Father, son share joy of practicing Tae Kwon Do

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. ?Jeremy Larlee
  • JBER PAO
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Throughout his childhood Tech. Sgt. Charles Collins always wanted to try his hand at martial arts, but he never got the opportunity. I t wasn't until more than three years ago that he finally got the chance.

Collins, 673d Medical Operations Squadron, saw an ad for a Tae Kwon Do class that was offering free classes for a week of the Korean martial art. He brought his son Sean with him to the class and both were hooked.

"We started out together three and a half years ago," he said. "We have advanced through the belts at the same time and it has been great to share this challenge with my son. To see him come along like this has been remarkable."

Sean's progress led him to the 2011 Alaska State Tae Kwon Do Championship held in Anchorage, March 26.

The elder Collins was not able to participate as well because work requirements limited his practice time. Sean said he enjoyed taking part in the event.

"I was pretty excited to be able to compete because I enjoy seeing how well I can perform," he said.

The elder Collins said he sees a lot of parallels between his military service and his Tae Kwon Do training. In addition to both requiring extreme discipline, he said both require good supervision

"As you advance in belts and rank you are seen as more of a leader," Charles Collins said. "Mentoring and teaching helps you maintain your discipline."

He also said Tae Kwon Do has whipped him into shape physically and mentally.

"I get a lot of physical benefits out of Tae Kwon Do, he said. "My flexibility and endurance have improved by a large margin."

Sean, who is 12-years-old, said he enjoys sparring and sharing quality time with his father.
"I really enjoy doing Tae Kwon Do with my dad, he said. "I enjoy seeing us overcome the same difficulties at the same time."

The next challenge for the father-son duo is testing for their next belts this summer.