Jhan Yaple’s Kenpo martial arts studio has been his pride and his business since he bought the building about 11 years ago.
A recently retired attorney, Yaple slowly wound down from his day job into an ideal retirement opportunity in an art he’s studied for 45 years.
“Opening this studio was a dream for me,” said Yaple. “This wasn’t what I was looking for, but it fit my needs. I had my law office in the back. … I love the martial arts, I love to dance and I have to be an attorney.”
Yaple first learned jujitsu where he became a second-degree black belt, but as he got older he realized the physicality of being tossed around was too much for his body.
He turned to Kenpo Karate in or AKKI (American Kenpo Karate International) in 2001 to practice a new style of the art he loved, without as much wear and tear on his body.
“I’m doing an art that 70-year-olds can do. They way we do it, is a way older people can do. A lot of our students are black belts from other styles.
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