Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Today we talk to ATA Ambassador, Mr. Tyler Reed. Let's get started.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Sir, I will live with perseverance in the spirit of Taekwondo, courtesy for fellow students, integrity within myself, and to become a black belt leader.
Welcome to the ATA Nation podcast.
[00:00:25] Speaker C: Um.
[00:00:30] Speaker D: Ladies and gentlemen, instructors, students, masters, parents of song on Taekwondo, welcome back.
[00:00:36] Speaker A: To the ATA Nation podcast. This is episode number 102.
[00:00:43] Speaker C: Man.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Hundred and two. Can't believe it. We are super excited to have you guys back with us today. And we have another great interview.
This gentleman has been an excellent ATA ambassador. He's part of the new class. And doing the interview, I discovered some cool things about his history in ATA that I just thought were great, and definitely glad we got Mr. Reed on the podcast. Now, before we get to that podcast interview, I would like to mention that it's the beginning of the year. A lot of people working on really getting their training, dialed in for districts, world championships, things like that. We've got nationals coming up. So two different things I want you to check out. Number one, we have a month long training layout that is for athletes to do some strength and conditionings, training things outside of their regular programming. And we're offering that for free. So we definitely want you to check that out. All you have to do is go to Atam or, excuse me. Atama Ninja 2024 athlete. Atama Ninja 2024 athlete. If you ever get any errors on my Atama ninja stuff, just take the s out of the HTTPs and it'll fix it. I know it's a pain, but it'll work. And then, I don't know if you guys have seen this out there in AtA nation, but I ran across this site called Prehab. I think it's called prehab guys, something like that. And these guys, I went ahead and purchased their app and has some amazing prehab and rehab training for all different body parts. And it's really great, nice, easy to follow at home workout things that will give you some really good work on specific body parts, especially so I know us as martial artists. Knees are a big deal, shoulders are a big deal, stuff like that. So definitely check it out. And I actually reached out to them, and they're giving our listeners a 30 day free trial for their app. So a 30 day free trial. You can check it out before you get the year subscription on it, which I went ahead and did because I think it's not just great for me as an instructor and martial artist, but to help my students as well. So you can head over to Atama Ninja Prehab to get that offer you only get the 30 day free trial with our special link. So Atama ninja Prehab. Okay, now let's get to our interview.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: Special guest interview.
[00:04:00] Speaker D: With us today. Mr. Tyler Reed. How are you, sir? I'm fantastic, sir.
[00:04:04] Speaker C: How are you?
[00:04:05] Speaker D: I am wonderful. You know, I think a lot of AtA nation has been seen you out there, because you are one of the newer brand ambassadors and doing us a great job.
[00:04:15] Speaker C: I appreciate that. Thank you.
[00:04:17] Speaker D: And that's why we wanted to get you on today as brand ambassadors. Just nice to get to know these people a little bit more, hear from them, and kind of get your story. So let's start from the beginning. How did you get involved in martial arts?
[00:04:29] Speaker C: How did I get started in martial arts? So, I got started in martial arts when I was about 21 years old. Right. So I was one of the ones who always wanted to start when I was younger, but never had the opportunity to. I grew up in a small little mountain town in north Georgia. Only had one little Walmart. Tiny little town. Didn't have much, right. So it was something I always wanted but never was able to get into. And later in my life, when I was an adult and I was already on my path to doing other things, I found my way to actually dating a young lady who already had a son, and he was currently in the program. So I actually used to be the parent in the back who would bring the kid to class. Right. And I would be on my phone a majority of the time and kind of unengaged in the sense of I'm too old to do it. Right.
And then one day, probably about a year into that, his instructor at the time came to me and said, hey, man, you're always here. Why don't you just come and try a class? And that is ultimately how I stepped foot onto the mat, really? Okay.
[00:05:31] Speaker D: I would have absolutely never guessed.
You're. You're in Texas now.
[00:05:37] Speaker C: Is that sir? Yes, sir. In south.
[00:05:39] Speaker D: Okay. So our paths don't cross all that in the. In the midwest, up Indiana area. So our paths don't cross a lot. I would have never guessed that you weren't in it since you were a little guy. Like, a bunch of us talk about being ninja Turtles and all that kind of stuff.
