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Last April, Kuk Sool Won instructor Tony Reyna asked Ryan Mathias, one of his students, what his plans were for spring break.
The 16-year-old told Reyna that he was going to be training for an upcoming tournament — one that wouldn’t arrive until October.
“That’s why he wins,” said Reyna, owner and chief instructor at Gold County Kuk Sool Won in Nevada City. “He’s so hard-working, so committed. It’s rare to have such dedication.”
“I’ve been teaching Kuk Sool Won for 28 years and I’d say one out of every 10 years you see someone dedicated like that.”
And that dedication is now paying dividends.
Mathias recently returned from Houston, where he won the World Kuk Sool Won Championships in the Youth Boys division. It’s the second title this year for Mathias, a Bear River High School junior who also took first place at the Pacific Coast Tournament.
Kuk Sool Won, which Reyna describes as the most comprehensive of all martial arts, includes scoring on form, sparring, sword, staff and technique. Mathias took first place in his division of each aspect at the world championships, which drew 2,000 competitors from 22 countries.
But it all didn’t happen overnight. Mathias has been working at it for nearly six years now, and he’s come a long way from the overweight youngster who first gave martial arts a shot after watching a few Bruce Lee films.
“I kind of thought maybe he needed his own thing,” Sandra Mathias said of her son, whose older brother, Tanner, just wrapped up his senior season as Bear River’s varsity quarterback.
It all seemed so natural, Ryan Mathias said, as he studied Taekwondo for two years before later finding not only another place to study martial arts, but also another level of dedication to his sport.
In fact, what had been a pastime became a lifestyle, as Mathias began applying the philosophies of Kuk Sool Won to his everyday life. Reyna said he started seeing growth almost immediately in four aspects of his teachings, including humility, etiquette, patience and practice.
“He’s always been very humble and had good etiquette,” Reyna said. “But I’ve seen a lot of growth in him socially. He didn’t used to speak much. But now he’s been able to, at a very young age, teach adults.”
“He has a high maturity level for his age.”
Mathias must either be a natural or Reyna must be a great teacher, or perhaps both are true, as the teenager displays all of those aspects he’s learned when speaking of his sport. Ask him about his championships or the swift success he found against opponents, and he simply smiles and says he just enjoys what he’s doing.
He applies “Jung Shin” — “concentrating and focusing 100 percent on what you’re doing at any given moment,” Reyna explained — to all of his studies, not only the martial arts.
“I wish I could say I get straight As,” Mathias said. “But it’s usually five As and one B.”
His discipline and dedication have not only helped himself — and the Gold Country Kuk Sool Won team, which placed eighth in the U.S. National School standings at the World Tournament — but also those who study with him at the school.
After two years of Taekwondo, followed by four years of Kuk Sool Won, he became a first-degree blackbelt.
“I almost cried,” he said.
His peers were so moved by his dedication and drive that he was selected as the school’s Blackbelt of the Year, Reyna said.
“There are people out there 50 to 60 years old, too,” Reyna said. “Getting picked by his peers is a great recognition. But it’s not just for his physical aspects, it’s also for his etiquette, how he carries himself and how he is with other people.
“It’s how humble and how helpful he is.”
Mathias said he has enjoyed not only his progression through the school, but also helping others progress through the school. He not only plans to continue teaching, but is already working on that aspect of his future by following in Reyna’s footsteps.
“You get to help people,” Mathias said of what he likes most about teaching. “I tell jokes all the time when I’m doing it. And, you know, I learn from teaching just like when I’m learning from somebody else.”
Reyna, a retired Air Force veteran took up Kuk Sool Won in 1980, said he still enjoys teaching every bit as much as Mathias.
“We have ages three to 83 years old here,” Reyna said. “We have a 76-year-old testing for blackbelt.
“It fulfills my life. My life is about helping people. I’m happy for 12 to 13 hours a day.”
And he has little doubt that his young prodigy will find similar enjoyment as a martial arts mentor.
“The biggest thing Ryan needs to do is continue his training, get his education and stay on the path he’s on,” Reyna said. “He’s on a great path. I don’t foresee anything but success in his future if he keeps going.”
