Martial arts instructor finds new career Worth it

Roy Worth, 49, is a case study in risking it all and what happens when you bet on yourself.

Starting in 1995, Worth worked at MoneyShow downtown for 18 years, and he did well. He started as an account executive, and worked his way up, eventually reaching the office of senior vice president of business development. Worth loved that job, he said. He has nothing bad to say about the financial strategies firm or the people with whom he worked.

Of course, I wouldn’t be writing this piece if he was still there.

Worth had an itch that wouldn’t go away, until one day someone Worth revered handed him a metaphorical backscratcher. That man was Grand Master Sung Hwan Cho, owner of Sung Cho’s Tae Kwon Do on Bee Ridge Road. Worth, a fifth-degree black belt, began training with the grand master in 1984. The two became close.

Close enough, in fact, for the grand master to ask Worth to take over his business. His son and daughter already had careers, the grand master said.

Worth was taken aback but was not going to let the moment get away.

“I wanted to have my own business,” Worth said. “I wanted to do my own thing, if you will. When the opportunity came to take over the (taekwondo) business, and he asked me about it, I felt honored. We talked about it, and I was like, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s jump right in the deep end and give up the corporate world and go teach martial arts.’”

A large selling point for Worth was the grand master’s curriculum, which focuses on balance, flow and linear movements, Worth said. Sung Cho’s teaches a traditional Korean style of the martial art, with hands up, never chambered alongside the hips.

Worth took over in January 2013. He never regretted the decision, he said, even though the first two years he made almost no money, and he was working twice the hours. Worth and his staff do everything themselves, including mop the restroom floors. Eventually, through word of mouth, Worth’s business improved. 

When I attended a class May 25, there were kids scurrying about the facility, despite the holiday weekend. Worth hopes to open two more locations within 12 months, he said. He still talks with the grand master “about everything,” he said, and the grand master, 77, still visits every day.

That’s a nice, feel-good story. Want to feel great? Ask parents of a Sung Cho student how much they appreciate Worth’s program.

One of the things Worth started doing was offering an after-school pick-up program. He rounds up his young students and brings them to Sung Cho’s, where they get a snack and a juice box. There’s a study room in the back for homework — and he makes sure all students are on top of their grades. After homework, it’s time for taekwondo. He also teaches kids about respect, making sure they address both their teachers and parents as “sir” or “ma’am.” Parents can take away belt tips if their child doesn’t follow Worth’s rules of respect.

Worth also sponsors numerous events in the community, and cares about teaching the kids. As Sung Hwan Cho did before him, Worth refuses to work with contracts that lock clients in for specified times. He does not charge belt-test fees. Worth wants his facility to be a safe environment.

For parents such as Shelby Isaacson, Worth’s program is a godsend. She and her husband work, so they can’t pick up their kids, son Tripp and daughter Kensey, after school. She trusts Worth to take care of them. Before talking about Worth, Isaacson said she might get emotional.

“He (Worth) values his students as people, not just as a business,” Isaacson said. “He supports parents in raising quality kids. It’s emotional and parental support. He’s a mentor in the community.”

Isaacson in particular mentioned her daughter and her transition to kindergarten. Kensey needs balance to feel secure, Isaacson said, and the daily routine of Sung Cho’s made the transition easier.

This all sounded like a fantastic program, and looked like one, too, but I needed to get an expert opinion on the matter. Kensey Isaacson was feeling shy, so I asked Tripp Isaacson why he liked the class so much. He said his favorite part is climbing the ranks, so every day he’s a bit closer to “advanced things,” like knife defense. He also likes breaking boards.

“He’s funny,” he said of Worth. “He does a lot of stuff for summer camp. We do science experiments. He brought us new kicking targets. He’s always surprising us.”

As Worth can attest, some of the best things in life are unexpected.