[00:05:57] Speaker C: Yeah. So that was one of the things that I'm super proud about. It's one of the things that I have advocated for both before and now after my ambassadorship was, I hate that excuse of, I'm too old. I used to try and use that excuse. You know what I mean? I was that guy. And I had someone who took a step and took a step forward and believed in me and was like, hey, man, it is truly for everybody. And then once I started to teach, so I was under the tutelage of grandmaster Sun Holi over at karate Atlanta when I first started.
And I was lucky enough to manage and run one of the schools there for him. And at that time, my current wife, Mrs. Reed and I, we had a student whose name was Bob, and he was like 78 or something. He was a war veteran. He was a one legged amputee from the knee down. And he came in with his wife because he wanted to start because his grandkids did it, right. And he was one of the guys who really showed me that I was glad that I started and stuck with it because, and I tell my parents here at the school here in South Lake all the time when I invite them out onto the floor, right? And they're always like, I'm just too old, back, my hips, my knees, whatever, right? And I tell them a story about Bob. And I say, as much as I would like to sympathize with that excuse, I just don't because I truly advocate and believe that it'll help your back and your knees and all of these other things, right? So, yeah, it is something that I did not start in, something I took up when I was 21, but I've taken very seriously ever since.
[00:07:31] Speaker D: Well, that is fantastic. What a great story. I think that is something that we need to shout from the root chop more and more.
Yesterday I had a student, or a lead, I should say, probably. They come in, the daughter is very shy, and so she has come in and watched like three classes and hasn't got on the floor yet.
And the dad comes to me and asks about classes and I'm like, dude, this is perfect. You come and start taking classes and whatever. So you mentioned Bob. What else would you mention to somebody who is, they're a parent bringing their kids in inside? We instructors know so many of those parents sitting out there are thinking might be fun to go and do. They don't take that first step. So what do you do to encourage them? Why would you tell them to get.
[00:08:26] Speaker C: Off the bench, man, for a lot of people, that's a tough one, right? I think a lot of people, especially in martial arts, have had the benefit of starting when they were younger, right? So I feel like a lot of those parents, they need someone to sympathize with them. In regards to men, I am really tight. I haven't done anything active in years, and it's one of the things I tell them all the time, that being fit is a choice that we should all encourage ourselves to make. Right. And those can be little steps or those can be big steps. That can be something as simple as stepping on the mat the first time and just getting a tiny sweat. Maybe your heart rate hasn't really increased much in the last couple of months. Right. We know we all get in those workflows where we don't really get to step out of our work zone very often.
So for me, I always just encourage the parents, man, you don't even have to put on a uniform. You don't have to put on a belt. You don't really have to take the form stuff seriously until it's something that you really feel comfortable with. I think when we try to encourage the parents to step on the floor, but we really try to cram the ATA, not the ATI, I should say that very structured taekwondo portion. I think that is very scary for adults, right. I think that is a scary part. So allowing them to be on the floor and, hey, man, just wear what you're comfortable in, right? Just come take a class with some people that you're comfortable with, right? So every level and every step of the way is comfortability, right? Everything that they hear from you is all I want you to do is be comfortable on the mat. Just step on and try it. When you're comfortable, you can tell me that you want to put on the uniform and you want to put on the belt. And I think that level of leveling with them in the sense of like, hey, man, I used to be there. I was the guy in the back. That's been a really good opportunity for me to be able to encourage those parents to step on the floor. Well, that's fantastic.
[00:10:12] Speaker D: I think what a great, like I said, a great story.
Now, obviously, some things have advanced for you from there. You went from taking somebody to classes on the floor. Now you own a school.
[00:10:28] Speaker C: Yes, sir.
[00:10:29] Speaker D: Give us a little more of the story then.
