Whitewright Martial Arts Center offers decades of discipline, lifelong learning

WHITEWRIGHT - At an age when many folks think about slowing down, Roger Howe decided to do something completely different.

At 39, after spending long days working as a computer programmer and systems analyst, Howe realized he needed a way to become more active. In February 1988, he walked into a taekwondo studio and began training under Grandmaster Jinson Chung.

Nearly four decades later, Howe is still learning, still teaching and still sharing the benefits of martial arts with students at Whitewright Martial Arts Center.

Located at 108 W. Grand St. in downtown Whitewright, the studio has been at its current location for nine years, although Howe has been teaching martial arts in the community for about 33 years.

“We’ve been in Whitewright since 1981,” Howe said. “This community has been home for a long time.”

Howe earned his first-degree black belt in the early 1990s while training under an instructor who taught first in Bells before opening a school in Whitewright. When that instructor left, Howe and a friend reopened the school just a few months later.

Initially, the two split teaching duties, with children’s classes followed by adult instruction. Eventually, Howe’s partner moved on, leaving Howe to take over the school himself.

Since then, hundreds of students have come through the doors.

“I’ve seen a lot of people come and go,” Howe said.

Among them are four students who have earned black belts under Howe’s instruction.

Now retired from his career in information technology, Howe devotes his time to teaching two distinct martial arts: traditional Korean taekwondo and tai chi.

Taekwondo classes are held at 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tai chi classes meet at 3 p.m. and again at 7:10 p.m. on those same days.

While both are martial arts, Howe said they serve different purposes and require different approaches.

“Tai chi is a martial art, but it is practiced slowly,” he said. “Because you’re doing all the motions slowly, you develop muscle firmness and strengthen your legs.”

According to Howe, the deliberate pace often leads people to underestimate tai chi, but nonetheless, it is an effective martial art.

“If you ever need to use it, you will do it quickly,” he said. “It is effective.”

By contrast, taekwondo is a fast-paced striking art.

“It’s a hard martial art,” Howe said, comparing it to traditional karate and kung fu.

Ironically, Howe’s interest in tai chi grew from thinking about the future.

After many years practicing taekwondo, he realized there might come a day when the physical demands of the art would become more difficult. 

Wanting to continue training throughout his life, he began studying tai chi with instructors in the Dallas area before later finding a teacher in Sherman.

Even now, Howe continues making the drive to Sherman three mornings each week to improve his own skills.

“I’m doing what I can to make my tai chi art better,” he said.

That commitment to lifelong learning is something he hopes to pass on to his students.

Whether someone is looking for fitness, discipline, self-defense or simply a new challenge, Howe believes martial arts offer benefits that extend far beyond the training floor.

For more information about Whitewright Martial Arts Center, call or text Howe directly at 903-227-6023, email [email protected] or visit www.whitewrightmartialarts.com