Her family ties are martial-arts belts

By Ken Carlson
kcarlson@modbee.com

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Annabelle Jones of Modesto has lived by the motto "The family that kicks together, sticks together."

When she married her husband, Rick, almost 20 years ago, she had one child and he had three, and tutoring the children in martial arts became a way of unifying the family, even after they had two more kids of their own.

Their grown son, Terrence Vandoorn, is a third-degree black belt, and now the third generation is involved, with 5-year-old granddaughter Azaliyah earning a purple belt this month.

This kickboxing grandma is co-owner of West Coast Martial Arts, a school blending traditional disciplines such as tae kwon do and jiujitsu with modern-day defense techniques.

Jones, 47, is a fifth-degree black belt and has used her skills to defend herself. But as a teacher, she also stresses the mental side of martial arts, such as setting goals, taking action, paying attention to detail, changing what isn't working and practicing.

She teaches martial arts and cardio kickboxing at the school, at Tully Road and Standiford Avenue, where the students range from 4-year-olds to senior citizens.

What she calls her crazy but happy life also includes work as an administrative assistant for the Stanislaus County Office of Education. She still has two teenagers at home and says she likes to spoil her five grandchildren.

Q: How did you take up martial arts?

A: I was dating Rick and he was a brown belt. He would have me hold the sticks for him as he practiced his eskrima routine. It was his encouragement for me to join martial arts, even though as a woman back then, they discouraged you.

When we (married) and moved to Modesto in 1988, I thought it would be something our family could do together.

Q: How did martial arts bring your family together?

A: We opened our first school in our garage. We had the kids working in the studio; it taught them responsibility. It taught them a lot of life skills, communication with other people. Even to this day, people come up and say our children are very polite, very well mannered and respectful.

Q: Were there any challenges in bringing the family together?

A: I didn't have a hard time because I got along with his children pretty well. We never used the word "stepparent." They always referred to me as mom and my son always referred to him as dad, even though he had a good relationship with his own father.

Q: Tell us about your passion for teaching.

A: At first, I didn't want to teach other kids. But what martial arts taught me was patience and understanding. What I like as an instructor is getting students to develop to a certain point and watching them evolve as human beings. It's rewarding especially after they go to college, or they are married, and they bump into me and remember me by name. It means I made a positive impact on their lives.

We had a student who had a really bad attitude when he started. He was always getting in trouble at school and getting failing grades. He didn't listen to his mother at home. But he is now a red belt, which is an advanced belt. His grades have turned around and he does what his mom asks him to do at home.

With our system, you don't advance to the next belt unless you get passing grades. This student didn't understand that the first year, but when we kept holding him back, he figured it out.

Q: As a fifth-degree black belt, what can you do?

A: When I got my third degree, we had to break three bricks. They don't do that anymore because of certain regulations. The mastery test I had in May for my fifth degree was a weeklong test. It's more testing your mind. But there was a lot of physical things involved, too.

Q: Have you ever used martial arts to defend yourself?

A: More than 10 years ago, I was with a group of girls at a nightclub and this man, who was really tall, just joined our group. I guess to show how strong he was, he picked me up and lifted me into the air. I asked him to put me down and when he didn't, I pinched him under the arms, which is a defense technique. He let me go and then he grabbed me and swung me around. I said, "You need to stop," so I punched him hard in the solar plexus and he let me down.

Q: Even if you never use martial arts in self-defense, what are the benefits?

A: The benefits are self-confidence, self-discipline, self-esteem. Some of the kids who start here are too loud, bad-tempered or too shy. We try to get the best out of them.

Q: How do you rate Modesto as a place to raise a family?

A: I used to live in San Jose. I would rather live in Modesto than San Jose. When we first moved here, it was smaller. In our neighborhood, everyone knows each other. Everybody watches each other's back. It is just the closeness of people. Everywhere we go, we know somebody.