MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / Febuary 15, 1999

LAPLACE – Honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, community.

Those are the tenants of Tae Kwon Do. And it is those tenants that WilliamCothren tries to make a part of every class at his Tae Kwon Do Plus school in LaPlace. His goals are to build self-esteem, coordination, discipline andconfidence in the youth of today.

Cothren got started in the sport about eight years ago when he took his son to check out a karate school. While watching his son from behind theviewing windows, Cothren realized the sport was something he had always wanted to do and gave it a shot.

Now a third-degree black belt, Cothren became a certified instructor in 1997 and completed the United States Tae Kwon Do Alliance’s apprentice program this past October. During the 2 1/2-year program, Cothren learnedthe ins and outs of running a martial arts school. He opened Tae Kwon DoPlus in Cambridge Corner in November and said he signed up his first student while still applying paint to the walls.

“LaPlace has received us with open arms,” Cothren said. “It is really doinggreat.”Running the school is a full-time job. Like any business, Cothren said youhave to keep it clean and in tip-top shape. There is the usual paying ofbills and following up on accounts. Cothren also makes phone calls toparents to let them know how their child is doing and to teachers to check on the students’ academic performance.

Academic excellence is one of the main goals of the school. Tae Kwon DoPlus is a member of the USTA’s Partners in Learning program in which teachers fill out academic reports that the students must turn in. Thestudents are evaluated after each eight-week training cycle in Tae Kwon Do and are rewarded with one, two or three stars on their rank belts based on their academic effort and following of the tenants in the classroom.

Cothren also does motivational talks at schools. The presentations canrange from five to 30 minutes and include safety awareness, attitude and life skills and Tae Kwon Do presentations.

The USTA picks a topic each cycle for the Tae Kwon Do instructors to discuss with their classes. This cycle the topic was Making a Differencewith Cothren teaching how the students can make a difference not only in their lives but also their communities and in the world. The USTA sendsits instructors information and posters based on the cycle’s topics.

Cothren said he has gotten positive feedback from the parents of his students.

“They tell me that their children’s grades are going up and that their attitudes have changed,” Cothren said.

Cothren said he teaches traditional Tae Kwon Do at the school, teaching self-defense moves and basic techniques. He will evaluate students asyoung as 4-years-old up to adult. When students become green belts andshow they have enough proficiency in the sport, they can take a green belt sparring class and start sparring. Safety is a top concern at the schoolwhich is one of the few in the area to have an all-matted floor.

Cothren said a fellow instructor once told him that if you love what you are doing, you haven’t worked a day in your life. By talking to Cothren youcan see that he truly does enjoy what he is doing.

“It has kind of consumed me,” Cothren said. “It is such a fun sport. It is sofamily-oriented.”Cothren knows where of he speaks. Both his son and daughter are seconddegree black belts and part-time trainee instructors at the school. Hiswife, also a second degree black belt, is a full-time instructor at the school as well as a professor at UNO. And pointing to his three-month-oldson sleeping nearby, Cothren said that is his future black belt.

Cothren just got back from the USTA’s Winter National competition in Birmingham, Alabama. There he accomplished a hat trick, placing first insparring, forms and free design forms.

Free design forms is a relatively new competition with competitors creating their own forms and putting them to music. Cothren has placed inthe top 10 in the nation in the event each of the past three years.

The USTA holds five competitions a year – two national, two regionals and one international. A regional competition will be held at Gretna JuniorHigh in March.

“It is like belonging to one big, happy family,” Cothren said of belonging to the USTA. “If I need help, I can call other instructors in the area.”Cothren’s school is open every night except Monday when he does his continuing education under his instructor who he also works with twice a week in the mornings. The instructors also meet after every testing periodto keep abreast of new developments.

Cothren said he hopes to stay in the sport for as long as he can and keep having a impact on the children in the St. John community.”If I can have a positive influence on one child, then I have accomplished what I started out to do.”William Cothren’s Tae Kwon Do Plus is located at 1036 West Airline Highway in the Cambridge Corner plaza.

Return To Sports Stories

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

Internet services provided by NeoSoft.

Best viewed with 3.0 or higher