Exploring the Secrets of Taekwondo

By Bob Cox

The year Chief Master Willie Rankins began his martial arts career, McDonalds had just rolled out the Big Mac, gasoline was 34 cents a gallon, Hey Jude was a number one hit song for 9 straight weeks and the Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive. While all those events happened the year after he graduated from high school in 1967, Rankins enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and would serve his country for the next six years in Taiwan as the war in Southeast Asia dragged on.

During his years in the military, Rankins immersed himself into a daily regimen of practicing his primary passion: martial arts training. Karate and judo were the only self defense styles available to foreigners at the time, so that’s where Rankins got his initial training. A short time thereafter, he met Grand Master Clinton Robinson, who had just won the Taiwan National Taekwondo Championship. The two bonded over their love of martial arts and shared a grand vision of opening their own martial arts studio once they returned to America.

They follow through with their vision and now, nearly 50 years later, there are eleven Robinson’s Taekwondo franchises in the greater Sacramento area. I sat down with Chief Master Rankins, the owner of Robinson’s Taekwondo in Rancho Cordova recently to learn a few secrets about his long and exciting taekwondo journey.

Q: Why did you choose to learn taekwondo?

A: I got my first taste of taekwondo watching martial arts shows on television like The Green Hornet and Kung Fu. Any show that involved kicking and punching, I was glued to it. At that time, I didn’t know the difference between karate, kung fu or taekwondo. I just saw a bunch of people kicking and punching and it looked cool!

Q: Aside from the kicking and punching, was there anything else about martial arts that appealed to you?

A: Yes, I was taken with the ceremonies, especially the bowing and the show of respect. There is visible order that a person can see and if you apply yourself, you can achieve higher and higher ranks. I also like the meditative and spiritual side of martial arts.

Q: Is there anything else that has made martial arts appealing to you?

A: Yes, the fact that you know how to do something that very few people know how to do, that’s pretty cool. It’s like a big secret and everybody wants to know that secret. But, the only way you can receive that secret is to train. All credible martial arts have secrets, but they’re not given to new students.

Q: Why do martial art instructors conceal these secrets to new students?

A: To prevent their students from abusing their new skills and power. Sharing the secrets too early on how to do certain things in martial arts with a new student is like giving a bully a loaded gun. Our secrets are passed down to students that are loyal, disciplined and persevere.

Q: What are the differences among the most common martial arts like karate, kung fu and taekwondo?

A: All three include kicking, punching and jumping, so the difference is where the martial arts place their emphasis. Taekwondo puts its emphasis on the lower body, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not effective with using the upper body. Karate typically puts a lot of emphasis on the upper body but they also kick. Kung fu puts a lot of emphasis on circular motion and redirecting but it has linear movements too.

Q: What are the greatest gifts and benefits you’ve received from taekwondo?

A: When I came into martial arts, I was a young guy, fresh out of high school, very healthy, energetic and athletic. At this age, I’m more comfortable with my feet on the ground and being able to move with ease. I also concentrate more on the internal and spiritual parts of taekwondo for my personal health, especially breathing exercises and flexibility training.

Q: Is martial arts just for young people?

A: No, we have members in the taekwondo community that are over 75 years old and they still perform as if they were 25-30 years old. It’s really amazing, but taekwondo is part of their lifestyle. The body has to move in order to stay healthy. So that’s what taekwondo offers. I’ll absolutely never stop because the benefits are too great.

Q: When I was younger, I confused confidence with arrogance, but they are quite different, right?

A: Yes, night and day. Typically, people who lack confidence project arrogance. The structure of martial arts allows you to build confidence within yourself by building a strong mental attitude as well as a strong physical presence. It allows you to build that confidence from the inside out. Most people that practice martial arts are very confident and relaxed.

Q: What brings you the greatest joy when you’re teaching a new student?

A: Oh, success and helping a student develop confidence over time through training. I get positive feedback from my student’s parents all the time. One student named David started in my Dragon’s Program, which is for kids under age six. He started with me and stayed with me all the way through school. He later went to college and graduated from M.I.T. Parents have periodically come back to tell me how grateful they are that taekwondo played a major role in the children’s success by giving them the discipline and confidence that started right here.

Q: Is there one secret that’s helped you teach your students to excel in the classroom and in life?

A: Over the years, I’ve learned not to take second place in students training. Sometimes, students try to do too many things at the same time and they’re not becoming very good at anything. Taekwondo requires focus and practicing taekwondo will give you the focus you need to excel in life.

