After he returned home to Toledo after graduating from Washington State University, Larry Grove drove his mother nuts.
At least, that’s why he says Fran Grove, a high school teacher, handed him the Centralia College list of evening classes in September 1977.
“Pick something — anything,” she told him. “You need something else to do.”
Grove, who worked as a fish culturist at the Mossyrock Trout Hatchery, flipped to the page listing physical education classes and spotted PE 158 — Beginning Tae Kwon Do.
“Look, tonight is a class night,” his mother said. “Get your gym gear and go.”
Four decades later, after earning his fourth-degree black belt and teaching Korean martial arts to thousands of Centralia College students, Grove is stepping down as principal instructor.
“I still absolutely love teaching the class once I’m in the gym,” Grove said. “However, I felt that it was time to step aside and provide an opportunity for Silas Newkirk to bring his youthful energy to the lead. He reminds me of myself 40 years ago.”
Few people entering the Lewis County courthouse would know that their elected auditor, a Vietnam veteran, could take down an assailant with a few well-placed kicks, spins, and jumps. He doesn’t brag about his skills. In fact, he keeps the 20-year-old black belt bearing his name and four gold stripes hidden away in a dresser drawer. He’s never worn it.
From his first class, Grove loved the martial art. He stayed after sessions to learn more from instructor Scott Angel.
“I was so hungry to learn Tae Kwon Do and just couldn’t get enough during the regular class time,” he said.
He enrolled in Friday night classes at the main Northwest Tae Kwon Do studio in Lakewood and met master instructor Sun Do Chung, who awarded him his first black belt in December 1980. Sun Do Chung, a seventh-degree master black belt, had come to the United States from South Korea through a cultural exchange program and established Northwest Tae Kwon Do, which grew to 33 schools that awarded more than 300 black belts.
But Grove said his master instructor placed a high value on college education.
“As Mr. Chung would constantly remind us, we are here to teach more than kick and punch!” he said.
In fact, Grove credits Master Sun Do Chung with his pursuit of his second bachelor’s degree, this time in accounting. His first instructor, Angel, also became a certified public accountant.
“I am extremely and forever grateful to Mr. Chung,” Grove said.
Grove began teaching Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do at Centralia College in the fall of 1979. His first class had 15 students; 55 enrolled during winter quarter. Later they started Kids Karate classes. One of his students, 10-year-old green belt James Anderson, joined Grove in Tacoma for a weekend seminar in 1999 taught by gold medalist Herb Perez, a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Tae Kwon Do team. James, who started learning Tae Kwon Do at age 5, won a gold medal that summer in the U.S. Junior Olympics at the U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas, and the following summer, after rigorous training with his father, Jesse, he brought home gold in sparring and silver in forms.
Record enrollment in Kids Karate followed.
The biggest challenge has been championing the class during college ebbs and flows, such as when it was offered only as a noncredit community service class during the 1980s. He said John Martens, a college dean who recently retired, advocated for martial arts as a physical education class.
Grove recently underwent surgery for a triple hernia, but it had nothing to do with Tae Kwon Do. Instead, he was wrestling a brush hog onto a farm tractor and lifting an irrigation pump into the tractor’s loader in May at his mother’s place in Toledo.
Grove said he loves the interaction with students, “the opportunity to not only teach the students Tae Kwon Do, but to help, assist and nudge them along their path in pursuing their college education.”
He lost count of how many students he has taught when the total topped 5,000.
My daughter took his class several quarters. I feel better sending her off to college knowing she can defend herself.
Newkirk, Grove’s replacement, entered the program as a Running Start student in 2002 and earned his first-degree black belt in 2013. He’s assisted by Rusty Henthorn who started in 1992 and earned his first-degree black belt in 2001.
And Grove said he’ll still be around to help.
“The program will continue to equip students with an awareness of their surroundings no matter where they are and, by learned behavior, avoid potentially dangerous situations,” Grove said.
Most importantly, it will continue to encourage lifelong fitness.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