[00:10:31] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, it's been a crazy journey. Had someone asked me years ago, could you see yourself teaching anybody anything, right, in the scope of being a teacher? My answer would have been, absolutely not. Right. Then you go a step further and say, would you ever see yourself teaching kids? Right? And at the time, that is a laughable thing, right? I'm like, when I'm 20 years old, 21 years old, I'm training, but even still, I didn't have an adult program when I trained. So I trained with a lot of the teenagers. So even at the time, man, I was like, yeah, I'm really here for myself, you know what I mean?
And as I really got into it, I really started to see. Even before I was an instructor, I was able to see while I was on the floor, other teenagers, other kids, and even other adults take big strides that they were proud of. And one of the things that I advocate for so much in ATA and martial arts in general is it's a group setting where we can all encourage each other to be better, but it's an individual sport in the sense of, what is your metric of success? Right. You and I can work together as a partner, and my metrics of success for this drill is completely different than yours. We can encourage each other in the same way but get different benefits. And when I was able to be a part of.
Actually, he's a senior master now, but senior Master Mark Burns, he was a big part of my beginning journey in karate, Atlanta in the ATA. And anybody out there that's ever listened to him speak can probably attest to the fact that he's a very inspirational man. And one of the things that he used to say all the time was, you just got to be in it, right? When you're in it, you encourage others to be in it with you. And I think when I was able to see those other people that weren't just me, but the things that they were able to achieve just because the atmosphere they were in, that really drew me in. And I was a full time bartender at the cheesecake factory.
That was my career path at the time. I actually went to culinary school right out of high school.
So that was the career path. That's what I thought I wanted to do.
And eventually, I started to teach part time, two days a week. It was Mondays and Wednesdays. He offered me a quick job, and I came in. And when I really started, the opportunity to see how helping others helped me at the age that I was at, I think that is where it really started to show my growth. And then that growth inspired me to just keep going. And then from there, man, I fell in love with seeing other people be successful. And then it's just kind of been that way ever since.
That's fantastic.
[00:12:58] Speaker D: Oh, such a cool story. There's our connection. Senior master Burns and I are good friends. We came up near each other in the same region. Before he moved to Atlanta, he was up in Michigan, and so we were tournaments together. And so, yeah, that's awesome.
Wow. So cool. And now you're a school owner. How long had your own school there? I think you took over a school, if I'm not mistaken.
[00:13:24] Speaker C: Yeah. So, like I said, we ran, my wife and I, at the time when we were under the tutelage of grandmaster Suho and the amazing staff at karate Atlanta. We helped manage one of their schools in north Georgia, in Hamilton Mill in the tequila area. So that was a great opportunity for me to take control of the reins a little bit in regards to being in the leadership role without the pressure of complete and utter leadership. Right. So there were still a lot of points where I was able to have somebody above me that could still guide me, that had been there before, who had done that before, and those sorts of things. And then when I transferred and I moved over to Texas under senior master Boyer, and then when we ended up taking over the school, man, what a journey that has been. And I think the reason that my wife and I have been so successful is, honestly, everybody else inside the school, right. It's the parents that open up their arms and bring us in and make us feel comfortable enough to fill big shoes and fill big roles both back in Georgia and back here. So I think it's been a scary process, but it's been a good process. And it's one of those things that I encourage my students all the time, and this goes for tournaments, too. Anybody? Listen. Thing that's like, I want to do creative and extreme. I want to do this thing and I want to do that thing. You'll never truly be ready, and I think a lot of the parents out there can attest to that. Moms and dads, you're never truly ready to have a baby. You're never truly ready to do the things that are hard. So had someone asked me, was I ready to be a business owner at 30 years old and have zero idea how to run that business and how to run a staff and things like that, I'd have said, man, absolutely. No, I'm not ready. But how do you get ready? How do you get ready? You just have to do. You have to be a part of it and jump in the deep end and just hope for the best and learn from mistakes. So I want to say it's probably been the best thing that's ever happened to me, not just regards to being blessed, that this is something that we can say is ours, but the things it's helped me kind of understand and grow with and become from. So it's been something that's been truly awesome.
[00:15:29] Speaker D: So for those out there maybe starting their martial arts journey, whether they're younger and looking at Songham University, the at x program, right. All those kind of know you started as an adult.
