Tae kwon do instructor teaches life skills, mixes discipline with fun

It's Saturday morning at the Bloomingdale Park District and parents are still wiping the sleep out of their eyes while their children are already bouncing, stretching and kicking.

Any time a group of 10 kids gets together with the tools to beat each other up, a certain amount of chaos would be expected. Not here. That's not what Christopher Clemente and the Oriental Arts Training Center teaches.

This class is about tae kwon do and the rare mix of discipline with a smile. And the kids are almost always smiling.

The Oriental Arts Training Center is based in Northbrook and serves towns in DuPage, Cook and Lake counties through various park district classes under the guidance of Grandmaster Ki Hong Kim, an 8th Degree Black Belt.

Clemente, a 31-year-old native of the Philippines, has taught in the park district classes for nearly four years. In that time some 250 students have received his tutelage. It's a combination of turning the art he's loved for 23 years into an activity that children and adults will love and use as a guiding force in their lives.

"Sir Chris is a great instructor and he's wonderful with the kids," said Rob Haris, a new black belt under Clemente's supervision.

Haris would know. He has two children who also are being taught by Clemente and a third who may join the program once she's old enough.

"Sir, do you know your green tape?" asked Clemente of one of his young students on how he's progressing on learning the particular pattern of techniques that shows he's learned the new blocks, kicks and punches that represent the color of belt he's trying to progress to. "If not, I'll make you do 50 push-ups."

Clemente is half-joking. That's a task an adult member of class may be told to do, but not a child. Instead, it is a gentle reminder that embarrassment will follow not knowing what you are supposed to know when it comes time for belt testing.

The tests occur in front of a crowd of parents, fellow students and instructors, including Grandmaster Kim, who has the ultimate say on whether a student will progress to the next belt.

But punches and kicks are only half the requirement for children in the program. During testing, parents fill out a form that measures how well their child listens at home, cleans their room and is otherwise respectful and courteous outside of tae kwon do class. Grandmaster Kim then reviews the form. Any poor marks and the student will be questioned about it in front of everyone for a chance to apologize and promise to do better.

"Some kids are easy to teach, some are not as easy," Clemente said. "We teach fitness and self-discipline. Both are important in tae kwon do and life. Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit are tenets of tae kwon do. All students learn that early in class. If you don't master that you will not be good in tae kwon do, in sparring or outside class."