Q: What other organizations are you associated with besides Robinson’s Taekwondo?

A: I sit on the board of the United World Taekwondo Association (UWTA) and am an international instructor. The UWTA is a kukkiwon trusted organization and is the approved authority for progress, rank and curriculum worldwide for taekwondo. All athletes must have kukkiwon certification to participate in the Olympics.

Editor’s notes: Robinson’s Taekwondo of Rancho Cordova has been part of the community since April 1983. For more information, call (916) 638-5411, check out their website at www.robinsonstkd.com or visit their facility at 11015 Olson Dr. in Rancho Cordova.

E-Z Does It!

By Bob Cox

Q: What are some common things people don’t know about E-Z Living Cleaning?

A: That we do window cleaning and carpet cleaning. Also, there’s a manager on every crew that cleans on every job. Our employees are always being supervised. A lot of companies just send one or two girls and you get what you get.

Q: How do you earn the trust of customer’s that have had bad experiences with other house cleaning services?

A: A lot of our customers were previously burned one way or another by other house cleaning companies and so they usually want to be in the home while we’re there and that’s understandable. But after six months or a year they feel comfortable enough with us to leave us alone.

Q: What else do you do to offer outstanding service?

A: We send in a crew of four, so they work quickly and efficiently. The manager is in charge of everything, including the key, the alarm, supervising the crew and checking everything before she goes.

Q: What’s the typical feedback you get from your customers?

A: That we do a really good job and that we’re honest and trustworthy. We’re on time, dependable and we show up when they need us.

Q: How do you live up to your slogan “We don’t cut corners, we clean them”?

A: Every crew has a manager and some crews have an assistant manager to insure premium quality work and we thoroughly train every employee on how to clean efficiently and effectively. We also always use our own superior quality cleaning supplies on every house we clean.

A Healthy Dose of Dissatisfaction

By Bob Cox

I recently found myself becoming increasingly annoyed as I listened to someone rant on about the ineptness of the health care system and the shortage of care they felt entitled to. While I realized that this person had endured a tremendous amount of chronic pain and a number of intrusive physical disabilities, I was shocked by their absence of gratitude for the health care professionals, friends and family members who went above and beyond to ease their pain when they needed it most.

It took me a few days to realize that my negative emotions had once again been misdirected towards someone else. After a brief glance into the metaphorical mirror, the answer became embarrassingly obvious. Over the past few months, I’ve been wasting far too much valuable time dwelling on something I wanted and didn’t have while missing the obvious and beautiful blessings I’m surrounded by every day.

While I won’t bore you with a long and itemized list of things I’m grateful for, I will acknowledge the abundance of so many good things in my life that I take for granted more than I’d like to admit. I have a wife that I adore, family and friends that I cherish, work that is immensely satisfying and a place that I enjoy coming home to every day.

So, why do I find myself stumbling back into the depressing pit of chronic dissatisfaction? Could that actually be for my own good, an opportunity for deeper self reflection and personal growth? Yes, as long as my dissatisfaction is not excessive, imbalanced and constantly disrupts my sense of peace and well being.

For these reasons, I do believe that a small but healthy dose of dissatisfaction can be the catalyst for a great new adventure. After all, if you were 100% satisfied with everything in your life, what motivation would you have to experience something new, fresh and invigorating? You certainly wouldn’t feel the need to grow and evolve.

Imagine being a caterpillar that is 100% content with life on the ground. You have no awareness of the amazing transformation that’s about to take place until a good friend flies in for a visit. Your buddy looks amazingly different, adorned with majestic wings and a slender new physique. No, he hasn’t been climbing the stairmaster at the local gym every day. He does go on to share his remarkable experience...

One day I stopped eating and crawled up the tallest tree I could find. Then I hung upside down from a twig and spun myself into a silky cocoon. Within this protective casing, I radically transformed my body from a caterpillar into a butterfly. Needless to say, I won’t be crawling around in the dirt anymore, hoping to avoid being squished!

Upon hearing this amazing revelation, would you still be good with crawling on the ground? Probably not. You might fool yourself into thinking you’re good with the way things are as a caterpillar, especially if you’re immobilized by the fear of heights, confined spaces or the great unknown. If that were to happen to you, guess what? It’s your turn to gaze into that metaphorical mirror. And when you do, don’t be frightened if a butterfly is looking back at you.

