Carolina Cawthon

Owner & Lead Instructor: Adult Sho-Kushin Karate, Fitness Kickboxing

Carolina Cawthon is living proof that no statistics are carved in stone. After dropping out of high school before the age of 16, due to pregnancy of her first child, Carolina's first stop was obtaining her high-school GED. Her second voyage began when she started college in her mid-40s. Carolina got accepted into UGA after a year at Athens Tech. She eventually became an honor graduate with a 4.0 GPA from the University of Georgia, with a Bachelor's degree in dietetics and a minor in biochemistry and molecular biology!

She is currently completing practice and research on the gut microbiota to earn a PHD in foods and nutrition from her alma mater. And if that isn't astounding enough, she did all of her first four years of college while working full time and teaching fitness classes six days per week.

“Knocked down eight times, get up nine.”

It is rare to find someone even half Carolina's age who could keep up this type of killer schedule. She started martial arts under David “Chip” Prather, where she met Chuck Cawthon, her future husband, who was Prather’s assistant. Through dedication and sweat equity, she attained her black belt before the age of 40. Further, she embarked on a kickboxing career at 42 that saw her amass a 6-0 record and become the Georgia State Kickboxing Champion. Sports physiologists, by the way, have often pointed out that women, especially marathoners, can bear more pain in competition after having children. Now, those same sports psychologists, because of Carolina, will have to study a mama bear's ability to dish out pain too. Carolina Cawthon is living proof of the martial arts anthem, “Knocked down eight times, get up nine.” Her personal take on her success can best summed up by her own words. “With a little determination and hard work, even the 'wrong' path can lead you to the right place,” she concludes.

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