Bear River Martial Arts instructor Bonnie Zowada (left) with American Tang Soo Do Association president Marco Discipio.
PETOSKEY – A local martial arts school will welcome its grandmother for a day of training this weekend at Zion Lutheran Church in Petoskey.
Bear River Martial Arts, which teaches the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do, will host grandmaster Marc DiScipio on Saturday, July 9, for a day of martial arts, Chinese calligraphy lessons and testing.
DiScipio is the president of the American Tang Soo Do Association and currently practices and teaches out of his studio — Salem Street Studio — in Boston. His visit to Petoskey is an exciting opportunity for local students.
“He’s an amazing martial artist,” said student and red belt Tom Walker. “And this guy, I believe, is what we would call an eighth degree black belt, and just having him come to the area is an honor.”
DiScipio has been practicing Tang Soo Do since 1982. He began studying the martial practice with grandmother, Richard Byrne, founder of the American Tang Soo Do Association.
Upon his arrival, students at Bear River Martial Arts — along with a martial arts group from Marquette — will join DiScipio for various lessons.
“(It’s) such an honor to have this grandmaster DiScipio here locally and to have him work with all of us,” Walker said. “Those outside the group might compare it to learning directly from Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris. It’s an amazing opportunity and we can’t thank him enough for coming.”
Non-students are welcome to attend and watch. More information about DiScipio’s visit and classes with Bear River Martial Arts is available at facebook.com/bearriver.tangsoodo or by emailing bearriver.tsd@gmail.com.
— Contact reporter Sean Miller at smiller@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @seanmillerpnr and Instagram @sean_everest.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Bear River Martial Arts to welcome grandmaster Marco DiScipio
