Jay Carstensen is turning a passion into a full-time job

Carstensen opened the Kapatiran Suntukan Martial Arts school on April 4. He teaches two disciplines: Lung Quai Yi Pai and Aneh Palu Kali-Silat.

“When you’re looking for martial arts, I think it has to be a reflection of who you are,” Carstensen said. “And, so, to tap into that, you almost need to try as many as you can.”

Lung Quai Yi Pai is “an exploration of the self through the physical.” Described as being somewhere between boxing and grappling, it focuses on mentally dealing with barriers.

Aneh Palu Kali-Silat – which is still unfamiliar even to most people who are experienced in martial arts, Carstensen said – focuses on evading an attacker while holding your ground in a position to fight back. Watch Carstensen demonstrate, and it might look easy, but the movements focus on elaborate positioning of a person’s entire body. Beyond that, participants learn to carry out moves while maneuvering a rattan stick.

“It’s really a weird movement on some of the stuff,” he said. “You are really moving your hips in a way that you’re not used to.”

Carstensen’s interest in martial arts grew while he was living in Bellevue, Neb., and looking for a way to get in shape. From there, “I just got hooked,” he said.

He got involved in the very early stages of a national group, Kapatiran Suntukan Martial Arts, which the Des Moines school is named after. Martial arts became a hobby, and when he moved to Des Moines, he taught informal classes out of his home. He also became a certified life coach and the director of the national group.

Carstensen decided to turn a hobby into a full-time job. He worked as a videographer and then worked in a computer drafting job for close to seven years before deciding: “If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this.”

The inside of the school’s building is basic – only a Thai bag hanging from the ceiling catches the eye. The heart of what Carstensen teaches is rooted in body movement.

“It’s for anybody,” he said. “You just have to get used to it.”