On Saturday morning the High Performance Institute of Taekwondo in Lone Grove held a belt promotion test for the students, but owner Jean Gamarra received a promotion of his own.
He received the title of 7th Dan Black Belt, a level that reflects decades of discipline, dedication and service to the art and sport of Taekwondo. Only two more levels can be earned by a living person, and a 10th Dan Black Belt can only be awarded posthumously. The award of 7th Dan Black Belt Certificate gives him the title of Grandmaster.
Gamarra first began studying Taekwondo in his native country of Peru as a way of escaping poverty.
“Back in the 80’s Peru was a very poor country because we were going through a very big Communist movement,” he said. “Back then we didn’t have much money to survive or make it through, so what we did was go to the sports so you would have opportunities to get out of the country. So I worked hard to make sure I had opportunities with sports.”
His hard work paid off, and he was able to earn a scholarship to university. He did well on the university team, but he wanted to make it onto the national team.
“I fought hard to get the current national champion in my weight division, and even though I beat him that didn’t necessarily mean I would be on the team,” he said.
He ended up making the team and earned the bronze medal in Taekwondo for Peru when competing in the Pan-American Championship. He was also able to travel the world and represented Peru at the world championships in Hong Kong in 1997 and Canada in 1999.
His Olympic hopes, however, were dashed due to an injury when trying to earn a place for Sydney in 2000.
“I was in a fight for the position, and I broke my knee,” Gamarra said. “My knee popped out, and I kept fighting and was winning.
“I kept thinking if I can just drag this out for 30 more seconds I could make it, but they called the fight and said that’s it.”
Gamarra ended up having surgery to repair his knee. He turned to Tae Bo as a way of supporting himself while he healed.
“I was an instructor for Tae Bo, and I ended up having my own clothing line and boxing gloves,” he said. “I actually made a lot of money, and I was doing Taekwondo as a referee.
“That was great, but I wasn’t doing what I really wanted to do, so I decided to leave the country and see what happens. So I ended up moving to Florida.
Upon moving to Florida, he ended up meeting his wife, who was also involved in Taekwondo. They opened up the first High Performance Institute of Taekwondo in Orlando.
In amongst this, the couple started a family, and Gamarra opened a construction business.
The family then moved to Texas so the couple could get their college degrees. Gamarra received a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and went on to earn his master’s degree. He is currently working on his Ph.D. and leads major aviation infrastructure projects.
He also officially became a United States citizen.
As their family continued to grow, the Gamarras wanted to get out of the city environment, and that’s how they ended up moving up to the Ardmore area. They now have five children who are homeschooled.
The family opened the Taekwando studio in Lone Grove, with oldest daughter Liesel taking over the teaching duties.
Gamarra himself works for the FAA in Texas and commutes to his job every weekday.
“I’m living proof that through sports and hard work, you can go anywhere and do anything,” Gamarra said. “That’s why we opened our studio here. I want to share some of what I’ve learned with the community here in Oklahoma.”
