The first neighborhood Ariane and I decided to observe was Flushing, New York. Here we entered many businesses and learned fascinating things about how they ran and their role in the area. It was an experience unlike any other, considering I had never interviewed shop owners before. Therefore, I was quite excited for the remaining two interviews, which we decided to do in Bayside. During this trip, we had better luck interviewing businesses because we called and set an interview date beforehand. Since Ariane’s father worked at a martial arts school, K.H Chong’s Martial Arts Academy, we realized that it was a great idea to interview him.
While approaching the Academy on Horace Harding Expy, one can see a line of small businesses on one side and a highway on the other. Along the line is a deli, a bakery, two restaurants- and in the middle stands K.H. Chong’s Martial Arts Academy.
The area is rather quiet- majority of the noise comes from the cars nearby on the highway. In addition, the block is dominated by food places, which makes this Academy a unique business in the area. At first sight, the business has a sign that says its name, and a banner that publicizes a sale. It reads “$69, 3 weeks, free uniform” in order to appeal to anyone looking to take martial arts classes. In addition, there is another sign that highlights the vital qualities and requirements for martial arts students: focus, concentration, and respect.
Since the business was twenty-five years old, and Ariane’s father had been working there since the beginning, we decided to interview him. He told us that their business offered Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido classes. Adults often took the early morning class and children often took an evening 3:30 class, which was after school. He also mentioned that the school was named after the owner K.H.Chong. When asked what his job is, he replied that he was an instructor for children twice a week. We then decided to inquire about his most favorite part of the business, which was that he loved teaching the children.
We examined the inside of the Academy and were greeted with a large number of trophies and medals. It was nice to see the trophies on display as a symbol of the hard work that students put into their training and learning. Inside the room, there was an enormous mirrored wall and flags hung on the other wall.
Afterwards, we decided to ask Ariane’s father a few questions about the neighborhood. He mentioned, “It’s a nice neighborhood. It’s just basically the average middle class neighborhood. There’s a large Asian community.” This made me think that the business catered mostly to middle class, Asian folks who are a part of the community. Later on, we also asked in what ways the business affected the area, to which he replied, “We offer classes for the children, actually for everybody…and it’s a way for people to make themselves better, offer them more exercise. This is a little bit different from a gym because this is a little bit more comprehensive. In a gym, you work out and do weights, with this you kind of do exercises to build muscle but also flexibility, coordination and timing.” When we inquired how the neighborhood would be without the business, he initially thought “there’s a couple of martial arts schools, so there is enough of a need for there to be a couple of martial arts schools in the area.” He added that if the business weren’t there, then the area would probably stay the same. Afterwards, however, he mentioned how integrated the Academy was with the community- they often did demonstrations for the community during different events, and Master Chong was connected to various schools and businesses in the community. This made him realize that the business indeed did have a large influence on the area.
Subsequently we questioned him about regulars and how long people typically stay in the school. He replied that people stay an average of one to two years, although it takes three years to get a black belt. Some have even been there for twenty years – for their exercise, coordination, and flexibility. He even added on that the workers and the customers have a very close relationship because they meet on a regular basis. When asked how they have kept the business running, he affirmed that “it’s about the students. We do the best to serve the students the best we can.” He also added that “the neighborhood appreciates having a Tae Kwon Do school that really cares about their students and wants the students to grow and be better.”
It was interesting to interview someone from a Martial Arts Academy because I had never done that before. I also realized that no matter what type of business, from the ones we interviewed, their priority was always finding what services and goods their community needed most. At the end of the day, it was all about the customers.
