[dropcap]T[/dropcap]aekwondo is life for Kyle residents Michael Olds and Seonok Maeng.

In fact, it was through the martial art that Olds and Maeng initially met.

Through the tie that binds them, both Olds and Maeng sought Kyle as the center point for their business, Rising Phoenix Martial Arts studio, which allows them to expand knowledge of an art that’s the lifeblood of the South Korean nation. 

Students of all ages, including Cynthia Torres (left) and Elliot Germany, join in a taekwondo class in Kyle. Taekwondo, meaning “the way of the foot and fist,” incorporates many different martial art skill sets. (photo by Moses Leos III)

Olds, who hails from Wisconsin, always aspired to make a career out of the combative arts. He started boxing when he was five years old, driven by stories of his grandfather and great-grandfather, who were boxers before him.

“I kind of grew up with these warrior stories,” Olds said. “I wanted to do something with those stories.”

About 15 years ago Olds got into taekwondo, which is a “kicking art,” he said. During that time, Olds went into Mixed Martial Arts, learning hakido, muay thai and judo.

But his passion soon turned to taekwondo, and he found success at various tournaments in this sport. After he graduated from the Univeristy of Wisconsin at Madison, Olds sought the chance to go to South Korea, the birthplace of taekwondo.

Via an initiation by a master who watched him at a regional tournament, Olds got the chance to train at one of the premier taekwondo universities in South Korea.

There, Olds met Maeng, who at the time had been drafted to go to college for taekwondo and participated in a professional league team in Jeongu City.

Olds leads a class at his Kyle studio. (photo by Moses Leos III)

Neither knew the other’s language well. And over the course of a year, Maeng helped Olds with his Korean, while he helped Maeng with her English.

Olds also learned just how seriously South Koreans take taekwondo, where roughly one million residents are certified black belts. Olds estimated roughly 200,000 Americans hold a black belt in the U.S.

“Taekwondo is the national sport in South Korea. There, you can train on an elementary school team and on a high school team,” Olds said. “Every man (in South Korea) will have some exposure to taekwondo.”

During his year, Olds learned Korean and sharpened his skills in the art. After he and Meong were married, the two returned to America with dreams of setting up a taekwondo studio, or dojang. It was a prospect Olds knew well, as he had operated a studio in Wisconsin.

Olds’ brother, who lives in the Austin area, encouraged him to go to the Kyle area, based on its growth.

“He said it’d be the perfect spot to start a school,” Olds said.

In October, Olds and Meong opened Rising Phoenix, and enrollment numbers have been rising swiftly since then, with nearly 300 students at this time.

Interest in taekwondo, which is an Olympic sport, has risen over the past 15 to 20 years.

Currently there are 70 million worldwide who practice taekwondo in more than 280 countries, Olds said.

Balancing offensive and defensive techniques, along with a mentality on moral training, is the focus for Olds and other martial arts masters who teach taekwondo.

“It’s not learning how to be the toughest person you know and using those skills to intimidate people,” Olds said. “You not only learn the techniques to the best of your ability, but also try to embrace the warrior ethos and philosophies that are integral to martial arts training.”