Meet Carol White | Martial Arts school owner/full time martial artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carol White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carol, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am from Oceanside, New York. When I was four years old I was watching Batman on my grandmothers bed on an old black-and-white TV where you had to use aluminum foil to get a good reception. It was the first time the world got a glimpse of what a 5 foot 3 Asian man/martial artist could do. He was the Green Lantern’s sidekick, Kati He was wearing a small black mask because the producers didn’t think the world was ready to see an Asian man co starting on a popular TV show. I was intrigued and became hooked on the martial arts. For two years I was kicking and punching around the house and my parents ignored this until one day I found a pair of numb chucks under my dad’s bed. I bought them to him and he sat me down and admitted he was also a Martial Artist. My father taught me everything he could and then he handed me off to his Navy seal Friends and I learned great hand to hand combat/self-defense but I wanted more, I wanted a Black Belt. My family didn’t have a lot of money but I always believe there’s a will there’s a way and it began my training on Saturdays at a local YMCA. I now own one of the largest and greatest Martial Arts Academy in South Florida. We were voted number two by the Miami Herald this year and number one by consumer choice awards. We are in our 25th year and i’ve been recognized by the city twice from my work teaching 25,000 students.. Our story & my story far from over….

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My Martial Arts academy is more than a school or business it is a family. My family has been practicing & teaching martial arts for over 150 years & I a 5 foot one, 56 year old female is caring on our legacy. No, it is not been easy to be a female and two a mostly dominated world. I have to prove my physical as well as my mental toughness every day. I came to Miami when I was 17 years old I went to the university Miami and after I was done I was lost I got thrusting into the real world and had one job after another. I’ve done everything from self Xerox copier’s to bartending at some of Miami’s hottest nightclubs and bars. I made some great money and had some great times but I really wanted a career and I started training again in the martial arts. by day and bartended by night. Eventually I got another black belt and I was asked by my teacher to buy into his school and I became a full-time martial artist and school owner in my early thirties I have owned & operated White Tiger & Dragon Martial Arts for the past 25 years on a sliding scale with no government funding NEVER turning a child nor adult away who wished to train. Training in Martial Arts is usually expensive & I wanted to make martial arts accessible for everyone! My biggest challenges are being away from my family & not being able to see them very often because I teach 7 days awwwk to keep my academy going.. I am at my 3 rd location now because we got kicked out of developers twice. It was also very difficult to rebuild after the pandemic & keeping the school going in it. I also still have the deal w the every day stigma as the owner & one of the main instructors as a femal, an aging one, & a very vertically challenged one. I’m very proud of many of mine and my schools accomplishments over the years including trading with many of the world’s best martial artists, to being the first femal MMA trainer in the state of Florida and I have the license to prove it. They thought I must be a guy and sent me my license with the name Carlos instead of Carol. I have train fighters that have gone all the way to the UFC, I even was bought in to work with Gina Carano on the first televised female mixed martial arts bout. She is my fight plan and one! I also helped many students open doors in the movie industry such as Caitlin De Chelle Who was wonder woman stunt double for Gil Gadot, as well as many others as well as starting in the movie Chinese Zodiac with Jackie Chan. What I am most proud of is to watch the transformation of a student through our martial arts. I often have old students stop by after they’re grown up and moved on with life to come visit and say what important part myself at my school had in their childhood. We have a very long retention rate in our school. One of my best students came to me when he was four with the ambition of being a karate master, 20 years later , he is!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would give my BFF a very detailed tour of Coconut Grove where I have lived, trained, & taught for a quarter of a century. This would include going to the Barnacle, Viscaya, the coconut grove women’s club, We would take long boat rides in Biscayne Bay & visit Stiltsvile where I had my 30th Birtday MTV style! We would swim with the dolphins at Seaquarium. We eat & drink Winderful Tapas & wines at Happy Wines. We would breakfast old school style at Coral Bagels or have a great Bloody Mary at Green Street Cafe.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
World renowned, 10th degree Black Belt Larry Tatum deserves a BIG shout out from me. He has been my primary American Kenpo karate instructor for the past 20 years. He is known as the teacher of Black Belts. He helped me Maste my karate skills & helped me become a Master instructor, and most importantly a master of myself.

Website: https://www.whitetigermia.com

Instagram: Whitetigeranddragonmartaarts

Image Credits
Miami Kids Magazine