Local Taekwondo Instructor Has Martial Arts in His Blood

For the past 15 years, Master Alvin Bernard has taught many people at on Lemoine Avenue in Fort Lee.

Bernard is a Master in WTF, which is Olympic-type sparring and is also a sixth degree black belt who trains in kickboxing, MMA and Taekwondo and has accomplished a lot over the years.

In 2003, Bernard’s first big accomplishment was representing the U.S. in the International Championships in Australia and winning three gold medals. In 2005, Bernard became the coach of the U.S. National Team for a few years and was also appointed coach of the U.S. National Team in 2010.

It was a long journey for Bernard from his native Jamaica to Fort Lee. He left Jamaica inistially for the U.S. for two years and then moved to Germany with his father and stepmother. It was there that he started Taekwondo at the age of 10 in 1983.

Bernard decided to get into the sport because of the people around him growing up--people he greatly admired.

“Some of them did martial arts, and I liked the way they carried themselves," said Bernard. "They always walked around with pride. They always walked around with confidence and I always wondered why they looked so confident and I realized its because they did the martial arts and I figured you know what I want to do that and that’s how I got involved in training in the martial arts."

Bernard’s journey led him back to the United States in 1985 where he lived in Queens and continued to train and learn various other martial arts, including Kung Fu, before moving to Fort Lee in 1989.

And Fort Lee has benefited from Bernard’s service for over 20 years now. He has taught Taekwondo at after school programs at the Fort Lee Middle School and an elementary school in Edgewater, along with being a volunteer at a senior citizen home in Fort Lee.

Fort Lee is where Master Bernard watches his students grow. Bernard opened up Team USA Taekwon-Do Fitness 15 years ago after his previous instructor at another location in Fort Lee moved to Florida. Bernard knows that winning is important but that there is much more than that for him when he teaches his students.

“I think my favorite part is to watch the kids grow and develop into good human beings," he said. "Everything else will come if you have respect and courtesy and if you’re a good person."

Bernard now focuses primarily on getting his students ready for local tournaments and has had many students do incredible things, including Merissa Pico, who recently qualified for the the USA Junior National Team for a third consecutive year. He also has made it clear that he will be there for any of his students who decide they would like to train for the Olympics or any other major competitions.