I think a lot of adults might start out and be like, I'll take this as a sport, whatever. And a lot of people do, but.
[00:15:52] Speaker C: They could end up being a school owner. Yeah, absolutely.
[00:15:56] Speaker D: What kind of support have you gotten from ATA International, the headquarters and that kind of thing, and then from the organization outside of the headquarters?
[00:16:07] Speaker C: Man, I'll tell you, I think it's been one of the things.
For example, yesterday in class, I talked to one of my students and I had a group in my leadership class, and I asked the group and I said, do you guys know that ATA is the biggest unified martial arts organization in the world? And they're like, I know, we had no idea. And it's what I tell my parents all the time is like, if you guys don't participate in the tournaments and you guys don't go and be a part of what we have to offer, it's truly hard to understand the scope of what we have to offer. And I really started to see that when I started to compete, and that was just as a student, right. And then when I started to become a part time instructor and then a school manager, even that opened up more. And then as a school owner, I continued to understand that there are so many resources that unlock to you at every level of what we have to offer throughout the ATA. Right. I think even being accepted into the ambassadorship program, the communication from start to finish, from headquarters, from senior Master Ireland, from Miss Jasca, everybody has been top notch.
[00:17:08] Speaker D: Everything.
[00:17:08] Speaker C: Everybody is always there. My wife is the program director internationally for the Gumdo program under chief master Ramundi. They all do an insanely good job communicating with her and us and the Gumdo program as a whole.
Everywhere I go, everywhere I look, everybody I've reached out to has always been there to come back to me with something, right? I think that is one of the things that makes us truly great, is there is always someone in your corner. Even if you don't know, you need somebody there. And even if you don't know, it's a corner to be into. There's someone that's been there. There's someone that can help you out of it. There's someone who can guide you through it. And I think that's one of the things that's inspired me to stay. Like I said, senior master Burns, when I first started in karate Atlanta. There were so many people both my age, older and younger, higher and younger ranks that were able to inspire me both through what they did in martial arts and what they were able to do in a relational and personal and a business setting. So it's truly been an awesome place to grow business wise.
[00:18:06] Speaker D: That's fantastic.
We're near the beginning of 2024.
You've got lots of things going on New Year. What are some goals that you have for the year, some things that you're trying to aim for for this year? I think we'll wrap up with that kind of a thought as everybody listening. I think beginning of the year, everybody's thinking about their goals and whatnot, and we need to make sure we touch those throughout the year. But what are you looking at for 24?
[00:18:36] Speaker C: Yeah. So 2024, I still have the goal after ten years of training, practicing and working hard of being a world champion.
[00:18:43] Speaker D: This is, let's say that one more time. How many years?
[00:18:46] Speaker C: Ten years in the making.
[00:18:49] Speaker D: Because too many people are like, I didn't get it in my second year.
[00:18:53] Speaker C: I'm like, two years.
Just two years. You know what I mean? Yeah. You know what I mean? Like that.
[00:19:00] Speaker D: Got to put in the time.
[00:19:01] Speaker C: Yeah. And that's one of the things. And we have an organization that allows that. That is always my goal. But I think we have to be really careful at the ending of the year thinking about resolutions. Right. And I'm glad that you didn't use that word particularly. And it's one of the things that I didn't talk to my kids about here at the school at the beginning of the year, I actually talked to my parents about it, was understanding that resolutions can be very dangerous because resolutions are almost like a pitfall and they're a pitch wrap of, usually resolutions are the very top. They're what I want. Right. My resolution this year is to be a world champion, but by making that resolution, we fall victim to all the steps that matter most, the things that happen beforehand. Right. So I say that my goal for 2024 is to be a world champion. But what I taught my kids last year as we've moved towards 2024 was have an ever moving finish line. Right. As soon as we get really close to that thing that we want. I want to be a black belt. No, I want you to be more than that. Right. I'm about to be a first degree. I want to be a second degree. Right. I want to be a world champion. My first step to being a world champion was be top ten ranked. I was not top ten ranked on the leaderboard for my first eight years competing. This year, I'm finally ranked number one in creative and extreme, which has never happened before. And it's something I've always competed in. Right. So my goal has always been world champion, but that is not the focus throughout the year. The year is, hey, this tournament, can I be fifth place? Next tournament, can I be fourth place? What is my finish line that moves me towards? So, for me, it's little things that help achieve the big thing and that's been my year every single year. Right. Every year someone says, what's your goal? It's always world champion. But really it's the steps that are inside of that. Right. What do I do in January? I stretch. What do I do in February? I train. Right. I do my sections. Right. It's not just be world champion because the second I don't do it. Right. Year two, I'm not a world champion. What's going on? I quit. Right.