To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.
The 16-year-old told Reyna that he was going to be training for an upcoming tournament — one that wouldn’t arrive until October.
“That’s why he wins,” said Reyna, owner and chief instructor at Gold County Kuk Sool Won in Nevada City. “He’s so hard-working, so committed. It’s rare to have such dedication.”
“I’ve been teaching Kuk Sool Won for 28 years and I’d say one out of every 10 years you see someone dedicated like that.”
And that dedication is now paying dividends.
Mathias recently returned from Houston, where he won the World Kuk Sool Won Championships in the Youth Boys division. It’s the second title this year for Mathias, a Bear River High School junior who also took first place at the Pacific Coast Tournament.
Kuk Sool Won, which Reyna describes as the most comprehensive of all martial arts, includes scoring on form, sparring, sword, staff and technique. Mathias took first place in his division of each aspect at the world championships, which drew 2,000 competitors from 22 countries.
But it all didn’t happen overnight. Mathias has been working at it for nearly six years now, and he’s come a long way from the overweight youngster who first gave martial arts a shot after watching a few Bruce Lee films.
“I kind of thought maybe he needed his own thing,” Sandra Mathias said of her son, whose older brother, Tanner, just wrapped up his senior season as Bear River’s varsity quarterback.
It all seemed so natural, Ryan Mathias said, as he studied Taekwondo for two years before later finding not only another place to study martial arts, but also another level of dedication to his sport.
In fact, what had been a pastime became a lifestyle, as Mathias began applying the philosophies of Kuk Sool Won to his everyday life. Reyna said he started seeing growth almost immediately in four aspects of his teachings, including humility, etiquette, patience and practice.
“He’s always been very humble and had good etiquette,” Reyna said. “But I’ve seen a lot of growth in him socially. He didn’t used to speak much. But now he’s been able to, at a very young age, teach adults.”
“He has a high maturity level for his age.”
Mathias must either be a natural or Reyna must be a great teacher, or perhaps both are true, as the teenager displays all of those aspects he’s learned when speaking of his sport. Ask him about his championships or the swift success he found against opponents, and he simply smiles and says he just enjoys what he’s doing.
He applies “Jung Shin” — “concentrating and focusing 100 percent on what you’re doing at any given moment,” Reyna explained — to all of his studies, not only the martial arts.
“I wish I could say I get straight As,” Mathias said. “But it’s usually five As and one B.”
His discipline and dedication have not only helped himself — and the Gold Country Kuk Sool Won team, which placed eighth in the U.S. National School standings at the World Tournament — but also those who study with him at the school.
After two years of Taekwondo, followed by four years of Kuk Sool Won, he became a first-degree blackbelt.
“I almost cried,” he said.
His peers were so moved by his dedication and drive that he was selected as the school’s Blackbelt of the Year, Reyna said.
“There are people out there 50 to 60 years old, too,” Reyna said. “Getting picked by his peers is a great recognition. But it’s not just for his physical aspects, it’s also for his etiquette, how he carries himself and how he is with other people.
“It’s how humble and how helpful he is.”
Mathias said he has enjoyed not only his progression through the school, but also helping others progress through the school. He not only plans to continue teaching, but is already working on that aspect of his future by following in Reyna’s footsteps.
“You get to help people,” Mathias said of what he likes most about teaching. “I tell jokes all the time when I’m doing it. And, you know, I learn from teaching just like when I’m learning from somebody else.”
Reyna, a retired Air Force veteran took up Kuk Sool Won in 1980, said he still enjoys teaching every bit as much as Mathias.
“We have ages three to 83 years old here,” Reyna said. “We have a 76-year-old testing for blackbelt.
“It fulfills my life. My life is about helping people. I’m happy for 12 to 13 hours a day.”
And he has little doubt that his young prodigy will find similar enjoyment as a martial arts mentor.
“The biggest thing Ryan needs to do is continue his training, get his education and stay on the path he’s on,” Reyna said. “He’s on a great path. I don’t foresee anything but success in his future if he keeps going.”
To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.
