Inner Sunset residents who walk past 6th Avenue and Irving may have noticed rows of students in white robes and colored belts bowing and kicking in unison behind the glass at Paresh Martial Arts. Founded by chief instructor Kristina Ohlson in 2007, Paresh trains students in Tang Soo Do, a Korean discipline that's more than 2,000 years old.
Ohlson, who took judo and karate as a child, discovered Tang Soo Do in 2001 during a yoga class in Lake Tahoe. “We’re all Zen and quiet, and [in the room] below us they’re like, ‘KIYAA!,’” she said. “I thought, this isn’t exactly congruent scheduling, but I’m clearly in the wrong room.” She went straight downstairs after class, enrolled immediately in Tang Soo Do and earned her black belt in five years; she currently holds a 3rd-degree black belt.
Hoodline/Caitlin Harrington
After moving to San Francisco, Ohlson bartended and waited tables, “my go anywhere, land on my feet, go-to role." She worked with an art and yoga studio for toddlers, but realized she missed teaching. “I think I’ve always been a teacher,” said Ohlson, “so I thought about what I would teach and how I would do it.” She wrote a business plan, took out a small loan and looked at spaces in the Inner Sunset on the advice of a friend.
“People know each other around here, and it has this sense of smaller community that you don’t usually find in big cities,” said Ohlson. “It’s like a village in a city. People smile and offer to help with things.”
The previous tenant was a travel agency, so Ohlson was spared major renovations. “Finances were tight,” she said, “so not having to transform the space and just throw some paint and mats down was a gift.”
courtesy Paresh Martial Arts Studio
Ohlson originally named the studio KickStart, but changed it after a Texas non-profit (that counts Chuck Norris as a board member) with the same name sent her a cease-and-desist letter. “It was a bummer for me because I didn’t have enough money to replace the awning when I first started.” She renamed the studio “Paresh,” a Hindi name that means “the power from beyond", given to her as a child by an Indian guru.
“That’s what we’re doing here,” Ohlson said. “We’re harnessing our power and making the world a better place.”
With teacher Don Aguillo and guest instructor Elijah Stevenson, Paresh has grown steadily and currently has 175 students, some as young as three years old. “For the adults, it’s a stress release,” Ohlson said, "just decompressing from the day. For the kids, it’s a safe place where you can let go and not get hurt. It’s padded, and you’re supposed to hit things.”
One of Paresh’s signature classes is a Saturday drop-in family session, where parents may train with their children. The studio also offers a program where students learn leadership skills and how to assist other students, as well as programs outside the regular class schedule, including movie nights and summer camp.
Instructors Maxim Williams, Kristina Ohlson and Don Aguillo, courtesy Paresh Martial Arts Studio
“My focus is really on the three [principles] of Tang Soo Do,” Ohlson said, “which are health, self-defense, and to become a better person.” She said teaching young students has given her an opportunity to watch them grow up. “That was honestly one of the reasons I was excited about opening a studio, because when I was teaching snowboarding in Tahoe, a big thing that was missing was continued exposure.” Some students have attended classes for more than half their lives.
“This is where it gets so San Francisco,” she said. “My name is Kristina Ohlson, and I’m a Swedish woman living in the United States, and I teach a traditional Korean martial art.”
For more information about Paresh Martial Arts, call (415) 665-5511, visit the website or Like them on Facebook.
