photo by: Contributed

Gavin Grant poses for a photo at the National Center of Excellence in Colorado Springs. Grant, 16, signed as a scholarship athlete with the Olympic Training Center Academy to pursue his dream of competing in the Olympics.

Monday marked a monumental day for Gavin Grant, who has been competing in martial arts for the past 10 years.

Grant held a ceremony to celebrate signing with the Olympic Training Center Academy, where he joined the resident program as a scholarship athlete. The celebration took place at Prime Martial Arts in Lawrence, which is where Grant has been training most of his life.

Now, Grant is one step closer to achieving a lifelong dream.

“It was a huge opportunity to get signed by them,” Grant said. “It’s a goal I’ve been working (toward) for a long time, somehow to get to the Olympics, because that’s always the goal as a kid. Being able to sign with them is a huge golden opportunity and a huge step forward as well.”

Grant, 16, technically signed in May and has already been training at the National Center of Excellence in Colorado Springs. As a part-time resident, Grant is required to train there for a full week at least once per month.

Grant will continue that schedule until he hits his performance goals and competes well enough in tournaments to become a full-time resident. His plan is to compete for a spot in the Olympics in 2024, and hopefully earn a medal by 2028.

“The dream and goal is the Olympics and this is the pathway to it,” Grant said. “I’m going to put in as much effort and as much hard work (and) blood, sweat, and tears as I can into my sport.”

photo by: Contributed

In this contributed photo, Gavin Grant is with instructor Jimmy Golden after competing in a match early in his martial arts career. Grant, 16, signed as a scholarship athlete with the Olympic Training Center Academy to pursue his dream of competing in the Olympics.

So while Monday’s celebration was merely a formality, it did serve as the perfect opportunity to recognize all the hard work Grant has put into martial arts.

Grant was 6 when he was first introduced to martial arts. He went to the grocery store with his cousin, and Team Prime was doing a camp outside. They invited Grant to a confidence camp later that week, where he had the opportunity to break boards.

After that, Grant couldn’t stop signing up for everything. He said he enjoyed the way he was able to express himself while doing taekwondo.

“When he first started, (he was) just a kid with a lot of energy,” said Jimmy Golden, who is chief instructor and owner of Prime Martial Arts. “Within the first year, I started seeing a kid that wants to work, even at a young age … Not being OK with mediocre, (he) always wanted to be the best that he could.”

That drive has been evident over the years. Whenever Golden suggested that Grant fix something, he’d go straight home and practice in a gym in his basement. He would then send the video to Golden right away to make sure he got it right.

But the best example of Grant’s determination took place when he won a world title in 2016 while competing in the point fighting format. It only happened because of how much time Grant spent perfecting his craft after not doing as well in 2015 during his debut in the World Championships.

“I gave myself a week to take a break and then I was right back into it knowing I could have done better,” Grant said of how he rebounded from his performance in 2015. “I didn’t let that defeat take me down. It let me build myself up.”

photo by: Contributed

In this contributed photo, Gavin Grant gets ready to fight in martial arts. Grant, 16, signed as a scholarship athlete with the Olympic Training Center Academy to pursue his dream of competing in the Olympics.

Grant faced a different type of challenge one year after winning a world title, however. That’s when USA Taekwondo (USAT) originally expressed interest in Grant, but it meant he had to learn a different style of fighting.

In point fighting, there will be a break in the match when someone scores. The Olympic style is continuous sparring, with each competitor having sensors to keep track of scoring during a fight that lasts multiple rounds.

Grant’s debut in the latter style took place in Detroit on July 1, 2017. Despite having no experience, Grant earned a 28-3 win in his first match. He eventually secured a second-place finish at that tournament.

Since then, Grant has become more familiar with the new style of fighting. He’s worked closely with Seth Wilson, who is Vice President of Operations at Ko Martial Arts in Overland Park, since switching to this format.

Grant continues to spend a lot of his time at Prime Martial Arts, where he not only works on his own skills, but also helps instruct youth camps. Despite being just 16, Grant is running the summer camp that features 50-plus kids on a regular basis.

“I always tell people, they just think he’s the most talented kid they’ve ever seen when it comes to martial arts,” said Golden, who is a fifth-degree black belt. “I think he’s even a better person.”

“He became part of our leadership program at eight-to-nine-years-old and he hasn’t turned back since,” Golden added. “He’s just been such a good role model. I mean there are adults in our school that look up to him. It’s really cool.”

And that’s ultimately why the celebration of Grant’s big step in martial arts needed to take place at where it all began.

“Prime has been the greatest thing for me,” said Grant, who is a third-degree black belt. “It’s taught me more than just how to kick and punch and be a great fighter. It’s also taught me how to be a great person too.”