OMAC Promotes Martial Arts for All Ages

Steve Potter long thought about joining a martial-arts school. But like many, he didn’t immediately pursue it.

That changed when his son John, then 7, expressed an interest. Instead of just enrolling his young Power Rangers enthusiast into the Oriental Martial Arts College, Steve decided to take classes, too, starting in December 2007.

Steve’s wife, Amanda Potter, later joined. And given that she was doing it, the Potters’ youngest son, Andrew, then 5, wanted to participate.

Now, Amanda’s parents and Steve’s mother also take classes.

This is all possible at OMAC, a school in suburban Columbus, Ohio, USA, that caters to the goals of practitioners at all life stages. The school offers a wide range of programs that enable students to improve beyond basic self-defense, developing physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

The value has been greatly appreciated by Amanda’s father, John Custer, who is recovering from two heart surgeries in the past five years.

Custer lost a lot of strength and felt that his bones were becoming brittle and his body becoming stiff.

“I felt like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz,” John Custer said.

It wasn’t an oil can but the "Kimoodo":/kimoodo program at the martial-arts school that caught his attention.

“I saw the deep breathing exercises and said, ‘This must be for me!’” said Custer, who turns 67 in September. “It helps oxygenate all the organs.”

Sr. Grand Master Joon P. Choi, founder of the OMAC, created "Kimoodo":/kimoodo, a series of breathing and stretching exercises to promote healing.

The system falls in line with a philosophy that he frequently shares with visitors and practitioners alike: “From the moment we are born to the moment we die, we must constantly try to improve. If we don’t improve, we die. It is our obligation as human beings.”

Custer is very much alive and pleased with his personal progress.

“I’m stronger, my reflexes are better, and overall health-wise, I feel better,” Custer said. “Just getting up and going down the stairs is easier.”

The new found energy is particularly good given that he works 8 hours a day.

“I’m on my feet most of the time selling washing machines, TVs, dishwashers,” Custer said.

The martial arts also have prompted Mr. Custer to watch what he eats. He has lost nearly 20 pounds.

Amanda Potter and her mother, Bonnie Custer, also take "Kimoodo":/kimoodo. In addition, Amanda and Bonnie take special "self-defense classes":/wsd along with Steve Potter’s mother, Jacqui Leary.

Leary, who joined OMAC this year, had long performed in ballroom dancing while living in Florida. She moved to Ohio and didn’t find clubs that promoted her cherished activity.

“I was becoming sedentary,” said Leary, who turns 70 this year. “I have a torn rotator cuff. X-rays showed arthritis. But when I do the self-defense, it doesn’t hurt.”

In the case of the Potter children, John and Andrew are learning valuable lessons in discipline, self-control and confidence in their ability to perform. And, recently, John has branched out from "taekwondo":/taekwondo to "gumdo":/gumdo as well.

“It’s actually really helped me improve my concentration and fighting skills,” John Potter said.

Same goes for his brother Andrew, who used to dislike sparring, according to Mom.

“At first, he was terrified that someone was going to hit him,” Amanda said. “He has a lot more confidence, and he’s a lot less worried that someone is going to whack him.”

As for Amanda, she also has found self-improvement. Amanda said that her job as an accountant was weighing on her and she needed a diversion.

“I was so stressed out and my back hurt all the time,” Amanda said. “My doctor said I was breathing too shallow.”

She still was reluctant initially.

“I thought, ‘No, I’m too out of shape. I’ll never last in that,’” Amanda said.

Her husband talked her into it. She joined in May 2008.

“I didn’t realize I’d like it so much,” Amanda Potter said. “I went from couch potato to working out four days a week.”

Amanda lost enough weight to see that some of her clothes were too big for her slimmer frame. She also was feeling better at work.

“I’m calmer, I’m breathing more deeply, I’m not all hunched over,” Amanda Potter said. “I’m more flexible, have more stamina.”

When young Andrew, then 4, saw this, he wanted to join and did so a month later.

“He figured, if Mom can do it, so can I,” Amanda recalled. Andrew started "Little Tigers":/littletigers classes, designed for youngsters, in June 2008.

Like his wife, Steve Potter has lost weight through the training. In the process, he has found that he enjoys competition: sparring, forms, and particularly breaking.

“The most important competition is the one with yourself, but it’s very difficult to judge how you’re progressing” on one’s own, Steve said. “With competition, you have independent judges and you’re competing against other people, so it gives you something tangible.”

The medals won in competition are like the belts achieved in testing in that they are visual representations of accomplishment in the martial arts.

"Kimoodo":/kimoodo instructor Ginnie Schaffer notes that the family demonstrates that people take the martial arts for a wide range of reasons.

“Some are here for therapeutic reasons,” Ms. Schaffer said. “Some are here for physical fitness, some for self-defense.”

Steve is glad to train with so many of his family members.

“It’s vital to have a support system,” Mr. Potter said. “My family gives me the time to do it,” he said, adding, “We can learn from each other.”

The students at OMAC have in a sense become an extended family.

“There’s a lot more camaraderie than I expected,” John Custer said. “I expected a lot of egos, but no, everyone cooperates. The whole flow of energy lifts in unison, and I was impressed with that.”

The Oriental Martial Arts College was founded in 1972 by Senior Grand Master Joon P. Choi, a 9th degree black belt holder and former U.S. Taekwondo Olympic coach, 1988. OMAC has 33 branches worldwide and nine branches in central Ohio. Headquarters,1349 Brice Road, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068. Contact information: 614.864.4000; www.omacworld.com, contact@omacwolrd.com