The Chosun Taekwondo Academy Leadership Team at Master Jou’s gazebo in the Warwick Town Park. Pictured from left to right: Bottom row: Luke Cirillo, Kylie Frey, Kamryn Kleveno and Colin Greh. Middle row: Parker Walters, Milo Shaw-Smith Gendelman and Nina Rose Cirillo. Back row: Lucas Greh, Timothy Leonard, Thomas Magee and Maximus Sherman. Not pictured: Gregory Saucedo, Mark Wishnia and Leonardo Blic. Provided photos.
Grandmaster Doug Cook and Chosun Taekwondo Academy students present Master Jou Tsung Hwa with a gift in 1997 at the Warwick Tai Chi Farm.
In an effort to preserve Warwick history and enrich the community, the Chosun Taekwondo Academy Leadership Team recently refurbished the grounds around the gazebo in the Warwick Town Park that was erected as a shrine built in tribute to the late taijiquan master, Jou Tsung Hwa.
Founder of the Tai Chi Farm, located for many years on Route 94 in Warwick, Master Jou permitted Chosun students to utilize his 110-acre training facility during the school’s infancy.
‘It is my hope that we can work together’
Killed in an auto accident in 1998, the master’s disciples constructed the gazebo in the Warwick Town Park to preserve his legacy. It has been a tradition that each spring, the Chosun Leadership Team members collect a variety of plants donated by local nurseries to rejuvenate the area surrounding the structure.
A marble bench next to the wooden gazebo is engraved with the words of the enigmatic Master Jou: “It has long been my dream that one day Americans of all ages, creeds, and colors, will be practicing taijiquan in the parks of this nation as they do in China. The result would be a tremendous improvement in mental health and physical well-being. It is my hope that we can work together to revive taijiquan which is fast becoming a lost art.”
Supporting the community through outreach
More than 18 years ago, Grandmaster Doug Cook of the Chosun Taekwondo Academy, located in Warwick, created the Chosun Leadership Team as an elite entity within his school. Composed of enthusiastic youngsters and a staff of dedicated adults, the mission of the team is to provide support for their community through outreach and service using the virtues of traditional taekwondo as a vehicle.
The Chosun Taekwondo Academy Leadership Team is perhaps best known for the Chosun Annual Book & Bake Sale, a major fund raiser hosted every September outdoors on the lawn of a Lewis Park.
The event raises thousands of dollars that is then divided between the Warwick Rotary Club and the Warwick Lions Club in support of their Holiday Party for Underprivileged Children. Some of the other organizations that have been recipients of the team’s actions include the Brian Ahearn Children’s Fund, the Warwick Ambulance Corps, the Warwick Historical Society, the Warwick Humane Society, the Pine Island Community Kitchen and the Albert Wisner Public Library.
Essentials
Contact the Chosun Taekwondo Academy for more information: 845 986-2288 or info@chosuntkd.com Website: www.chosuntkd.com.