During his childhood, Evan Henderson discovered a passion that would soon turn into a lifestyle. His love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers prompted him to learn new karate moves, and in turn, to become interested in martial arts.
“My father wanted me to do martial arts because apparently, I was breaking stuff around the house,” Henderson said. “He thought it would be a good way to transfer that energy.”
Both he and his father, Rick Henderson, began their martial arts journey together and used it as a lifelong bonding experience. He has always supported his father, and continues to do so with the martial arts school his father owns, Binghamton Martial Arts, located at 435 Main St. in Johnson City. Evan Henderson is an instructor at Binghamton Martial Arts alongside his father.
“I decided I would start karate as well, and we would do it together as father and son,” Rick wrote in an email. “It was very rewarding to do together. We got to spend a lot of time together and did lots of traveling to tournaments together.”
Evan has lived in Endicott for his whole life. He attended Union-Endicott High School and then went on to attend Binghamton University’s School of Management, majoring in business with a concentration in marketing. He currently works at BU as the creative media coordinator for Harpur College.
Evan’s participation in martial arts accounted for a major part of his childhood.
“I basically grew up in the dojo,” Evan said. “That’s what they call the training facility. I was there after school and I used to do my homework there. I probably spent more time at the dojo than I did at home. All my friends were also from the karate world. “
Martial arts allowed Evan to interact with and make friends with other children his age.
“I was always a shy kid when I was really young, and had my fair share of social anxiety that I struggled with that made it difficult to make friends in elementary and middle school,” Evan wrote in an email. “The dojo was always a place for me to be social and connect with the other kids. You tend to develop a ‘dojo family’ out of it over the years.”
Rick has learned many lessons from his time as a martial arts instructor.
“I have learned patience, understanding and that everyone has a story,” Rick wrote in an email. “Not only the people that come in to train, but everyone. I’ve learned the importance of caring for others, being responsible and the importance of service and being a part of your community. I’ve learned to better understand who I am and that everything that happens in life is a lesson, even the failures and losses.”
Evan helped his father run and grow Binghamton Martial Arts with his business background. Rick appreciates his son’s support during their journey.
“We have always had a really good relationship and he’s very supportive of the school,” Rick wrote in an email. “After graduating from Binghamton University, he began to do more business and marketing-related things to help continue to build and run the business. He is still involved and continues to teach and mentor the younger students — giving back and passing it on is what martial arts is about. He’s my best friend and is always teaching me things, too.”
In addition to martial arts, philosophy plays a big role in Evan Henderson’s life.
“I feel like any and all of life’s questions, struggles and conflicts can be dealt with through philosophy,” Evan wrote in an email. “It took me many years to realize this but my martial arts foundation started me on the path of appreciating philosophy. It’s actually the second stage of training in my eyes. When you’re younger, you master the body and learn to push it to its boundaries, but as we get older we need to focus more within, on how we view our place and purpose in the world and our community. Understanding philosophy is the bridge to this stage of life.”
Evan views his life learned lessons from martial arts as unique.
“Martial arts helped me build confidence, which helped me push myself socially,” he wrote in an email. “It gave me a platform to test and experiment as I grew up and learned new things and dealt with challenges both inside and outside of Karate. I think every person (not only children) should experience martial arts at some point in their lives.”