Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Morris. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Head Instructor Shawn Morris has been practicing in the martial arts for over thirty years. Born in an Ohio suburb and then moving to Colorado, he met Qisheng Raymond Bennett of the Shaolin Institute of Chinese Martial Arts. Beginning his official training there, Head Instructor Morris took a brief hiatus to serve in the United States Marine Corps. Upon his return, he continued his training with Qisheng Bennett. Along the way, Instructor Morris also took the time to add training at the American Black Belt Academy in Shorin-Ryu Karate where he began his teaching career as an assistant instructor, the Black Lotus Kung Fu School, and at the Jeet Kune Do Concepts school.
In 2001, moving to Minnesota, Instructor Morris joined with the Young Americans School of Self Defense in order to bring martial arts to those who could not afford the usual costs of going to a traditional school. There, he achieved his Shodan–ho, or first-degree black belt. In 2006, he earned his 2nd Degree Black Belt.
During this time, Head Instructor Morris also began studying with ABC Combatives, now called the FightFast Military Combatives System.
In 2007, with Special Permission from Qisheng Bennett, Instructor Morris opened the Minnesota Branch of the Shaolin Institute of Chinese Martial Arts Association.
In 2012, Head Instructor Morris earned both his 3rd Degree Black Belt in Shorin-Ryu Karate and Probationary Black Sash in Five Harmony Fist Kung Fu, the art of the Shaolin Institute of Chinese Martial Arts Association
In 2013, Head Instructor Morris earned his First-Degree Black Sash for the Shaolin Institute.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 crisis, Head Instructor Morris started creating videos for the Morris Martial Arts, LLC Patreon page, so he could continue to bring martial arts to others despite the restrictions.
In 2021 and beyond, Head Instructor Morris plans to continue training in the martial arts and bringing that knowledge to his students.
Beyond that, I am going to say that growing up, I had always loved the idea of martial arts. I used to watch the old Hong Kong action films on Saturday afternoons when cartoons were over and I wanted to be like they were. I would read books and copy the moves as best I could, being all of ten years old. It wasn’t until a few years later that I met Qisheng Bennett, who was giving a seminar at our middle school. I joined up then and became a very dedicated student. As I progressed, life events got in the way of training, but I always came back to it. I left for the Marines and celebrated my 18th birthday in boot camp. When I returned, I found that the school had closed temporarily and I had to find other training, which I did at several schools, all of which added to my repertoire, but did not satisfy my kung fu dreams. It was working as an assistant instructor with the American Black Belt Academy that fired me up to be a full-time martial arts instructor. After finishing college, the Shaolin Institute returned and I was excited to go back and continue my training, but life would get in the way again and I would move from Colorado to Minnesota and continue my training remotely. It was difficult, but I made it work.
During this time, I saw an ad in the paper asking for martial artists. It was like a dream come true. Young Americans was looking for an instructor to bring martial arts to underprivileged kids. I took up that job and turned it into my main career for the next 18 years. During that time, in 2007, Qisheng Bennett gave me permission to open my own branch of his school in Minnesota and I found a place at Marshall Avenue Self Defense. John and Lynn Meyer welcomed us with open arms and we stayed there until just recently when we moved into a larger place. We developed as part of the martial arts community there along with many other schools that taught out of the same building. For a short time, we had a place in Coon Rapids and now we have a new place in North Saint Paul alongside Dragons Kung Fu with Patty and Mark Kamas.
In 2018, one of my students became my partner in business, then my best friend, and soon, my wife. Together we work towards the growth of our school and the students in it. Where we will grow from here is anyone’s guess, but I am determined, as the named heir to Five Harmony Fist Kung Fu, the art of our school, that we will endeavor to grow strong and help each and every student find their full potential.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Is any road ever really smooth? You best believe there have been some struggles along the way. Money is always an issue, but I try not to let it be. We are a small school and as such, most of what we can invest ourselves is what keeps us going, but it is a labor of love and we work to see it through. If Kung Fu has taught me anything, it is that in order to grow, we have to struggle first. I am relearning this while I work on my Teacher’s Education degree and from that standpoint, I can see more of how it applies to all students, martial arts or otherwise.
I won’t go into too much detail about the most obvious struggle right now, COVID. We do our best to keep our students safe, but it has put a huge damper on people wanting to come to classes, especially ones where you work in close contact with other people. To fix that, rather than let it get us down, we started doing videos and holding Zoom classes for those who couldn’t come to class.
Other than that, I think attrition is a huge factor for all schools. For some students, life gets in the way, which I know first-hand. A lot of times, it comes down to money. An instructor I met briefly talked to me about what to charge for classes, and said flat out, “we have mouths to feed too, even our own.” It really sank in and while I still am more interested in the teaching than the business side of things, it makes sense that even martial arts instructors have lives to maintain, and traditionally, that is how a student paid their tuition, by taking care of the instructor. While those times are long past, the concept still applies.
What does that have to do with attrition? Simple. No students, no money, no school. I have an open-door policy though. If you leave for whatever reason, I have no qualms about allowing a student to return at the same level they left. They may need to relearn some of the stuff, but the rank, they earned that and it is theirs forever.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a martial arts instructor. I am also a Special Education Teaching Assistant working on my Teaching Degree to become a licensed education teacher.
I specialize in working with kids, especially those who need a little more help due to difficulties out of their control. I love teaching the littles, but I also enjoy teaching adults as well. The best thing though is when I learn a little something from my students. I often find that I have learned more from teaching than I did as a student. Frankly, I just enjoy teaching in general.
I am most proud of my family. My wife and our son also practice kung fu and it is a family thing for us and we hope to make it a family thing for all of our students.
What makes me different from other instructors is that I will take the time to explain what I am showing and sometimes, in full detail, explain what it is for. I am not known to pull punches, as it were, in that department. I look at it this way, the more they know, the more they can determine when to use the skill and when not to. It is like I tell them; I would rather they were afraid of what they could do to someone than for them to be afraid of someone hurting them. I am also known to get along well with kids and I was told once or thrice by a parent that my mere presence in the training area is ‘palpable’, like I own the whole room and can use that to bring the children in line, like herding cats.
What matters most to you? Why?
My family comes first in my life. Everything I do revolves around making sure that they are taken care of. As long as my wife, our son, and our pets are good, everything will be okay. Why? If I have to explain it… Seriously though, family is our foundation. It defines a part of who we are. They will be there when no one else will and they are counting on you to do the same for them. This is a thing not only in our family culture but as a martial arts instructor, it is important that we get this point across to the students as well. It is even in our School’s Moral Code.
Pricing:
- Our pricing is available at our website, www.morrismartialartsllc.com. Click on Pricing. A basic rundown follows:
- Little Tigers Class $8 per session
- Junior Kung Fu $12 per session
- Adult Kung Fu $15 per session
- Monthly pricing also available.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@morrismartialartsllc.com
- Website: www.morrismartialartsllc.com
- Facebook: @smorrismartialarts
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/MorrisMartialArtsLLC
Image Credits
Emily Claessens
Qisheng Raymond
Keith Drake Photography
