Martial arts becomes passion, business for Wichita man

What started out as a hobby developed into a passion and a business – even a matchmaker – for Ron Brockman.

Today, his business – USA Martial Arts & Fitness – caters to about 400 students and members in a 12,000-square-foot space in Bel Aire.

Brockman came to martial arts relatively late, considering that some of his students start at age 5. He took his first class at the YMCA when he was 18 and just out of high school.

Brockman went on to compete nationally and internationally in Olympic-style tae kwon do, placing in national collegiate and senior events.

“It came kind of easy to me,” he said. “I always played sports and stuff growing up. Within three years of starting, I was in a black belt division.

“Now, winning at that level didn’t come so easy,” he added. “I had a learning curve there.”

Brockman earned a business degree from Wichita State University, working construction and other jobs to raise the money needed to train and compete. Then he returned to WSU to get a degree in exercise science, teaching martial arts part time.

“That’s about the time I transitioned over to where I was teaching and getting my own place,” he said.

He started with 1,500 square feet of space in Parklane Shopping Center, then moved to progressively bigger spaces in the south, west and east parts of Wichita before landing at his present location near 37th and Woodlawn.

He also expanded his offerings, adding fitness classes and training to tae kwon do and jujitsu lessons. The fitness classes, such as cardio kickboxing, incorporate martial arts moves into the workouts. The fitness kickboxing boot camp adds resistance, core and high-intensity intervals to the routine, while the newest, BataFIIT, is patterned somewhat after CrossFit.

“It’s grown like crazy in the last year,” Brockman said of his fitness programs. “We’ve got families who have kids in martial arts; they (parents) are over here doing fitness.”

Brockman said parents enroll children in his martial arts classes for a variety of reasons.

“Most parents are bringing them in to get that discipline and self-control and that ability to focus,” he said. “Some of them, maybe even self-esteem. (Parents) will say, ‘I think they’re getting bullied, they need to stand up for themselves.’ ”

Brockman develops and teaches most of the classes himself, which may explain the walking boot he’s in for six weeks for a stress fracture. He has three employees who help teach some classes. His other instructor, who doubles as his office manager, is his wife, Taryn.

“I actually met her through martial arts,” he said. “She’d been at another school for years, had come over and she was teaching some kids classes.”

She also helped kick the operation up a notch.

“Up until about 11, 12 years ago, I also worked another job as well,” Brockman said. “About that time, it grew into a point where I kind of had to make a choice. My wife and I decided we were going to give it a go.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Martial arts becomes passion, business for Wichita man."