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Halina Modelski won an international award for her work
Halina Modelski teaches children martial arts at her business, Champion Martial Arts in Stafford.
Students practice flying kicks during class at the studio which earned top chun kuk do honors. |
When Halina Modelski shouts "kiai!" her students jump. Others duck.
Modelski, at 5-foot-1 and 129 pounds, is a martial arts master who holds a sixth-degree black belt in chun kuk do, a Korean-based American hard-style of karate. "Hard style" means just that: not soft. "Our techniques are strong," she said. "Our blocks are strikes."
The 51-year-old native of Poland came to this country at age 15 with her mother, two sisters and a brother, and settled in Naugatuck, Conn. Seventeen years later, at the urging of her two children, she and they joined a local martial arts school. "They liked it," she said recently, "but I liked it a lot."
She achieved her black belt in seven years and began teaching children at the school. "But then my instructors went off to college," she said, "and since I knew some people from Stafford, I moved here to Virginia and opened my own school." She lives with her husband, Jerry, in Ferry Farm.
Her studio is called Champion Martial Arts. The "champion" in the name has been earned. Modelski's school was named Studio of the Year in 2000 and again last July, out of 90 international chun kuk do studios, at the martial art's annual convention in Las Vegas.
She opened her first school on Nov. 4, 1996, on Garrisonville Road, a few miles west of Interstate 95. After 12 years, she moved recently to a new Garrisonville Road address. Her grand reopening was on Halloween Eve. There she continues her 20 classes a week for nearly 100 students ranging in age from 5 to 57.
Most of her students are young people (ages 5 to 12), roughly half of them boys, half girls. There are also three evening adult classes (for ages 13 and up).
Modelski's school has produced 40 black belts. "But not everyone joins a martial arts class just to learn self-defense," she said. "For children, particularly, martial arts teaches discipline, self-confidence, emotional self-control and concentration. Of course, it also develops strength, speed, endurance and flexibility."
"I started when I was 32, not that flexible," she added. "I still go to exercise class three times a week for an hour each. That includes using the hula hoop."
On a typical afternoon at 556 Garrisonville Road: "Kiai!" (kee--eye!)
Facing their instructor, and the room-length mirror behind her, a rank of 20 Dragons (age 5 to 7) and Warriors (age 8 to 12) begin their methodical attack across the inch-thick mat, one shout and stomp at a time. Their drill follows a traditional opening bow and handshake. Afterward, a hand-slap and a bow are made to the instructor.
With some half-dozen assistants, Modelski drills her students through the 12 levels toward the top ranks. All begin as white belts followed by gold, purple, orange, blue, green, red and, finally, black.
A minimum of 30 months is required to attain black-belt rank, Modelski pointed out, "and even then you are only a master of the basics." There are 10 degrees of black belt, indicated by the number of stars in a small triangle on the master's tunic. Modelski has six.
The founder, chairman and grand-master of chun kuk do is Chuck Norris, who developed this particular martial art during his military service in Korea. Loosely translated from the Korean, the name means the "universal way." As a movie actor, Norris has become one of the best-known public faces for martial arts.
Norris is the only chun kuk do performer with 10 stars in his triangle.
Hugh Muir: 540/735-1975
Email: hmuir@freelancestar.com
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Halina Modelski's Champion Martial Arts studio is at 556 Garrisonville Rd. The phone is 540/659-8878. The Web address is championma.com.
Classes for young people are Monday through Thursday for 45 minutes each, usually between 4:45 and 7:45 p.m. A six-week introductory program is $99.
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