It took two decades for her vision to materialize, and finally
Linda Pulido
– a nine-time World Champion in tae kwon do – will celebrate the
grand opening of her own gym today.
Gilroy – It took two decades for her vision to materialize, and finally Linda Pulido – a nine-time World Champion in tae kwon do – will celebrate the grand opening of her own gym today.
“It just didn’t feel right until we walked into this building. It’s so bright and big,” said Pulido.
With 5,000 square feet of room, and no wall separating the weightroom and martial arts studio, Pulido can teach a Tae Kwon Do class while supervising weightlifters at the same time.
“I like my gym because I can yell at everybody at the same time,” Pulido said, stressing that most of her students get one-on-one attention because of gym’s layout, while the open area encourages family fitness.
Suzanne Hayes, 45, of Gilroy brought both of her daughters to Tae Kwon Do class and watched them from across the room as she panted on the stair climber.
“Linda set the gym up so we could work out and watch the kids too, and my little one makes sure I’m watching her,” Hayes said.
The effective layout of Pulido’s gym reflects her effective teaching – at the national competition in Las Vegas, 11 of her students participated, and nearly all of them won first place in their divisions.
Libby Matulich, 34, of Hollister trained with Pulido in kick boxing 12 years ago but had to leave the art for personal reasons, but then returned and brought home a first place trophy from the competition.
“She makes an influence on the people that leave, and they always come back,” she said.
Pulido took tae kwon do 24 years ago, and began her school in 1994 out of her garage. Her school gradually expanded to 200 students and now sits near downtown Gilroy.
Now at age 39, Pulido is still in great shape as she takes the time to spar with all her students, but unlike many world champions, she is also a business owner and she is recognized by people like Graciela Casillas, the only athlete to simultaneously hold world titles in two different sports; boxing and kickboxing.
“You don’t see too many women that are world champions and have their own business,” said Casillas, who met Pulido at a Filipino stick fighting tournament. “She’s an inspiration for young people, and she definitely inspires women to take control of their bodies and take control through training,” said Casillas . “We need more women like her.”