For me, it's being comfortable making the small things right. Being comfortable being successful in small things. The world champion, yeah. But meant getting closer to a middle split. Right. I started when I was an adult. It's small stuff, right.
Having better cardio when I compete.
Just being a better competitor. Right. Being better for not just myself, but the people in my ring. I am very competitive. I'm a sore loser. I feel like I do a good job of keeping that inside during competition. But I think we all have a place to put some time and effort into that side of things as well. So for 2024, I think it's small steps, right. Being comfortable with small steps, being comfortable with small successes, having an ultimately big goal, but not overreaching. So that way we don't under deliver to ourselves. I think that's going to be my focus for 2024.
[00:21:43] Speaker D: That's awesome. Yeah. I was doing some review of my 2023 before setting my goals and things for 2024. And the process I was using was having us pick a word.
A lot of times pick a word for the new year. But this was actual, like, after looking at the old year, what would you say and mind last year with progress, it's just like progress. We made progress.
[00:22:05] Speaker C: That's it.
[00:22:06] Speaker D: And a lot of times I have one of my favorite sayings is long obedience is in the same direction. Just keep marching, keep showing up for class, right. Awesome. Well, sir, this was fantastic. I love to hear these stories of adults. Have to find some more people who started as adults like you. Any last words for Ata Nation today?
[00:22:29] Speaker C: Any last words, man? Like I said, it's small successes. Be comfortable with the small things, and that can be. Like I said, your metrics of success should never be matched to someone else's. What you do in class today needs to be important to you and not someone else. Right. And I think that is where a lot of even adults, like we talked about today, fall victim of. Well, even that teenager makes me uncomfortable watching them on the floor because they're so good. I'm 25 years old. That metric doesn't matter, right? Ata is here because of that reason. So find what metrics of success matters today. Maybe it changes tomorrow. Maybe it changes on Saturday, man. And then that's absolutely okay. So whatever that metric is, man, like you said, long obedience on the same path, and we get there eventually.
[00:23:10] Speaker D: Awesome. Thank you so much, sir.
[00:23:12] Speaker C: Yes, sir. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
[00:23:16] Speaker B: Listener feedback.
[00:23:20] Speaker D: I hope you enjoyed that interview as.
[00:23:23] Speaker C: Much as I did.
[00:23:24] Speaker D: Hey, you loyal listener, reach out.
[00:23:27] Speaker A: We'd love to feature a little more of you guys here on the show, so obviously you can reach out to us on Instagram. Just reply to anything we post or send us a DM.
Tell us who you'd like to hear on the podcast. If you've got a neat story, what your goals are for 2024, we would.
[00:23:45] Speaker C: Love to hear about that.
[00:23:46] Speaker A: Maybe you got a special event coming up that you want to brag about or tell people about. And then obviously, you can also join us on Facebook. We have a new group on Facebook for ATA Nation podcast. So check it out over there. We post new things over there. Next week, we've got another ATA ambassador on the show and then working on some a really cool interview. We'll see if it comes true. We'll see. So until next week, ladies and gentlemen, make sure you're out there taking thanks.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: For listening to another episode of the ATa Nation podcast. Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATa family.
[00:24:36] Speaker A: Secret part. Hey, hope you enjoyed that podcast episode. Definitely head over to the rehab guys. Atama ninja Prehab. These guys got some really neat stuff, and I think a lot of our martial artists out there could benefit from it. Let me know what you think if.
[00:24:53] Speaker C: You just check it out.
[00:24:54] Speaker A: Send me a DM. Hey, guys, later.
