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Keith
Rosary finds success with Hyannis school
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Kathleen Szmit photo
MARTIAL ARTIST – Keith Rosary
was 15 when he established his
first martial arts academy,
ironically at the same location
of his current school, Keith
Rosary’s International Martial
Arts Academy, where the seventh
degree black belt passes along
his skills to a new generation.
Martial
arts master comes full circle |
What
happens for a martial arts master who
already has their black belt but longs
for something more?
For Keith
Rosary, returning home to Hyannis and
opening a studio was the answer.
Two years
ago Rosary was living and working in
Hollywood. His martial arts skills led
to stints as a bodyguard and in films
and TV shows such as Ring of Fire
and Wings.
In spite
of his success and celebrity, Rosary
felt his life was missing something. “I
had the house in the Hills,” he said.
“But it was empty. Hollywood is not
real. It’s a façade.”
Needing a
break, Rosary decided to head home to
Hyannis to visit his parents, Catherine
and George Maddox.
What
happened during his visit was something
even the most imaginative Hollywood
script writers couldn’t have created.
At a
party, Rosary met a “feisty woman” with
whom he found an immediate connection –
Michelle Whitman. As their relationship
deepened, Rosary decided to extend his
visit.
“I told my
friends to pack up my house and put my
car away,” he said. “One thing after
another just let us know that this was
meant to be.”
In 2006
the two wed on Dowses Beach in
Osterville. Shortly afterwards, the
former martial arts instructor offered
to show his new wife the site of his
former school.
“When we
got there, there was a ‘for rent’ sign
in the window,” said Rosary. “My wife
looked at me and said, ‘let’s do it!’”
Thus Keith
Rosary’s International Martial Arts
Academy was born.
Or,
reborn. For Rosary, the academy means
coming full circle. The first time he
taught at the school’s location on Route
132 tucked behind Rockland Trust he was
just 15 years old.
“While
other kids were playing sports in high
school I was running my own business,”
said Rosary, a lifelong martial artist.
Rosary
became a five-time state champion, a
seven-time national champion, a
five-time international champion and a
seven-time world champion.
“I laugh
now when I think about how tenacious I
was as a kid,” he said.
When he
stepped into the space that is now his
school, he knew he was in the right
place.
“It’s
different now because I was focused on
me before,” he said. “I took Cape Cod
for granted. Being able to come back and
give back to the community makes it much
more special now.”
Because of
his own early experiences with martial
arts, Rosary quickly learned that he
worked well with younger students,
particularly those with special needs.
“I have
students with Tourette’s, with learning
disabilities, and with emotional
problems,” he said.
To
motivate them, Rosary shows off a 1975
newspaper clipping of himself after
winning a tournament.
“Now
they’re going to the exact same
tournament I went to,” he said. “They
felt a pressure to make me proud, and
make me proud they did.”
On June 22
seven of Rosary’s students – Kam
Markoski, Daryan Thompson, Tamarra
Auguste, Nathan Fitzgerald, Allah Jah
Daniels, Daryl Frye and Reed Grace –
competed in their first-ever event, the
Plymouth Karate and Kung Fu
Championship, and brought back15
trophies.
“It’s such
a flashback to when I was doing it,”
said Rosary. “I got to live vicariously
through them.”
Though
Rosary was thrilled with his students’
accomplishments at the competition, he
is most proud of their accomplishments
within the walls of his studio.
Rosary
tells of one student who was a terrible
bully prone to hurting other students
during classes.
Each week
Rosary worked with the child, hoping he
might overcome his anger. He learned of
issues at home, giving Rosary a
perspective on the situation and
allowing him to break through the
child’s tough exterior.
“He’s now
a teacher,” said Rosary. “He’s gentle,
he’s softened. That’s why it’s different
now for me. He’s going to be a better
father, a better husband, a better
friend.”
It is
because of such students that Rosary is
deeply committed to his practice and his
studio.
“Martial
arts gives them a structure for life,”
he said. “For some it’s the first
structure they’ve had. It’s the first
time they engage their mind, their body
and their spirit.”
Michelle,
who Rosary refers to as the “studio
mom,” is also enthusiastic about the
academy.
“I love
the direct positive effect it’s having
on children’s lives,” she said. “I can
see the difference. When these kids get
a victory in that studio, whether it’s
overcoming obsessive-compulsive
disorder, Tourette’s, or anger, it’s a
huge win.”
Michelle
has watched students thrive under her
husband’s guidance as he teaches them
about making good choices and about
respect.
“It
doesn’t matter what he’s teaching them –
teaching them about God, about martial
arts, about how to make a movie – when
you have that gift, you have a
responsibility to use it,” she said. “He
makes peoples’ lives better. They reach
heights they didn’t even know they
could.”
This
spring Rosary was inducted into the USA
Martial Arts Hall of Fame as a Living
Legend. He also received his doctorate
in martial arts philosophy and martial
arts science.
It is his
way with his students that Michelle
feels is the real key to his success.
“He
believes in them so much and therefore
they believe in themselves. He doesn’t
drop the bar,” she said. They just feel
inspired. They feel encouraged to be the
best they can be.”
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