Hot As Health Magazine January/February 2017 | Page 15

To see a mentor who truly defines a strong commitment to kids, family, and community, take a walk into the dojo“ White Tiger Karate” at Cache Valley Athletics to watch Sensei Lynn Myers with his students. Lynn guides students from toddler to ancient. He is so committed to his belief in family and community that he has based his program around it.“ When you join our kenpo class with your family, you are not only acting as an inspiration to your own family, but you are also inspiring other families in the class. You are setting a good example and actually inspiring everyone involved in and out of class to BETTER themselves at martial arts and in life as a whole by just participating. It is never too late for you to better yourself, in any way!“ As a writer, I get the opportunity to meet and talk to a lot of people, but the years I have known Lynn have been an inspiration to me. He doesn’ t really like being in the spotlight or having the focus put upon him, but I just couldn’ t help myself. Lynn grew up in a family where the only person that could hear the world around them was his mother. His father was deaf, and had issues coping with his lack of hearing. He spent his life drinking and associating with people who probably didn’ t have the best of intentions. Lynn grew up in a home where alcohol was the solution to many frustrations. Growing up in a predominately Mormon community, the actions of neighbors was probably heart felt, but had the exact opposite effect on Lynn and his siblings. They didn’ t understand the challenges that came from being deaf and not being able to communicate with others. To compound this problem, Lynn did not learn to sign as a child so his struggles were more of a communication isolation. He spent his childhood being teased and bullied, feeling ashamed of his limitations. When he was young, movies were only 25 cents, so he spent a lot of time watching Bruce Lee. One of his favorites was a James Coburn movie called“ Our Man Flint”. Watching the underdog win with honor was an inspiration. A small spark was planted in the child that would soon define the man. Like the rest of his family Lynn spent years trying to drink away the pain, but no amount of alcohol would take away the fire that burned inside of him. A deep-rooted knowledge, and an indomitable spirit burning with passion inside, set the key to Lynn’ s future successes. He has focused on becoming a martial artist since he was very small. He spent his life visualizing it in everything he did- by teaching himself to set the goal, focus on it, and then see it within himself. It doesn’ t matter how long it takes to get there, the focus just needs to be on getting there. Lynn was kind of a late bloomer, it took