School History
The Mississippi Center for Martial Arts (1984 to today) – A Short History
From 1984 until 1999 the school grew under the watchful eye of founder and chief instructor Rod Storrs. Storrs’ Martial Arts Academy was the only traditional martial arts school in the area. High standards in the dojo and out were required of everyone. When Mr. Storrs retired in 1999, the school was passed on to Mark Chevalier. Mr. Chevalier started studying Shotokan Karate-do under Mr. Storrs in 1992, having already studied other martial arts since 1979.
New Curriculums were added including Mixed Martial Arts, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Bo Staff, Iaido and Battodo Sword, Little SideKicks™ (for ages 4 to 6), and Tai Chi. With so many arts being offered the school was becoming a center for martial arts training. So the name was changed to The Mississippi Center for Martial Arts. The number of students attending the school continued to grow and a new location was opened in Batesville, Mississippi.
Students won National Karate Tournaments, earned honor roll status at their schools, won state and regional science fairs, excelled in football, soccer, baseball and basketball. They were leaders at their schools, churches and at work. They were boy scouts, girl scouts, piano players and members of their school bands, and newspapers. All the adult black belts have earned their college degrees and work in many varied fields. The future indeed looked good.
Then Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit. The physical damage of the storms was great and the economic damage was no less devastating. Members of the school did their part to aid the victims of the storm and took in many refugees who had lost everything. Money got tight for many students and parents. Martial arts training became a luxury that most could not afford. The hard reality is that when income falls, bills do not. The school began to downsize; the Batesville location soon closed and the Oxford home location sold its building and moved in with the Oxford Fencing Club, and I took a part-time job at a local power company.
But it was not enough. In the fall of 2007 The Mississippi Center for Martial Arts transformed from a full-time school, to a private lesson and workshop focused teaching method. Traditional Martial Arts instruction in Karate, Bo Staff, Iaido and Battodo Sword arts, Personal Protection Workshops, Disaster and Emergency Preparedness, and American Red Cross Certification in CPR/AED and First Aid now comprise the curriculum.