traditional martial arts training in a family environment. We sets up apart from others is our continued dedication to the traditional discipline of Taekwondo. We require that students earn their own promotions through their personal hard work, and we support and encourage them along their journey. When the Black Belt is earned, it is a family celebration!
With the backing and support of CTF (Choong Sil Taekwondo), our organization has many layers of depth. Each student can go as far as they would like in their own training, including local competitions, national competitions, and international competitions. If competitions are not for you, no problem at all! We offer training that focuses on patterns, drills, techniques, sparring, board breaking, weapons, and fitness. We offer a variety of classes and schedules, including homeschool classes, afterschool pickup programs, and evening traditional classes. We have classes for kids and separate classes for adults.
Krav Maga is the Israeli martial art. We offer this as a separate program for ages 13 and up. This curriculum is focused on hands-on, real world, self-defense. These skills may save your life and the lives of your loved ones when faced with real world violence.
I am so proud of the development of my staff as this program has grown to accommodate students on so many different levels. No matter what your current abilities are or where your current fitness level is, we have a place for you.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
As for so many other businesses, COVID 2020 was a major pivot for us. We are a hands-on business, training face-to-face daily. Long distance learning can never replace the value of in person training. However, when COVID hit, we were forced to make some major changes. In three days, we moved the entire business online. Our families proved their intense commitment to us, trusting us to find a way for them to continue their training. The students excelled, and our business thrived! It was an incredible testimony to the power of personal and genuine relationships in a family-based environment. Once you join our program, you are family!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Surviving the impact of COVID speaks of the resilience of both me and our families. So many businesses closed during this time, and I was fearful of the impact COVID would have for us. We not only survived, but we came out stronger.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.franklinfamilytkd.com
- Instagram: franklinfamtkd
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/franklinfamilytkd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCar2yLa4j8MpVv_pTy_OfVg