The Camp Verde Community Center Gym was packed with residents gathered in support of the ideals proposed by our nation’s greatest civil rights leader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18.
Karen Conover, owner of KC’s Family Tae Kwon Do in Cottonwood, stood front and center in her dobok uniform, acting as the event’s host. She introduced each speaker and invited her own teenage students — the X-Team, as they are called — to demonstrate their martial skills.
“If our youth are learning respect early, we will make a more perfect union,” Conover said. “It’s really inspiring when you see people this young doing amazing things.”
Conover has held the position of host since the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration’s founding five years ago — a founding, it should be noted, inspired by the efforts of then-6-year-old Chandler Plante.
“Chandler is the little brother of one of our former black belt instructors,” Conover said following the event. “He inspires and does more than most 10-year-olds I know. While others aspire to beating a level on a video game, he aspires to make a difference in the world and actually does it.”
Conover added that she had never liked that “Martin Luther King Jr. Day just seemed to be simply a day off of school.” When Plante and fellow organizers set out to create the event in Camp Verde, Conover saw her opportunity to become more involved.
“Our students shout out, ‘How do we lead?’ and answer, ‘By example, ma’am’ at the end of every class,” Conover said. “This lead-by-example philosophy is central to our mission of building a strong community.”
The mission Conover referred to has a great deal of history behind it, as Conover revealed: “I studied under Grand Master Jhoon Rhee, the father of Tae Kwon Do in America. He always used to say, ‘Martial arts without philosophy is simply street fighting.’ When I started KC’s Family Tae Kwon Do 10 years ago, I knew that I needed to make that the central part of my school — teaching kids and families to become great people with life skills being at the core of our teaching.
“Yes, learning to protect yourself and kicking and punching is important and fun, but being a good person is paramount. I feel that by building confident, respectful people, we build a strong and happy community.”
