Everyday Fighter Podcast host Philipp Lomboy shares, “It was an absolute honor to have Chip and Glyn Ann as guests. With each episode we want to give our listeners relatable stories from people of all backgrounds in the fighting world. This was our first episode speaking to a married couple, so it was a special conversation for me.”
During the interview, the Townsends shared details of their journey as a couple, their training in martial arts, and how they manage their lives, family, and business.
“In 1995 we were given the opportunity to purchase our school,” Chip tells Lomboy. “We took our whole life savings, short of a few bucks, and bought a business with a rented space, some old junky equipment, and a handful of students and kind of ran with it.”
They share that after a few years their dojo grew so large that Glyn Ann quit her job as a nurse and joined the business full time. Today their martial arts organization has 1000 students across eight locations in Texas and Oklahoma.
Glyn Ann shares, “One of the keys to our success was that when we started we didn’t have any idea that we could fail. We grabbed the tiger by the tail and it was gonna succeed. That mindset of has really carried us through.”
On the subject of their disagreements in business and life, Chip shares, “Do we fight? Yes. Do we disagree? Yes. But I think we’ve matured to a point to know that when we get a little tense we give each other space to breathe a little bit. And we know that fighting doesn’t accomplish anything.” Glyn Ann adds, “We realize that we’re on the same journey and we have the same goals. In the big picture the horse is moving in the same direction.”
Glyn Ann also attributes their success to their commitment to personal development, having been introduced to it by a student that gave them the book “Awaken the Giant Within” by Tony Robbins. She says, “That sparked an absolute fire for self-development, self-improvement, and leadership. You can’t take care of people until you take care of yourself. We’re not the same people now that got married 27 years ago.”
Of the interview Lomboy says, “I’m grateful to Chip and Glyn Ann for sharing their perspectives as a married couple. I appreciate even more their attitude that their way isn’t the only way. Yes, they bring many years of experience. But their words come with humility and respect for other approaches to the same challenges they’ve faced.”
The full interview between Lomboy and the Townsends is available at the Everyday Fighter Podcast. Contact them at Team Chip Tae Kwon Do.