Martial arts grand master teaches at Crestview festival

CRESTVIEW — From the Netherlands to Crestview is about 4,700 miles. Today, it's a journey easily accomplished with a couple of plane rides and a lift from the airport in a matter of 12 hours or so.

It's just 480 miles from the former World War II German labor camp in Racwicz, Poland, to the Netherlands. But for a 5-year-old boy making the arduous journey home on foot at war's end, it was a multi-week trek that built indelible memories before he was reunited with parents he had never known.

Ninth-degree martial arts Grand Master Rudy Timmerman used the struggles of being that boy — and a frequent bullying victim — in post-war Netherlands to focus on the discipline the arts teach.

During the April 20-23 Korean Martial Arts Festival, sponsored by Gordon Martial Arts of Crestview, Timmerman and 12 other highly ranked and regarded masters from around the country gathered at Warriors Hall to teach junior and adult seminars, present demonstrations and reunite with old friends.

"Most of the instructors I see here I have interacted with before," Master Toderick Thornton of Atlanta said. "It's like a family atmosphere. That's what we promote at our school."

For local students of Korean martial arts, the chance to meet, take selfies with, and learn from world-renowned masters is an exceptional opportunity.

"It's inspiring, honestly," said third-degree black belt student Richard Rounsaville, who has studied at Gordon Martial Arts for 12 years. "You can learn so much from all these masters and take away a little from each."

One celebrity attending the festival didn't do much teaching, but was herself a subject of respect and admiration by even the grandest of masters. They bowed in deference before requesting to take a selfie with Dana Hee, a 1988 U.S. taekwondo Olympic gold medalist.

Hee inspired legions of martial artists by rising from being a victim of sexual and domestic assault to one of the nation's most celebrated martial artists, Grandmasters Society and Taekwondo Halls of Fame inductee, actress, film stuntwoman and TV sports commentator.

"We women, we did well in 1988," Hee said. "We even beat Korea, and they were expected to be the world champions."

Timmerman's seminar on how to successfully smash 2-inch-thick concrete blocks, with a government-regulated 2,000 pounds per square inch pressure resistance rating, drew an appreciative audience.

Smashing the block is simpler than most people build it up in their minds to be, Timmerman said.

"Over-thinking is the worse thing you can do," he told the students. "It interferes with your computer," he said, meaning the artist's mind.

Like everything in life, smashing the block comes down to mind over matter, taking one's time, using energy efficiently and following instructions.

"The problem is convincing you that two bricks are no worse than one brick. One or five, it makes no difference in how you have to hit it," Timmerman said.

And if at first a student doesn't succeed, it's no disaster, even with an audience gathered around that nonetheless applauded effort and intention as much as accomplishment.

"In a thing like this, there's always tomorrow," Timmerman said. "You don't have to do it today."

Students have a whole year to practice chopping paving stones to size in their backyards. Studio owner and Chief Master Tom Gordon will produce the festival again next year, as he does every year.

And in the same location.

"People have asked me to move the festival to other cities around the country," Gordon said, "but I won't. Crestview's my home."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Martial arts grand master teaches at Crestview festival