Peru taekwondo instructor teaches YMCA classes for nearly 40 years

Apr. 6—PERU — David McCurtain started learning taekwondo because he wanted to play basketball.

A friend suggested it as a way for him to get back in shape before the next season started. As it turned out, McCurtain enjoyed the martial art more than basketball and decided to stop playing in tournaments.

Decades later, he still enjoys taekwondo. He's a fifth degree black belt now and plans to test for his sixth degree later this year.

Others seem to enjoy it, too. They've attended McCurtain's taekwondo classes at the Miami County YMCA since 1986.

He started training under Young Chul Chung, who had a decent-sized school in Kokomo. When Chung started teaching in Peru, McCurtain said it only made sense to follow his teacher to the town he lived in. Before long, after earning his black belt in October 1986, he was helping Chung teach the classes.

Chung had his pupil take on more and more responsibility until, eventually, telling McCurtain the class was his.

In terms of other martial arts, McCurtain explained taekwondo is probably most similar to karate. A lot of the striking techniques are similar, he said.

He doesn't entertain debates about which martial arts style is best, though.

"It actually comes down to the person and how hard they train, more than the style itself," McCurtain said. "The fact is, you work your hind end off, you're going to be pretty good at holding your own."

He also pointed out fighting isn't the entire reason most people get into martial arts.

There's certainly an adrenaline aspect to taekwondo competitions, McCurtain said, and nobody to blame but yourself if a competition goes poorly.

McCurtain said training is also about instilling confidence and trying to become a better version of yourself.

While basketball conditioning might have been the reason he decided to give taekwondo a shot, McCurtain said the hobby also helped him take a step back and reevaluate some lifestyle choices.

A flier for his class sits on the Miami County YMCA's front desk. Its tagline reads "Traditional martial arts in an untraditional manner."

McCurtain explained martial arts are often linked to militarism, and teachers often have students standing at attention for the entirety of class.

"Little kids don't like that. You want the kids to learn and enjoy it, you don't want them to be terrified of you," McCurtain said. He later added, "What you're really there for is to try to make a kid a better version of themselves. And if they giggle and joke a little bit in class, I don't care."

While some teachers consider standing at attention a sign of discipline, McCurtain said he views discipline as doing the right thing and being able to stand on your own values.

"When everybody else is acting stupid or whatever, and you just walk away from it, that takes a bit of discipline," McCurtain said.

He doesn't know how many of his students have earned black belts over the years, but he does know how many students have been arrested: just one.

Chuckling, he said children absorb more information than most would give them credit for.

"The kids I've had in there any length of time don't get in trouble. I would stack that up with anybody's program, whether it's a martial arts program or whatever," McCurtain said, later adding, "They don't get in trouble. They don't get in fights all the time. I'll take that all day."

McCurtain started going to taekwondo competitions in the late '80s, when it became an Olympic sport.

He dreamed of becoming an Olympic competitor, but it never happened. He did, however, earn three silver medals and two bronze medals in America's national taekwondo competition, and won 10 state championships.

He was also able to travel to Korea — where taekwondo originated — and appeared in a nationally broadcasted taekwondo demonstration while visiting.

A few of his students have earned national medals, too. McCurtain wishes he'd kept track of how many taekwondo medals Miami County YMCA members had collected over the years, but remembered one year when two students won national recognition alongside himself.

"We had three national medals right out of Peru," McCurtain said. "That's a pretty cool year and a pretty neat thing."

Now that McCurtain has stopped competing, he said the enjoyment of teaching kids is what keeps him connected to taekwondo. He teaches adults, too.

"If you like pushing your boundaries, that's one way to do it," McCurtain said. "I typically tell people to try it, you'll either love it or you'll hate it. ... I loved it and stayed with it."

Now that McCurtain has retired from a career in mechanical engineering, people have begun to ask him whether he plans to retire from taekwondo.

"Truthfully," McCurtain said, "as long as kids show up and seem to enjoy it, and I still enjoy it, I'll keep doing it."

James Bennett III can be reached at 765-454-8580 or james.bennett@kokomotribune.com.