register |  login
› GREENWOOD VILLAGE
Loading Ad
Visit Other Hubs:
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Tower
RECENT STORIES

The young blackbelt

Contributed by: Jane Worthing on 12/11/2007

What do you think of when you hear the words "Taekwondo" or "martial artist"? For me it brings to mind dubbed Bruce Lee movies from the 70's, or my personal favorite, the waxing on-off poetics of the kind but fierce Mr. Miyagi of the Karate Kid.

Does it conjure the image of a macho man super tough guy? How about a third grade boy? Certainly not a second grade girl. Well, think outside the box and broaden your mind. Meet Austin Oros and Clare Dougherty, two students at ATA Family Martial Arts studio in Centennial, Colorado.

These young Taekwondo students are going to be testing for their first degree black belts in mid-December. As anyone in the martial arts knows, this is no small feat. It takes years of practice and determination to get to the level of black belt.

For those who are not terribly familiar with Taekwondo, not unlike myself, a little history. Taekwondo originates in Korea and the word itself when translated to English means "The Way of the Hand and Foot." Taekwondo is a discipline not only of the body but very much of the mind as I am learning in my own classes. I am a 34 year-old mom who is now taking classes with my sons. After 6 weeks, let me tell you, it's incredible to me that these two children are going to test for their black belts.

What does it take to obtain a black belt? Here is a brief summary of the testing material that must be performed in front of a panel of judges that ranges from 1st through 5th degree black belts, parents, students and the public.

They must attend at least 21 classes in the 8 week cycle and earn three knowledge stripes for Taekwondo forms, board breaks, pad drills, sparring, and basics for weapons.

The testing form is called "Choong Jung II" and is made up of 46 moves. In addition to this form, they must know all lower belt forms and create a form of their own which can be done with or without music, perform weapons basics and specified self defense moves. Just think about that in itself if you aren't already impressed. 46 different moves that must be executed with balance and coordination. These kids are 7 and 8! My white belt form only has 18 moves and I freeze up whenever the instructor is watching!

For the manners stripe they have to work on some behavioral issue at home and their parents must write a short summary of their accomplishment, giving them permission to test.

And finally, to earn the life skills stripe, each student must complete a worksheet and turn it in to their instructor. Each eight week cycle incorporates a particular life skill is into classes.

For example, this cycle's life skill was self esteem. Some others include respect, focus, confidence and persistence to name a few. That should give you a pretty good idea of what these kids have been working toward for the past few of years. Because this is such a cool accomplishment for kids their age, we decided to spotlight them and find out what makes them tick.

When asked about how she became involved in Taekwondo, Clare states that she and her older brother went to a demo at the Koelbel Library and they both decided to give it a try.

She was four years old at the time. Her activities include numerous sports, such as soccer, tennis, basketball, lacrosse, ice skating, horseback riding, swimming and softball. Clare has many hobbies that include horses, American Girl dolls, art, music, dance, and ice skating. Her favorite subject in school is math and her favorite thing to do with her family is to go for bike rides and travel.

What makes Clare proud? "Doing well in school and sports," she states. What drives Clare is the desire for recognition and she likes to compete. When asked if there was anything else she would like to add about herself, Clare said, "I really like to spar and I'm good at it. I'm also good at board breaks." With the list of interests she has you'd think she was in high school, not second grade. What an amazing young lady with a bright future in front of her!

Interestingly enough, third grader Austin Oros has a similar list of accomplishments outside of Tae Kwon Do.

He participates in football, baseball, piano and music lessons. Austin also enjoys snowboarding, playing golf, piano and guitar. His favorite subject in school, like Clare, is math. How did Austin get into Taekwondo? He was five years old when he decided to try. He was a very shy child and wanted to join with a buddy, but couldn't get anyone to join with him.

He still wanted to try it even though he had to go by himself which shows determination even at an early age. This third grader's favorite family activity is watching a movie together. Austin's drive to become a black belt comes from seeing other people do it. When asked what makes Austin proud, he states, "Getting my black belt." And I wholeheartedly agree. Not many adults these days have that kind of determination and courage, much less an 8 year old boy.

I was never athletic as a child. In college I did weight training and in my twenties I picked up step aerobics and Jazzercise. But nothing has grabbed my interest in fitness like the activities that go on at ATA Family Martial Arts.

I started out there with the Ultimate Body Challenge almost 4 years ago. I lost some weight, shaped up a bit, but mostly I made some wonderful connections with people whom I now consider to be great friends. I continued on over the years with kickboxing and strength training classes. Whenever I took a hiatus from working out due to surgery or just life getting in the way, I always missed that contact with these people and I missed the workouts.

So now I am going one step further, taking Taekwondo with my boys along with the kickboxing. And I think Austin said it perfectly. He is driven to be a black belt because he has seen other people do it. When you see others do something really cool it makes you want to try it too. And Clare is right on: there's nothing quite like breaking a board.

If you would like to see these two amazing young athletes in action, the public is welcome and encouraged to attend their testing.

They will test on Friday, December 14th at 6:00 pm at ATA Family Martial Arts which is located at 5170 E. Arapahoe Road, Littleton, CO 80122. Come join us to watch Clare and Austin achieve their goal! If you have an interest in any of their programs call them at (303) 220-5956 or visit their website at www.kicks4all.com.


SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story



Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Jane Worthing

Centennial , CO

Jane Worthing has posted 23 stories and 0 comments since joining on 11/28/2007. Jane Worthing 's average story rating is 5.
SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY
STORY RSS FEEDS
WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?
Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

Loading Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

This YourHub.com community is produced by The Denver Newspaper Agency
Web Development and Channel Analytics provided by Indigio

terms of use //  privacy policy
the staff //  advertise //  help & faq
buy photos