By Allie Ward
Josh Harrison has been a black belt martial artist since he was 11 years old.
“I’ve been training since I was 6 and, believe it or not, I started teaching when I was 12,” he said. “It’s always been something I wanted to do.”
Harrison, now 29 and a third-degree black belt, moved his school, Martial Arts Plus, to Hopewell’s East Broad Street in June after previously working out of the Hopewell Valley Health and Fitness Center.
“The amount of foot traffic and interest that I’ve received just over the summer has been great,” he said. “I love this town. It seems like a family-oriented town, and I think this is going to be a great fit.”
Martial Arts Plus is a one-man show for now, with Harrison serving as secretary, teacher and bathroom cleaner. He said it isn’t a bad tradeoff since he gets to do what he loves every day.
“I come to work, and I look forward to it, and I have that great opportunity to be fortunate enough to do what I want to do,” he said.
Martial Arts Plus features classes for all ages and skill levels, from the three- and five-year old Tiny Tigers to the advanced master black belt club. Harrison said he doesn’t discourage anyone and has even had senior citizens in class.
“However long you want to keep kicking,” he said.
But martial arts isn’t just about kicking and punching. It’s an attitude that he’s really trying to create, Harrison said.
“I tell them we take our attitude that we work on in here and we take it to school and we take it home with our parents especially. We’re trying to help create positive people with good direction who are able to carry out their goals and their dreams.”
To reinforce those attitudes, Harrison incorporates a star system where his students can earn stars for bringing in good report cards from school. He aims to teach them short-term, intermediate and long-term goals with the different belts.
“It doesn’t come all at once,” he said. “You have your big main goal, which here is to become a black belt, but there are lots of little steps in between that you have to take to get there.”
Harrison understands the important role he has in the lives of young people because he remembers how instrumental his instructor was to him growing up.
“If I had a problem or anything came up, I know I can pick up the phone and call him, and I’d love to be that for somebody else,” he said.
Though he has a loyal base of students, Harrison is looking to expand his business to include more than just martial arts classes. He has instituted a cardio kickboxing class and is thinking about starting a weight loss challenge, similar to the TV show Biggest Loser.
Harrison doesn’t consider himself a salesman, but rather someone who wants to make sure martial arts is a good fit for everyone involved. New students get a free first class and a seven-week trial period.
“There’s no pressure and the retention rate I get, because of that, is good,” he said. “I have a good core group of people because everyone that’s here wants to be here.”
Regardless of the business or the belts, Harrison is focused on providing an environment where kids can just be themselves.
“I’m not trying to force them to be something that they’re not,” he said. “I’m trying to get them comfortable with who they are and create leaders in here who are confident enough in themselves to do what they want to do.”
Find more information about Martial Arts Plus online at martialartsplusinc.com or call (609) 466-4606.
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