March 29, 2024

Henry’s Martial Arts honors the late Chuck Henry

After Master Chuck Henry passed away nearly a year ago, his son, Mister Josh Henry, became the new owner of Henry's Martial Arts in Creston.

To honor his father, who would have turned 51 years old on Tuesday, Josh held a birthday celebration at the martial arts center that evening. Though Josh mainly planned the event to celebrate his father’s birthday, he held a testing for Taekwondo students beforehand.

“The testing is used for people to move up ranks in the belts, and tonight was white belts – or beginners – working on moving up to yellow belts,” said Josh, 26. “Tonight was their first testing to give them a taste of it and scare them a little bit. Now, we’re just having a little hang out time and celebrating Dad’s birthday.”

The testing was held from 6 to 6:30 p.m., and the rest of the evening was set aside to enjoy birthday cake and do martial arts activities, such as breaking boards. Some people who attended the event had trained with Chuck in the past and returned to celebrate his life.

The Taekwondo students who tested Tuesday were: Xavier Shady, 6, of Creston; Nathan Carroll, 7, of Creston; Madalyne Green, 18, of Lenox; and Jesse Meggison, 27, of Creston. These white-belt students will find out within a week whether they have earned their yellow belts.

“About four or five years ago, Master (Chuck) Henry, right before he passed away, said he would teach me Taekwondo because I had a lot of anger inside me,” said Meggison, who was Chuck’s nephew. “I didn’t know if it would help, but it did.”

After Chuck passed, Meggison quit Taekwondo for awhile but eventually came back to learn from Josh.

“Josh is able to relive memories of his dad here,” Meggison said. “It’s a family thing. We have pictures on the wall from the past, present and onward to the future.”

When Josh first took over, Henry’s Martial Arts was mostly a facility for Taekwondo training. But he enjoys mixed martial arts (MMA), so he added more kickboxing and made kickboxing available for kids, too, instead of only adults.

Starting Monday, Henry’s Martial Arts will offer a brand new class: adult kickboxing. It will be held Mondays and Fridays from 6 to 7 p.m.

“It’s more of a fitness kickboxing class, so it’s good for any adult who just wants to learn some self-defense,” Josh said. “It’s also good for anyone who wants a good workout and wants something different than going to the gym and lifting weights.”

The first four adult kickboxing classes are free, and the remainder of the month will be only $20. The next month will start the regular price of $50 per month for a single person. Families who join the gym receive a discount.

“I love teaching martial arts, so teaching extra classes is great with me,” Josh said.

——————

Sidebar: Henry's Martial Arts classes

Monday: boot camp from 5 to 6 p.m.; adult kickboxing from 6 to 7 p.m.

Tuesday: kid kickers (ages 6 to 11) from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m.; teen kickers (ages 12 to 17) from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Taekwondo from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

Wednesday: boot camp from 5 to 6 p.m.

Thursday: kid kickers (ages 6 to 11) from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m.; teen kickers (ages 12 to 17) from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Taekwondo from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

Friday: boot camp from 5 to 6 p.m; adult kickboxing from 6 to 7 p.m.