Fusion Martial Arts reopens under new ownership

Fusion Martial Arts, which offers training in Taekwondo, reopened June 22 under the new ownership of Jerry Harvey of Pelahatchie. They have two classes a week on Monday and Thursday. There are classes for those around 12 and under, and one for 12 and above. There are two instructors, Bill Rials and Bryant Watkins. Rials is the head instructor who is a fifth-degree black belt in Taekwondo. The other instructor, Watkins has been with Fusion for five years and is a first-degree senior black belt. Harvey, who has been friends with Rials since they were teenagers, will be working toward his black belt and instructor status over the next two years. He and Rials trained in Taekwondo in Florence under George and Mary Jackson. The martial arts studio, which started in 2004, is located in the Davis Shopping Center. They will be minimizing contact and wiping things down after class to avoid COVID-19 according to Harvey. Harvey, originally from Star, Mississippi, is a network operations manager for TEC in Jackson. He said, “I grew up in a small town and we did not have much to do so getting in trouble was one of our pastimes. In Pelahatchie, being a small community, I want to give the discipline and structure that comes in learning martial arts.” Harvey’s two children, Jacob, 11, and Ella, 9, are students both here and at Pelahatchie Elementary School. His wife, Susan, who is also a student at Fusion, is a special education teacher at Gary Road Elementary in Byram. For more information, call 601-941-97 or click here