Edward Ahn has the stamina of a man half his age.
At age 61, Ahn still jogs five miles a day and teaches several
classes of tae kwon do at his fitness center each week. He estimates
that he's run more than 37,000 miles and trained more than 50,000 students.
And he has no plans to retire anytime soon. I love what I do,
Ahn said Friday. It is still very exciting.
A native of North Korea, Ahn moved to Macon in 1973 to teach tae kwon do.
He opened Ahn Fitness Center, now located on Vineville Avenue. I like the people of Middle Georgia,
Ahn said.
They have been good to me.
Over the years, Ahn has worked with law enforcement officials and
school-aged children, teaching them to defend themselves against predators. He said any
martial arts training is a combination of mental and physical discipline. When they come in
with a bad attitude, I have to teach them a lot,
Ahn said. But they usually leave here
thinking very differently.
Saturday, members of Ahn's fitness center and some of his former students
gathered to honor Ahn for his 50 years of teaching. They gave him a plaque
and a trophy. Some of his students have gone on to open their own schools,
and others teach at his center. A lot of people have moved on, but I stayed
in one place,
Ahn said. It's a free country, and I can do what I wish.
Ahn
started training in the martial arts at age 12 and was taught by the modern founder of
Tae Kwon Do, Gen. Choi Hong Hi, to spread the once-lost art in the United States.
After 40 years of training, he earned a ninth-degree black belt, the highest
level. I started training to defend myself,
Ahn said. We learned it outside
on the ground, not inside a building.… There was a lot of discipline to learn also.