Taekwondo Studio Brings Community Together

Grandmaster Ewing with his family and students celebrated the one year anniversary of their Habu Ewing Taekwondo Studio in Grand Terrace last Friday July 11. Students from the school demonstrated skills they learned throughout the year for attending family and community members. “I love it, they’re great people and she loves it,” said Antonia Gomez who came to see her 10-year-old daughter, Evelyn Gomez, who has been taking classes at the studio for a year and has participated the studio's summer camp. The students went through a warm up which included elements of cardio and abdominal work. They went through drills as a group before they were paired off against each other. Students worked on blocking and demonstrating kicks and punches with a partner. The students worked on conditioning drills such as running between the rungs of a ladder on the floor and jumping over hurdles. The students practiced breaking boards and demonstrated self defense with their partners. “They do a lot of collaboration with the REC Center in Grand Terrace,” said Jennifer Araiza. She is part of The REC Center and came to watch the demonstrations with her family. Ewing teaches a self defense class in Bloomington and the REC Center will come to see demonstrations periodically. Aiko Ewing, Habu Ewing's daughter, is an instructor at the Habu Ewing Taekwondo Studio and said, “I enjoy it, I love having a connection with my students. My youngest is 3 and my oldest is sixty-three and their all my kids.” Ewing has been an instructor for a year and has been teaching since the age of sixteen. “It was a challenge, we feel happy we survived the first year,” said Ewing’s father, Habu Ewing who has been teaching since 1983 and currently has twenty four students between the studio in Grand Terrace and at the REC center. His future plans include having his daughter, Aiko, take over the school in 3 years and opening a training facility for indoor and outdoor training for advanced students. “It gives the kids somewhere to belong and it keeps them out of trouble by giving them something to do,” said Habu. Ewing said that every Wednesday the school is open for students to come when they have half days at school. The students are required to read for thirty minutes before they do anything else, and the instructors help the students with homework before the end of class. All of the instructors have college degrees and are there to help the students succeed academically and emotionally. “We’re enjoying it. There are so many good people, and too many good supportive people in one location, it’s kind of strange,” said Habu.