Latter-day Saint Martial Arts Annual Report 2014 | Page 12

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Meet Kaitlyn Brower
LDSMAA member since October 2014
I’m a premedical student studying Chemistry and minoring in Spanish at Brigham Young
University. I spent the summer studying for the MCAT and did well when I took it in August.
Now I’m doing research on fabricating a device that will help diagnose preterm birth risk, as
well as trying to understand the biochemistry behind one of the causes of preterm birth, for my
honors thesis. I apply for medical school in June and graduate in August.
I’m engaged to a wonderful boy named Dallin Dressman. We’ll be married in the Provo, Utah temple on May 30th,
2015. He hasn’t trained in martial arts yet, but we plan to fix that soon. We’ve known each other since junior high,
lost contact in high school and reconnected at BYU after he served a mission to Alabama.
I started martial arts when I was 10. A neighbor boy started and bet me that I couldn’t last a week at the studio. I
responded with “I bet I can make it a whole month!” and went home to convince my parents to let me start. I had
every intention of going for a month and then quitting when I signed up, but 14 years later I’ve still forgotten to get
around to the “quit” part.
I earned my temporary black belt when I was 14 (which is basically the right to wear a black belt, earned by a year
long black belt test, while you learn how to be a black belt during your second year long test for your first degree)
and my First Degree when I was 15. I’ve performed with and coached several demo teams throughout the years and
have performed half time shows for BYU’s men’s volleyball, BYU’s women’s basketball, UVU’s women’s
basketball, and the Utah Jazz.
I was on the national team and competed in the Goodwill Games in Cancún, Mexico in 2012. I got the opportunity
to choreograph half the musical (a demo set to a piece of music) we performed in the Opening Ceremonies. I love
to compete and have participated in dozens of tournaments over the years.
I earned my second degree black belt when I was 18 and my third degree black belt in September of 2013, when I
was 22. At that time I was named the head instructor, or “Chungsangnym” of our school in Salem, Utah until I
went on a leave of absence in February. My Kwanjangnim (owner of the studio) and I negotiated my return at the
end of November.
I don’t have the time to return as the head instructor right now, but I hope to be actively teaching a few classes a
week until I graduate and would like to compete again this next summer at the Utah Summer Games. If time
allows me to step back into a head instructor role in the future, I’ll definitely consider it. Although I love
competing, my absolute favorite part of martial arts is teaching and helping to bring to