Inspiring Conversations with Kellye Giles of Kicking For Life

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellye Giles.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a second-generation Master of Te Da Kuen Do, a martial arts style that blends Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo, and Gung Fu. I began my training in 1999 at just three years old at my parents’ school, Mike Giles Family Karate, in Denver, Colorado. My dad, Mike Giles, has been training in martial arts for more than 60 years. Growing up, he told my siblings and me that we couldn’t play any other sports until we earned our Black Belts. So when I finally earned mine at age 11, I told him, “I quit!” and went off to try all the activities I’d always been curious about—Ballet, Basketball, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Track, and Piano. I especially loved Ballet because it improved my flexibility, strength, and grace. It really complemented everything I had learned in martial arts. Not long after I “quit karate,” I found myself asking my dad if I could help him teach. That’s when I started working with our demonstration team, Team Golden Dragons. During that time, I coached students ages 3 and up and brought them to tournaments and demonstrations around the Denver area. I loved supporting them and watching their confidence grow. Many of them ended up winning matches against competitors they never thought they could beat.

Even while coaching, I couldn’t help but watch the black belt girls in my age group at tournaments. I’d always tell people I could beat these girls if I competed. One day, I realized instead of just saying it, I should step up, get back to training, and lead by example. I became a State Champion in the Colorado Karate Association (CKA) for 15 years and was ranked 11th overall in the state of Colorado.

I went on to attend MSU Denver, where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Nutrition. While I was in school, I taught at my dad’s karate school, did work-study at the campus recreation center, hosted at a seafood restaurant, and even nannied part-time—and somehow still managed to find time to train in martial arts.
I remember during my last year at MSU, I was walking on campus one evening with a friend. She asked me to walk her to the light rail, which was on the opposite side of campus from the bus stop to my dorms. I didn’t mind at all and said yes. As we walked, she told me she felt safe knowing she was with a black belt because, if anything happened, I could protect us. That moment made me think about how many other women must feel unsafe walking on campus. Many just need to get to their next class or to their car, yet they feel nervous enough to call campus security for an escort.
The next day, while working at the recreation center, I suggested to my boss that I teach a self-defense class for women. My boss knew about my background of training in martial arts and she loved the idea. She had actually been thinking of a similar idea herself. I began my classes and trained a group of about 15 women, students, classmates and professors. I wanted every woman to gain some knowledge about protecting themselves and pass it on to friends and family. I loved hearing about how much confidence the women who trained with me gained from just learning the basics of self-defense. It was always heart-warming to hear the women, especially the Professors, express how much they admired me and how extremely thankful they were for teaching them. They also expressed how amazing it was having a female instructor because sometimes male Instructors can be really intimidating.

It was at this moment that I realized what I wanted to do when I graduated. I wanted to own my own Karate school, a Black Women-Owned Karate school. I talked to my parents about my idea and they both loved it. I told my dad I wanted to continue his legacy, but I had to change the name, “Kicking for Life”. Why “Kicking for Life”?
#1, my favorite moves in martial arts have always been kicks, and at tournaments, I am known for my high kicks.
#2 martial arts has been the most amazing part of my life. Not only do I love being able to train in different styles but I love to teach people how to protect themselves and the people they love. I love the growth I am so grateful to witness as I teach students throughout the years.

I opened “Kicking for Life” the week of my college graduation ceremony in May of 2018. My karate school was in the same location where my parents taught for 13 years, in Central Park/Stapleton. This was also the location where I received my black belt at 11 years old. Once I told my mom I wanted to own my own karate school, she began looking for a location. By this time, my parents had closed their location in Stapleton. My Mom drove past the old location and noticed it was vacant with a contact number in the window. She called, they gave her a tour, and shortly afterwards, I was operating ” Kicking for Life” for 6 years in the same location as my parents once operated “Mike Giles Family Karate”. Unfortunately, the landlords at that location weren’t too fond of a Black Women-Owned Karate school. They never took the chance to get to know me or see how much my family and I impacted the Central Park community. They offered me a month-to-month lease and after 6 years without warning, they terminated my lease. We were forced to leave the location with a 60-day notice. I stored all of my karate school belongings in a storage unit and taught classes in a local park. Unfortunately, more than half of my students quit during this time because it was the rainiest season in Colorado, I had no physical location and I had to cancel many classes at the last minute, due to inclement weather.

