Former wrestling world champ sets up camp in Palatine
If he was a younger man, former world champion freestyle wrestler Lee Kemp said he'd jump into the mixed martial arts ring.
"You would make some serious money," Kemp said. "If I was 24 years old, a three-time champion like I was, I would have done it for sure."
While he might not have the youth to compete with the stars of that arena, the 52-year-old Kemp says he's still in great shape, and still has something to offer young athletes in the Northwest suburbs.
Today, Kemp will open his Club Kemp wrestling academy in Palatine inside the Fitness Arts Pilates Studios. The public is also invited to an open house at 6 p.m. tonight, and coaches from local high schools will also be on hand.
Club Kemp will teach freestyle, Greco-Roman and folk wrestling styles. There will also be some mixed martial arts instruction, as Kemp points out stars of that activity all have a solid wrestling foundation.
"You are going to get instruction from the very best," he said.
Kemp, a three-time world champion and coach for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, describes himself as the third-most decorated wrestler in U.S. history. He hopes to instill in students aged 7 to 17 some of the confidence and discipline wrestling offers. He started wrestling in ninth grade, which is later than most champions.
Kemp said he wants to stress fundamentals and mold younger wrestlers, turning them into a force with skills that boys and girls can use outside of the gym.
"I was a clean slate. I knew nothing about wrestling in the ninth grade," he said.
The Ohio native's competitive fire has remained since winning world titles in 1978, 1979 and 1982. Politics stripped him of an Olympic appearance when America boycotted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow in protest of the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan. Four years later Kemp, was named as a Team USA alternative for the Los Angeles Olympics.
He retired after the L.A. Games, taking jobs in the advertising business and he even owned a car dealership north of Minneapolis. Neither profession brought out the same passion he had while competing.
After moving to Chicago for a job in November, a friend convinced him to get back on the mat. He met Mia Scheid while at the University of Wisconsin. Scheid, has been running Fitness Arts and invited Kemp to run his wrestling academy inside her studio. Kemp has had prior experience teaching as he also ran an academy in Georgia. He's also worked as a motivational speaker.
"Mia challenged me to do something that I truly loved," Kemp said. "And that wasn't selling cars."
Fitness Arts is at 4001 Park Drive at Plum Grove Park in Palatine. Today's open house takes place at 6 p.m. For more information call to (847) 397-2787.
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