Peace and Pleasure: The Madrigal Family Kyuki-Do Story

What began as a way to combat bullying, the Madrigal family's path in Kyuki-Do martial arts turned into a family activity that brings three-time grand champion Reggie Madrigal and his family peace.

In February 2011, Reggie and his wife, Amanda, received a call that wouldn't sit easy with any parent. They were notified that another child had attempted to choke their son, Raiden, for no reason during group time at daycare.

That news bumped up their wishes to get their kids involved in martial arts from a someday dream to an urgent action. The Madrigals quickly found Kim's Blackbelt Academy, a.k.a Kyuki-Do Martial Arts of Elgin, where they met with instructors and got Raiden fitted with a uniform and signed up for classes. One month into Raiden's training, Reggie was handed a uniform to practice with his son.

''It was fun,'' Reggie said. ''But I wasn't sure I would continue until my son came up to me after class and said, 'I'm proud of you Daddy.' The rest was history.''

In April that year, Reggie officially signed up for classes, and Amanda and their daughter, Jade, soon followed suit.

Reggie, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Developer/Analyst for the National Safety Council who previously only had a couple of weeks of Tae Kwon Do training as a kid, has now worked his way up to a 2nd degree black belt in Kyuki-Do (a mixed martial art focusing mainly on Tae Kwon Do, Judo and Hapkido) and a yellow belt in American Kyuki-Do Federation (AKF) Judo. He still trains at Kyuki-Do Martial Arts of Elgin under Master Rick Steinmaier (5th dan), who has helped him become a three-time AKF tournament grand champion. His latest grand championship came in August at the Greatmats-sponsored AKF Summer Tournament of Champions in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Amanda is also a 2nd degree black belt in Kyuki-Do and won a grand championship of her own in October of 2014 in Elgin. And both kids are at least half way to earning their black belts. Raiden, now 9 years old, is a brown stripe, while Jade (age 7) is a blue belt.

At the 2016 AKF Summer Tournament of Champions, Reggie placed first in both Weapons Forms and Board Breaking and took third in both Empty Hand Forms and Sparring.

''It does help to have a spouse who trains and is the same rank,'' Reggie said. ''(It) keeps me on my toes.''

Reggie particularly enjoys the empty hand forms for the fact that he is not only competing against others, but also himself.

''You have to visualize each movement and picture the fight as you go through the movements,'' Reggie said. ''I find a lot of peace in doing forms.''

He's also really enjoys meeting others who share a passion for the art.

''I have met so many people from different walks of life and have forged many lifelong friendships,'' he said.

Within his own house, Reggie is loving how supportive his entire family has been of each other through Kyuki-Do. Although the Madrigal family's introduction into martial arts didn't start for happy reasons, it's sure become a positive bonding experience.

''The most important thing to remember is to have fun,'' Reggie said. ''Success is not measured by whether you win or lose, but rather knowing that you went out there and gave everything to the best of your ability.''

Learn more about the 2016 American Kyuki-Do Federation Tournament Season.

Reggie Madrigal

Kyuki-Do Martial Arts of Elgin

Elgin IL 60123