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Meet Ernie Moore

One-on-one with Springfield's one-man martial arts and personal training machine.

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If there’s one person in Springfield to avoid meeting in a dark alley, it’s probably Earnest Moore, Jr. Don’t get us wrong—he’s the nicest person you’ll ever meet—but all the same, we’ll stick to bright sunny days in Phelps Grove Park. Perhaps Springfield’s most expert physical specimen, “Ernie”, 29, is a certified expert in kung fu, tae kwon do, jujitsu and mixed martial arts, tai chi, as well as a Golden Gloves-winning boxer and a world-class rugby player. He spends most of his time doing personal training for people of all shapes and sizes in and around Springfield.

So you do all this stuff. How did you start?
It started when I was maybe 15, boxing through the Boys and Girls Club and Sertoma Boxing Club here in Springfield. I did that for probably six or seven years before I started kung fu.

You’ve done all this since you were 15?
Yeah, I was like a sponge. Within a year’s time I could pick up any art that I saw.

Why do you think that is?
I get my work ethic from boxing. My instructor wasn’t the greatest instructor in the world, but he developed the work ethic of taking something small and working until you perfect it... Boxing was my first true love, the original martial art for me. When in doubt, when I’m losing [in another art] I switch my stance and go back to boxing because I know that one the best.

Tell us more about Golden Gloves…
I was the 2007 Golden Gloves champion from Kansas City, and competed at nationals in Omaha.

Did you win?
I actually beat my guy, but I lost my mouthpiece and had to fight with a new one, and ended up dropping it which cost me points and I lost by one point. But I won. Ask the kids who were watching.

Could you beat up Chuck Norris?
Right now, if all he’s working out on is the Total Gym, I might be able to get him tired. But with the martial arts and the rugby, the older you get the smarter you get.