Tuesday: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. All belts
Tuesday: 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Black Belts
Thursday: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. All belts
Raccoon Valley Martial Arts Academy, a satellite of Chung Kim’s Black Belt Academy, was founded in 1994 by Master Greg Ryman. Thirty years later, Master Ryman’s students continue to operate two RVMAA locations in Adel and Perry. Chung Kim’s Black Belt Academy has been in the Quad Cities for more than 50 years, established by Grand Master Chung E. Kim soon after immigrating to the United States from Korea in 1970.
I first became interested in martial arts as a child, asking my parents (repeatedly) for karate lessons. But growing up on a farm in Southwest Iowa meant the nearest classes were 30 miles away and getting there 2-3 times a week wasn’t feasible. I participated in team sports (including softball, basketball, volleyball, football, and track) from elementary school through college, but the desire to learn a martial art never waned.
Six months after graduating from Simpson College I joined Raccoon Valley Martial Arts Academy in Adel, Iowa, and began training with Master Greg Ryman. In 2004, I received my first-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Now a 6th-degree black belt, I continue to train with Chung Kim’s Black Belt Academy and now teach at Raccoon Valley Martial Arts Academy.