Local martial arts master heads to world championships

Gary Evarts, an adjunct faculty member at Finger Lakes Community College, will head to Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 16 for the World Kuk Sool martial arts championships.

A sixth-degree black belt, Evarts has been teaching defensive tactics and advanced martial arts classes at FLCC for the past 13 years. Evarts, who owns and operates Kuk Sool Won schools in Williamson and Ontario (Wayne County), will be accompanied by three of his students: Joseph Burnett of Wolcott and instructors Jason Lee and Kelly Farrar of Webster.

Kuk Sool Won is a comprehensive study of all traditional Korean martial arts, including body conditioning techniques, mental development, and weapons training.

The World Kuk Sool Championships will be held at the Gangseo Sports Park in Busan. Over the course of two days, the team will compete in various events, followed by a master’s demonstration.

Evarts is one of only five masters in the world working on implementing Olympic-style judging for Olympic martial arts competition. He and Burnett have also trained members of the Olympic luge and bobsled teams in Lake Placid to improve their flexibility and reflexes.

Evarts first brought Kuk Sool to New York in 1979 in Clyde, Wayne County. Evarts has been on the cover of Tae Kwon Do Times and has been awarded World Championship status in both self-defense and weapons competitions. He appeared on television in Scotland and England where he demonstrated self-defense and board breaking at the European Championships. Earlier this year, Evarts appeared on America’s Funniest Home Videos in the Snowman Special episode, and on 13WHAM to promote his yearly Kicking Cancer tournament to help raise funds for a child with cancer. The event raised almost $7,000 this year for a Palmyra teen, Lauren Miller.

For more information on Kuk Sool Won or the trip to Korea, visit www.kuksoolny.com.