Khaki’s: Unique Clothing for Women Who Dare to Look Beautiful

By Bob Cox

The next time you spend an evening watching an old movie, chances are good that you’ll notice a few significant differences in the way people looked and dressed back in the day. The vast majority of people from the first half of the previous century were not only amazingly thin but also extremely well dressed.

Over the past several decades, we’ve taken the fashion of casual comfort and dropped it down the rabbit hole of sloppiness. Just when the fashion bar seems to have sunk to a new low, we find a clever way to lower the dress code a little more. Casual Friday seems to have devolved into frumpy Friday. What’s next, slovenly Saturday?

While I’m not suggesting that we’ve become a nation of unsightly slobs, I will say that enhancing one’s wardrobe doesn’t have to mean the demise of the comfortable clothing we all enjoy. Cathi Hayter, the owner of Khaki’s, a retail store that carries comfortable, casual and classy lines of unique clothing for women, has also observed the precipitous decline in the way people of all ages are dressing. Here’s how our conversation went.

Q: What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in style since you’ve been in the business?

A: I think it’s sad that people don’t dress up anymore. I used to sell dressy dresses for Christmas and New Years but people don’t even dress up for parties anymore. Also, when I go to the theatre, people don’t dress up anymore, not at all. To me, that’s part of the fun!

Q: Do you do anything special or unique in your personal life to make a fashion statement?

A: Yes, I have two good friends and we go out once a year to a really nice restaurant, dress to the nines and people are blown away. Then on Halloween, we all wear witch outfits and go out to a nice restaurant. There are six of us and we go beyond with our costumes and they’re not just cheesy little costumes. We plan it all year.

Q: How did you get involved in the clothing business?

A: Before we were married, my husband worked in a ski store and they asked me if I wanted to go to work there. I took the job and I just loved it! It’s what I should’ve done all my life. I like to be around people a lot and that’s what I liked most about it. I worked into a full time position and got involved in buying. After that, I was offered a job at Sierra Outfitters as a buyer and was there quite a few years.

Q: Did that background help prepare you to own your own clothing boutique?

A: Yes. The people that started Khaki’s in Modesto wanted to open a store here as well. Because I knew them from the ski business, they offered me the job as the buyer and manager of Khaki’s. When they decided to retire, I bought it from them. Khaki’s has been around for 20 years and I’ve owned it for 11 years.

Q: Why did they name the store Khaki’s?

A: Khaki’s means casual. They just wanted it to be one word and easy to remember, but it can be confusing as men often come in here wanting to know if we have khaki’s.

Q: What makes Khaki’s different for other clothing boutiques?

A: I really try to find items that are unique so you won’t see yourself coming and going. It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can still look hip without looking ridiculous by trying too hard to look young!

Q: What have been the biggest changes in your industry?

A: Almost everything used to be made here in America, but now they’re very hard to find. Also, there was no internet and very few catalog sales.

Q: What are some advantages to shopping here versus going online?

A: Customer service and individual attention. You can try it on right here, which means you don’t have to wait to get it in the mail and then send it back when it doesn’t fit. You save time and all that wasteful packaging, which leads to more pollution. Also, I’m very honest with giving feedback. It’s probably cost me some sales but I will not lie to make a sale.

Q: What do your customers love most about Khaki’s?

A: People have told me they like that we carry lines that are unique. They also like the personal service.

Q: Is there a certain style that’s a hot trend?

A: Well, leggings seem like they will never seem to go out of style and everybody likes them because they’re really comfortable. Girls that wear leggings usually need longer tops.

Q: You have a couch in the middle of your shop, which I love. What was your thinking behind this?

A: The couch is comfortable and its fun. I just don’t think it looks homey when there are just racks everywhere. Plus the men like it when they’re with their wives. I also have my book club meetings here and other book clubs meet here as well.

Q: What advice would you give people to live life to the fullest?

A: Don’t stop doing things. Stay busy and active. And you have to have really cute clothes! For me, cute clothes make me feel really good. I know for some people it’s not a really big deal, but I think when you care about how you dress and how you look, you will care more about everything.

Q: What’s been the greatest challenge you’ve faced and what action did you take to resolve it?

A: I lost my husband of 35 years when I was 60. I needed to make enough money to make a living, so that’s when I decided to buy the store. I realized that it saved me to keep busy with this business. At the same time, I also learned how to dance the tango. I used to go out three nights a week for tango lessons and I went to tango festivals. I met new people and stayed very active, which saved me from wallowing in grief.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Khaki’s, visit their store at 2600 Fair Oaks Bl., #105 in Sacramento or call (916) 481-2204.