After many months of teaching in the park, I found a location off of 40th and Havana and opened my new location at 10525 E. 40th Ave Unit 202. It was bitter-sweet moving out of the old location that had such a sentimental value to me and my karate family. However, it allowed me to create my own space and gave me a new beginning. I’ve been operating Kicking for Life for 7 years now. In those 7 years, I have had quite a few achievements:
– I earned my 5th degree black belt in Te Da Kuen Do
– I earned my 1st degree in Hawaiian Kenpo at Peoples Kenpo Karate Association
– I earned my 1st degree in the Superfoot Wallace System
– I now compete in a new tournament circuit in Colorado called “Sport Karate West”
– I’ve competed in tournaments out of state

I’ve taught many amazing kids and adults the art of Martial arts. My passion is martial arts and I will continue training and teaching for life.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It absolutely has not been a smooth road. Moving locations was definitely one of the hardest parts of my journey. Starting my business at such a young age of 22 made many parents question me and my ability to run a successful business. Parents would send emails about suggestions they had for my business and try to tell me how to run my business. People would come in and say where’s the owner? And when I said you’re looking at her, the look in their eyes was that of confusion. Whether they were thinking about my age, race or gender, they would always say “Wow, you’re so young”. Like we were in a movie and they were expecting an old asian man to come walking out of his office to greet them.

In 2020 when COVID-19 happened and businesses were shut down and we were on lock downs. I decided to operate my karate school through Zoom and do online group classes and private lessons at the local park. It was very tough financially, because although I couldn’t use my space, full rent was still due and I was constantly losing many students. I managed to obtain grants and other assistance. When we were finally able to have classes inside we wore masks and learned to adapt to training and teaching with masks on. During this time I watched as many martial arts schools and businesses that had been around for a long time closed their doors. This only made me more determined to adapt and make sure my business survived. Yes, there were times I thought of shutting my business down and closing my doors. Zoom calls with 3-6 year olds began to end before class was over once they found out how to end the call. And technology just didn’t agree with us at some points. However, I continued adapting and working hard to keep classes going. I remember a student saying, “Master Kellye please don’t close karate, I really love karate” during a rough time mentally for me, and that was all it took for me to pick myself back up and keep working hard. I knew this was a really rough time for kids’ mental and emotional development and they needed to see their friends and be active. I was not only doing this because it is my passion, but I was keeping my business running for my karate family.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
At Kicking for Life we are a Karate Family, we specialize in Te Da Kuen Do, our blended style including Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo and Gung fu. We have classes for all abilities and ages. Unlike most karate schools in the Denver area, our classes are smaller so our instructors can make sure all students have more of a personable experience. Our instructors are known for earning respect from students and parents by teaching with patience and love, instead of yelling and using the power of authority. We focus on helping each student individually improve their personal goals, such as focus and confidence, while they progress in their martial arts skills.

We offer a few different programs:

– Little Ninja and Little Dragon classes for children ages 3 to 6 , our very young students develop gross motor skills, focus, self- confidence and self-control.

– Beginners ages 7 to 15 learn basic self defense, focus, self-confidence, and the basics of Tae Kwon Do without the pressure or training with advanced students.

– Adults ages 16+ have options of learning Tae Kwon-Do, self defense, or taking our bootcamp workout classes.

– Advanced students who would like to take their skills to the next level and compete in tournaments, work with weapons, learn kicknastics, and perform in demonstrations on our Demo/Competition team.

-We have a leadership program for advanced students to begin learning how to become leaders in the dojo and in their communities.

Our goal is to make sure all of our students feel confident to protect themselves and the people they love. Our goal is to build a strong, caring community and positively impact the lives of everyone who walks through our doors.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. I love all of the amazing people I have been so blessed to meet. I love the martial arts community I have grown up with and found. I love how beautiful Colorado’s scenery is. I would say that I would love to see and hear about more Black Owned businesses, especially Black women-owned businesses. I think having these businesses unite more would have a greater impact on our community.

Pricing:

• $99 for unlimited classes for the rest of the year 12/31
• Parents of students train free until 1/10
• 2 train for the price of 1
• Prices range from $100-$180 monthly depending on the program

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kickingforlife.com/
• Instagram: @Kickingforlife
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Kicking-For-Life/100093162460298/

Image Credits
Brian E. Williams