Twenty years ago Cindy Redolfi’s quest to get in shape turned into something more than she expected.
She had 11-year-old and 13-year-old sons who tried baseball, soccer and other activities. They then asked to try martial arts.
Redolfi would walk around the building to get exercise during their classes.
"The instructor saw me doing that, and said, ‘Well, what are you trying to do?’ ‘I want to get in shape.’ He says, ‘Come on in, just do the punches and the kicks with us and you don't have to do anything else,’" she said. "But I got hooked and here I am today. Unfortunately my boys aren't doing it with me anymore, but we did all reach our first degree black belt together. And one of my sons and I both reached our second degree together.”
And today, Redolfi, now in her 60s, is teaching others — as many as 80 students a week — as an instructor for Kuk Sool Won of Dayton.
Kuk Sool Won is a national Korean martial art. It’s very traditional and combines several combat styles. But there’s more to it than the physical component, according to Redolfi.
“We find that anybody can be a martial artist, a 5 year old, 6 year old child to a grandmother," she said. "It's about what's in the heart.”
That philosophy is on display every week inside The Nest School building in Vandalia, where Redolfi teaches a Friday night class for families. The school’s gymnasium serves as a martial arts studio, or dojang.
Before entering the gym, each student bows. Just like they bowed before entering the building.
“Bowing is humility and being respectful. So as we walk into the dojang, we're being respectful for our space, for our dojang, being able to practice," Redolfi said. "We also bow to each other, bow to the higher ranks, things like that. Just a sign of respect."
Students in the current class range in age from 6 to 60 or older. As the lesson begins, they line up in two rows with plenty of space to move around. Redolfi leads them through stretching and kicking exercises. Then they break into smaller groups and continue working on technique.
In one group, 49-year-old Tim Mugrage practices with his 16- and 19-year-old sons, Isaiah and Noah. They started Kuk Sool Won 10 years ago, and they’re all second degree black belts. Mugrage welcomes the influence Kuk Sool Won has had on his sons.
“Their respect for elders is amazing, and the ability to actually see people that are not being taken care of and just talked down to, they pick those things up now,” he said. “This is not a martial art of going out and busting heads. It's really defense, and it's protecting those that need it. And just when they're walking around, what they see, they pick up on those situations.”
Isaiah said the class offers him a welcome break from school and everyday stress.
“Just being able to come in here and just have something constant to just commit myself to and continue to work on and grow in and overcome, that's such a big help,” he said. “It just means the world to me to have Noah, my brother, and my dad, work through this with me."
Also working through the Kuk Sool Won experience is Brandi VonAshen.
“So with Cindy, she only needs to talk with you a few minutes and (by) teaching you your first form or your first falls, she knows your learning curve," VonAshen said. "When I started, I was already over the age of 50, and I told her at that time that I would not be able to fall.”
Now VonAshen not only executes controlled falls, but repeatedly does them on the hard gym floor without a mat.
“So she's just amazing with her ability to reach each one of us as we need to be taught,” VonAshen said.
43-year-old Sasha Blaine is a lawyer and mother of two young girls. She takes the class with her oldest, 6-year-old Sabrina.
“For myself it's helped me a lot with my balance and stability. Those are two things that can be sort of forgotten in your physical fitness,” she said. “But as a mom, seeing my daughter go through martial arts training, her ability to listen and respond and to learn respect and to really get cultural awareness. She asks more questions, and it just kind of helps us learn about different parts of the world and how influential they can be on our lives.”
Blaine was pleased to find Kuk Sool Won so close to home, but even more pleased because the class is taught by Redolfi, whom she calls an important role model for her daughter.
In a recent class, Blaine’s husband and their youngest daughter joined the class to watch Sabrina break her first board.
Sabrina had recently turned 6, so the students gathered in a circle to sing "Happy Birthday" and offer support as Redolfi guides the youngster through the board-breaking exercise. With Redolfi’s instruction, the young girl completes the task on the first try to the cheers of her classmates.
The family class is a special one for Cindy Redolfi. While her sons are now adults and no longer practicing with her, she said she still shares that type of family bond with her students.
"It's an amazing thing because I have a family here," she said. "I have students and parents that would do anything for me because they know I would do anything for them or for their children."
