Page 93 - Martial Science Magazine Special Edition 2015

JHON KERWIN,

From Talk Show Host To

Black Belt

I am a late night talk show host. In addition to en-
tertaining television audiences and interviewing
celebrity guests, I have a passion for the martial
arts.

I’ve always been interested in the martial arts. As a
boy my mother didn’t have much money, yet after
my badgering, she finally paid for karate lessons.
However, she could not afford that expensive ka-
rate uniform. So every week, I’d go to karate clas-
ses wearing my pajamas. I’m not exaggerating this
story. There were tough kids in class with uniforms
with patches of big fists and swords. My uniform
had little boats on it. You had the brown belts, the
black belts…I was a flannel belt. Anyway, that
was Shito Ryu Karate and the money ran out at
green belt. In college, I studied Shotokan Karate
and went to brown belt. A relatively minor injury
led me to quit. That was a mistake. I became a
spectator of the martial arts for many years until
one day, I thought about what I really wanted to The multiple-award winning
do for the rest of my life. Making people laugh has late night talk show “The
always been on the top of my list. But studying the
martial arts was something that I wanted to revisit. John Kerwin Show” is taped
I scoured the city, trying everything from Wing live before a studio audience
Chun to Aikido to Judo. I decided on Tae Kwon
Do. I’m tall, 6’3” and kicking is great weapon if you in Los Angeles. Since 2001
are tall. And I liked the grandmaster. His name is the show has featured promi-
Grandmaster Kim at Double Dragon Tae Kwon Do.
Everybody in my world said that at 39 years old, I nent and memorable guests
was way too old to start doing martial arts. And such as Bruce Dern, Brian
during the trial classes, I did notice that I was the
oldest student in the dojang. But this was some- McKnight, Tom Bergeron, Ste-
thing that I really wanted. So I signed up. My first ve Wozniak, Antonio Sabato,
class was so overwhelming, I had to stop as I thou-
ght I would pass out– I was in such terrible shape. I Jr., Eric Roberts, and Cloris
even thought of quitting that first day. But I didn’t. Leachman.
The common adage is: “A black belt is a white belt
who didn’t quit.” That stayed with me.

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