High Kicking Aggie
Utah State University alumnus, Adam Smith, has returned to Cache Valley and is opening a karate school.
Smith graduated in 1990 with a double major in business administration and Spanish. After graduating from USU he moved to American Fork. There he worked in high-tech marketing and studied under karate master Bobby Lawrence for six years, but he wanted to do something more influential.
“I didn’t see my influence in people’s lives,” Smith said. “I want to see that my actions are making a positive difference.”
“I have always wanted to come back. I really love this community and I want to offer something really positive to it,” he said. “I want to have a good influence on children, teens and adults.”
The Bobby Lawrence Karate studio is the fastest-growing, most-successful chain of studios in the Intermountain West, and with 25 years of development and Lawrence, a sixth-degree black belt at its head, it is no wonder, Smith said. There is no professional karate studio like it in Cache Valley.
The curriculum concentrates on karate but, the studio also promotes and teaches life skills and leadership. It is motivationally geared and focused on learning how to set goals and obtaining good social skills, he said.
“It’s much more than a recreational sport,” Smith said. “It takes commitment.”
Students can sign up for lessons for one year. Smith’s studio caters specifically toward certain age groups, such as; little ninja (4-6), kids class (7-12), teen class (13-17) and adult class (18 and older).
The studio teaches Kwan Shu, which is a mixture of Kempo, Shotokan, Judo and Tae Kwan Do.
“You could be Bruce Lee on your feet, but if you get knocked down then it is all over,” Smith said. “That is why we teach this mixture of karate disciplines so you know how to fight in whatever position you are in.”
Lawrence and his wife Charlene will be present at the opening, as well as Justus Lawrence, his son. Justus is the 1998-99 national black belt league’s world champion. Other heads of the Bobby Lawrence Karate studio will also be there, Smith said.
“I have participated in soccer, golf, baseball, snow skiing, water skiing and football, and none of them give me what I have gained from karate. In karate, I was never on the sideline, never sitting down,” he said. “I was always participating.”
The karate studio is located at 880 S. Main St. between Firehouse Pizza and Hollywood Video. It will open on Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. Free seminars will be offered in women’s self defense, kids’ safety and basic kicking and boxing.
-kassrobison@cc.usu.edu
Adam Smith, a first degree blackbelt, demonstrates some of his skills. (Photo by Angelie Christensen )