By Jeremy RobertsonRecord Staff Writer“I want to bring people here,” says Jeremiah Koch, owner of Hapkido Plus and K4 Fitness.By here, he means Warrenton, a town that he and his wife Wendy have spent 15 years of their lives in.Hapkido Plus and K4 Fitness is a local gym and martial arts school located at 402 Progress Parkway, west of the Warrenton Outlet Center.Hapkido is a Korean martial art. The style was formed around grappling and holds. Jeremiah teaches students from ages 4 and up. He started himself when he was 6 years old.The gym consists of three rooms. The majority of the floor space is filled with equipment, from free weights to treadmills. The two other rooms are reserved for personal training lessons, yoga and Pilates classes, Hero’s Forge MMA, and the Hapkido classes from which the company takes its name.Prior to April 2015, Koch was teaching Hapkido classes on the other side of town in a much smaller building without a gym. When the current facility was listed for sale by its former owners, the Koch family saw an opportunity.They knew at the time, though, that they were not taking over a brand-new building.“It was trying to fall apart on us,” he says and laughs.Though they plan to make some improvements in the near future, like a refurbished parking lot and adding more equipment, the couple still focus on giving back to charities. They plan to launch a new program targeting low-income families.“I call it the WAR effort,” says Koch, of the local charity which helps children who might not otherwise be able to take part in sports due to prohibitive equipment costs and fees.“I see the same kids walking down the same streets and … I want to give them some structure.”He also wants to give them food. The business has raised over $6,000 for Operation Backpack, another local charity that feeds underprivileged Warrenton children on the weekends when school lunches are not available.“I helped feed 130 kids for two months! I’m pretty proud of that,” he said.Koch also has pledged that all the proceeds from members who join between March 15 and April 15 will go to the charity.All of their charity work goes to show that at the core, Hapkido Plus is still a family-owned business.“The staff here, we’re all family. We work out together, we eat together … It’s the best job ever,” said Koch.When asked about their future, Wendy Koch says, “I’m still teaching high school because I have to.” She laughs and Jeremiah added, “Our five-year horizon plan is a new 15,000-square-foot facility. But right now, pretty much what doesn’t go back into the business goes to charity.”For information, call 636-456-KICK (5425) or visit hapkidoplus.com.Employees of K-4 Fitness are pictured from left, Mitch Hampton, Hapkido Plus instructor; Matt Matteson, Hero’s Forge MMA instructor; Amy Long, personal trainer; Jeremiah Koch, owner and Hapkido Plus lead instructor; Debbie Rotach, personal trainer; Wendy Koch, owner; David Graves, trainer; David Long, instructor; and Troy Bradshaw, Hapkido Plus instructor. Derrick Forsythe photo.
