Volunteer martial artist recognized by city
Earl "Duke" Welliver is honored by the mayor for teaching low-income children.
SAN CLEMENTE – It was clear something was up Thursday night when Dianne Bruce, the reverend canon for St. Clement's by the Sea Episcopal Church, interrupted a Tae Kwon Do class for a special "emergency."
But the class's teacher, Earl "Duke" Welliver, didn't expect that emergency to be applause from city council members and praise for his work teaching underprivileged children.
After Mayor Joe Anderson read a proclamation of recognition, a surprised Welliver fought back tears. He addressed parents and students gathered for a skills test.
"Obviously I didn't expect this," he said. "This is a great pleasure for me – I'm not sure it's always a great pleasure for (my students)," he joked.
"I was really blown away," Welliver said later. "That's not what I do it for, but it's nice that the city recognizes this program. Not so much me, but the kids and everything, because they're the ones that do all the hard work."
Welliver has been teaching the class for the last year and a half. He's taught in Korea, China, and before San Clemente, Redondo Beach. At his last location he charged about $125 a month per student, he said, and even that was cheap compared with average rates.
When he founded the Peaceful Warrior Martial Arts Academy, though, the concept was to allow lower-income students to participate as well. Now he charges about $10 a month per student.
It's allowed many children from nearby Las Palmas Elementary to attend his classes. Some might not have the opportunity to enroll in such a class otherwise.
"This was his dream," said Erma Gomez, speaking about her son, Joshua, a student in the class. "He was so excited to fulfill his dream. He's been very excited and emotional – he may get a green belt."
After watching her daughters practice their strikes with Welliver during the skills test, Sita Helms said the classes offer a major boost of confidence to students.
"They don't have a lot of extracurricular activities," she said. "This gives them something to keep them off the street."
Welliver has noticed the most radical changes in his students. One boy, he said, was too shy to get on the mat when he started. After earning his first belt, his parents told Welliver he wasn't the same boy they had first brought him.
"It's a way of eliminating fear," Welliver explained. Breaking a board with their hands for the first time is a milestone for students. "They now know they can break a board: If I can break a board, there's a lot of other stuff I can do, too."
Tae Kwon Do instructor Duke Welliver holds up an award he recieved from the city of San Clemente as his class cheers him on.
