Meet Michael Champitto | Wanjangnim / Owner: White Tiger Taekwondo & Martial Arts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Champitto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Wow! This is a very poignant question. I took over White Tiger in December of 2019 and there have been many times since when I have questioned whether or not I could successfully continue. COVID shut us down for months. A large number of our students couldn’t continue. We had issues with other schools running us down on social media and difficulty with the lease in the space we rented. Not to mention some additional personal issues at home that compounded my stress levels. But I know what my training at White Tiger, under Grandmaster Rondy, meant to me. It got me through some very difficult times and I want to be able to share that with my students. We’ve developed a credo that has become our own recognized Kwan. SISU. It is a concept that can be described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience and hardiness. No matter what life throws at us, we will persevere. I have always stressed that earning a Black Belt is more than just how high you can kick, or how many forms you know or boards you can break. It is adopting a lifestyle in an effort to better yourself AND others around you. I know that what we’ve done here, at White Tiger, has had a positive influence on many of our current students as well as the things we have done for the community. So, for my students, “giving up” is just not in my nature. We will SISU on!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was gifted White Tiger Taekwondo from Grandmaster Rondy McKee in December of 2019. After working for the State for the previous 21 years, I was ready for the next chapter in my life. I had been a long-time student of Grandmaster Rondy and was honored when she asked me to take over White Tiger so that she could step away from the day-to-day operations of the school. After 24 years, she was ready for, and deservedly earned, the next chapter in her life as well. She is still quite involved and I certainly could not have succeeded without her continued support and guidance. Martial Arts was never a dream of mine as a child. I grew up wanting to be “Hank Aaron”. My knees and my talent didn’t hold out. I graduated college, married, had kids and worked several mundane jobs in upstate New York before moving to North Carolina in 1996 to find greener pastures. I didn’t take up taekwondo until I was 30 years old. I was looking for an activity for my oldest son. It ended up being one of the biggest blessing of my life. My training helped me through a lot of difficult times and each of my three sons trained and earned their Black Belts in various disciplines as well. I think it has done a lot to help shape the men they have become. My oldest serves in the United States Navy. My middle child is a Technical Director for a theatre in New York and my youngest just started college with aspirations on becoming a Lawyer. Our training help provide my sons the confidence to follow their dreams and me to take over the school to continue to provide that level of confidence to others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This one is hard for me because my best friend just passed away a few months ago. But, for any of my friends, I would definitely bring them to at least one class at White Tiger. Most of them would probably go all week trying out all of the different disciplines and there is rarely a week where we aren’t having a special event or celebrating the cultural heritage of some of our students. I would love to get my friend, who was in the Special Forces in the military, into some of our Hapkido classes. and I know all of my female friends would enjoy taking out some frustrations in our Lady Tigers classes. We are all big sports fans too so maybe bringing them to a Carolina Mudcats baseball game or Carolina Hurricanes hockey game, depending upon the season would be on the docket. Orchid Japanese Restaurant in Stonehenge Market Plaza is one of my favorites and I don’t get enough opportunities to go myself so that would definitely be on the agenda too.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
To the women in my life. Past and present. I have been very fortunate to have very strong influences in my life. After my father left, my Grandmother held the remainder of our family together, She wasn’t just the foundation, she was the walls, the roof too… literally. My Mother raised both me and my sister. She kept food on the table and made sure we stayed away from bad influences and completed school so that we would have a better life. My best friend was the epitome of being the person who would succeed in doing what everyone told her she couldn’t do. Anybody that knows Martial Arts knows Grandmaster Rondy’s story. She overcame everything to become one of the most respected and successful women in the male dominated world of Martial Arts. And then, of course, there is my wife. When the going gets tough, she is my sympathetic ear, my shoulder to cry on, my “Girl Friday” making sure it all stays together and I still get it all done. For better or worse. In sickness and health. She is my rock. Any success I have in life, I owe to the stubborn determination I have to do the absolute best I can because for these strong women, for me to give anything less would be a disservice to everything they have shown/taught me in my life.

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