Making a difference in a child’s life is one of the greatest rewards for River Forest karate instructors Frank and Kelly Lena.
“Recently, a parent of one of my students told me they went to Woodfield Mall a couple of months back on a shopping trip,” says Frank Lena, 40. “She got (separated) from her 5 1/2-year-old son and went looking for him.
“Suddenly, she heard `No, leave me alone!’ and she went right to her son. The son was yelling at what turned out to be a plainclothes security guard for the store, who had approached the child. When the mother arrived, the son said, `Sensei Frank told me to do this.’ (“Sensei” means instructor in Japanese.)
The mother was so impressed and pleased at her son’s reaction to a stranger that she went to class to compliment the Lenas. “The real kick was knowing the kid knew what to do,” Frank Lena says.
“It feels good to know that someday these kids may call upon the skills they learned in our class to help themselves,” adds Kelly Lena, 25. “What’s more rewarding is knowing that we teach the kids to become more aware of their surroundings. I believe that will keep many of them out of trouble.”
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Lenas work with about 150 children ages 4 to 14 in a 1st-floor gym at the River Forest Community Center, 8020 Madison St.
Though most people may consider karate essentially a self-defense technique, the Lenas say it is much more.
“The kids are not being aggressive and breaking boards,” Kelly Lena says. Physical prowess is important, but public safety has become a strong aspect of the lessons.
Much of the public safety and child awareness information is based on the “Stranger Danger” and “McGruff the Crime Dog” programs, Frank Lena says. Public safety also incorporates a bit of self-defense technique.
“It’s amazing how much the lessons have changed since I was a kid,” Frank Lena says. “For example, in a recent class, I asked the kids what they would do if a stranger grabbed them by the arm.
“One little boy said, `I would bite him.’ Years ago, that would be fine. But today, we don’t bite anyone with the concerns about (the spread of AIDS). Instead, I tell the kids to point in any direction and say, `Leave me alone; here comes my dad.’ “
Karate instruction also includes “respect, behavior, self-esteem and setting high goals for yourself,” Frank Lena says. “I tell them that Ninja warriors can do anything, such as get good grades in school. And we especially instill in all the children a healthy respect for mom and dad.
“I tell the kids, if you use karate at home, at school or on your brothers and sisters, you’re not going to be in trouble with sensei Frank; you’re going to be in trouble with your 5th-degree (black belt) mom and dad,” he adds.
Participants and parents praise the program’s diverse aspects.
“I say it’s fun but it also teaches you a lot about controlling yourself,” says David Ong, 9, of River Forest, who has been in the program since its inception in early 1991. “You really develop self-esteem and courage.”
“David loves sports, but he has two left feet,” says his mother, Patty. “What (the Lenas) did was help him see his potential. Every single kid who is in the program is made to feel that (he or she has) accomplished something. (The Lenas) are wonderful people.”
“They are really involved,” says Sandy Dixon, recreational and youth supervisor for the center. “They don’t just come to work and punch in. They spend a lot of their own time and money for the kids and will bend over backward for them.”
Frank Lena’s ties to karate go back to when he was 6 years old in Elmwood Park. “I was inspired by a television program on karate that I saw,” he says. “I became interested in how people could take care of themselves just by using their hands and feet.”
His mother enrolled him in classes at a nearby karate school, and he became an avid devotee of karate. He made junior black belt at age 10 and began instructing at the school in his teens. He was 16 when the school closed, and he began teaching at the Elmwood Park Civic Center.
A few years later, he opened a karate school in Elmwood Park. Eventually, he opened schools in Norridge, Mt. Prospect and Chicago’s Northwest Side.
Kelly Lena, then a teenager, enrolled at the Chicago school. “My parents wanted me to learn how to protect myself,” she says. “I wasn’t really good in any other sport. Karate became a big part of my life and made me feel like I fit in somewhere.”
The recession of the late 1970s slowed the business and Frank Lena eventually closed the schools. He went back to teaching at the Elmwood Park Civic Center.
“A few years ago, a parent from River Forest who was on the local park board heard about my program and brought her child to Elmwood Park,” Frank Lena says. “She said, `Why don’t you come and teach at River Forest?’ So I did.”
He approached Dixon about beginning a program at the center, and she agreed.
Frank and Kelly Lena married in 1991, and she began working with him as an instructor in River Forest and other locations.
“My wife and I have an excellent working relationship,” he says. “Because she was one of my students, she carries my philosophy about teaching martial arts. As a result, when we teach together, we’re a good team.”
“Frank and I really don’t have any disagreements,” Kelly Lena says. “We’re both creative and leaders however, so we’re always trying to outdo each other. But we complement each other very well.”
“When we have our differences we get padded up, and we do an anti-stress (sparring) program,” Frank Lena says. “She’s a tremendous kicker.”
Frank Lena is a full-time karate instructor, teaching at the Elmwood Park Civic Center and the park districts of Franklin Park, Rosemont, Norridge and Glendale Heights in addition to the River Forest center. He also is a part-time auxiliary police officer for Rosemont’s special services department.
Kelly Lena, who received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rosary College in River Forest in 1989, teaches karate part time and works full time in sales and customer service for a gas company.
The Lenas live in Glendale Heights.
To keep up their skills, the Lenas work out with each other every Saturday and occasionally with former students who are black belts.
They have each won several awards. In 1984, Kelly Lena won the American Karate Association’s Midwest Women’s Championship in sparring and took second place in form.
In 1992, Frank Lena was awarded the Youth Program of the Year Award from the Rosemont Park District. He won a similar award the previous year from the Elmwood Park Park District.
But the Lenas consider the progress of their students more important than trophies.
“It’s wonderful to see a child master a certain move and develop as a person,” Frank Lena says. “It’s also a pleasure to see a kid come in as a white belt-a beginner-and watch him progress to becoming a superior fighter.”
The karate classes are among numerous sports and recreational programs at the center, Dixon says. “Our programs reflect what you would find at a park district,” she adds. The River Forest Park District provides park land, but not programs.
Founded in 1975, the center has expanded over the years and serves about 2,500 adults and children, most of whom are from River Forest.
The Lenas say that the karate classes have grown in popularity because of two factors: children’s affection for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters, and parents’ concerns for their children’s safety.
“This is a lot of work, but it’s definitely fun,” Kelly Lena says. “There is nothing like working with kids to keep you young.”
“These programs help a child build character at an early age,” Frank Lena says.
———-
For more information about programs at the River Forest Community Center, call 708-771-6159.
