Glens Falls Martial Arts Program Grows

by Hugo Bravo

In 2023, shortly after Major Stephen Carroll Jr. arrived as the new corps officer in Glens Falls, N.Y., he gave a local county executive a tour of the building. The executive was impressed with The Salvation Army’s presence and asked the pastor if they ever did any programs for children.  

“Hearing that asked was like a knife in the heart,” remembers Carroll. “Outreach to young people is the reason I’m part of The Salvation Army today. My wife [Major Delia Carroll] and I both have a background in youth ministries. I realized that we had to make something happen here in Glens Falls.”  

One of the ministries that grew from that meeting is Blood and Fire Martial Arts, the Glens Falls Corps’ taekwondo program. Having previously been a Salvation Army officer in Springfield, Ohio, Carroll had seen that corps’ own successful taekwondo program.  

At around the same time, Keith Becker, an experienced taekwondo black belt who had grown up in The Salvation Army, had started to come to the Glens Falls Corps. Carroll and Becker had met as children but had not reconnected until now. 

“Taekwondo helped me with a lot of anger issues when I was younger,” says Becker, who earned his first black belt at 16 years old. “When Major Stephen and I began talking about how to make a martial arts program happen, I saw it as way to get more involved in the Army again.” 

Carroll and Becker created a new system for their martial arts. They kept the styles and lessons of Moo Duk Kwan, a modern version of taekwondo, which Becker was the most familiar with. But instead of including lessons on Eastern philosophy, their lessons were based on Salvation Army traditions and history, starting with the name “Blood and Fire.” For its symbol, the red, yellow, and blue colors replaced the red-and-blue taegeuk symbol (based on yin-yang) of the flag of Korea, where taekwondo originated.  

“We went through a lot of thought before we even considered bringing in a single student,” remembers Carroll.  

Blood and Fire Martial Arts had its soft start in March of 2024, with another session in the fall. This year, Blood and Fire has welcomed over a dozen students in its children’s classes, with an adult class generating almost as many attendees.  

“We had intended our second class to be for older teenagers, but we saw that the parents of the younger students wanted to learn as well,” says Carroll. “Older kids come with their parents to bond and exercise together. There are moms who have told us they have been victims of domestic violence, and Blood and Fire was helping them regain their confidence and defend themselves.”

Becker, now the youth outreach and program coordinator at the Glens Falls Corps, hopes to see programs like Blood and Fire Martial Arts grow at their church.

“Even though Glens Falls is the least populated section of Warren County, we serve a large area, and we have an amazing building here,” says Becker. “For me, coming back to church and the workouts of Blood and Fire Martial Arts made me hungry to do more for the corps. It was God working in my life.”