Founder of Anderson staple Enoch's Karate, Enoch Paul Jr., dies of COVID
Enoch Paul Jr., with his chiseled arms and the heart of a mentor, helped thousands of Anderson area kids over three decades as a karate instructor and leader of popular after school programs.
Paul died in the hospital from complications due to COVID-19, Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said.
Around a hundred of Paul's former karate students speckled the crowd Tuesday at his funeral at NewSpring Church in Anderson, where his son Hykeng is the Unity & Diversity Director.
"He wanted to make sure that all of his kids knew karate and everybody in Anderson County knew karate, and Abbeville. People knew him as Sensei," Hykeng said at the funeral. "I see so many of you in here with karate uniforms on, it has warmed my heart."
His son shared the many names his father was called.
Sensei. Evel Knievel. Herc, short for Hercules.
For his son, hero. Especially because of Paul's faith and leadership.
Growing up, Hykeng said his dad didn't always know how to give encouragement but now he knows what was behind the big, tough muscles: "he ain't nothing but a big teddy bear," Hykeng said with a smile.
Bryant Moss has been friends with Paul for around 20 years and had originally gone to Paul for workout advice, he told the crowd at Paul's funeral.
Moss met his goals and lost weight while gaining a friend at the same time. He laughed remembering his one attempt to catch Paul off guard with a scare and was met with seven karate chops and a kick.
"When I think about him, I think of him as a leader, I think of him as being bold, caring, loving, a giver, confident, a father-figure to most," Moss said. "His name means dedicated."
Moss spoke to Paul's son Enoch Paul III and encouraged him to keep the torch lit through the legacy that comes with being 'Enoch.'
The funeral was a time of celebration and worship as martial art students along with Paul's family and community honored the father-figure leader.
Paul's career in martial arts
The elder Paul stood up to bullies since his childhood and that led him into martial arts and bodybuilding, he told the Independent Mail for a 2014 profile.
He was born on the Abbeville/Anderson county line and was unhappy in his job as a mill worker when he launched his first studio in 1992.
He moved the Antreville studio to Anderson in 2000.
More than lifting and karate, his program focused on mentoring and was inspired by his Christian faith.
Paul used his own school experience, he said he was always distracted and wasn’t a good student, to help children do better.
The physical work accompanied the mental work, he told the Independent Mail in a 2014 profile.
His karate studio appeared everywhere, handmade road signs advertising the after school programs have dotted the streets of Anderson for years.
It was one of his business tricks. And he would need all that he could because about half of the kids in his program were there for free or on some kind of scholarship, he told the Independent Mail in 2014.
Paul couldn’t turn kids away, he served as a father figure to whole neighborhoods. Grandmas would bring misbehaving children in, Paul would sit down with them, make eye contact and treat them with firm respect.
It worked more often than not, he said.
“It didn’t take me long to realize that teaching karate was what I was here to do. I especially liked teaching the kids that everybody else gave up on. I didn’t mind taking on the bad kids, and I mean the really bad kids. The kids that no one wanted to deal with. I knew that somebody needed to be a role model for them. Most of them were from single parent homes and had no male role model to influence them. I felt good to be that man. The man they could look up to. I knew I may be the only chance they ever had at being successful in life.
- Enoch Paul Jr., from a 2014 interview with the Independent Mail
Please subscribe to the Independent Mail at independentmail.com/subscribe
Mike Ellis lives in Powdersville and tells South Carolina stories with a focus on Anderson County and Pickens County along with faith and investigations. He's always looking for the next story that people need to read, please send any tips or feedback to mellis@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: Anderson's after-school karate boss, community mentor Enoch Paul dies
