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Kids find martial arts to be productive, fun
by 8-18 Media
Picture yourself in your childhood. You are being harassed and you feel you need some way to defend yourself. That could be one of the many reasons why a young person would want to study martial arts. However, kids get involved in martial arts for many different reasons.
Tavaree Kovach, fifteen, from Gwinn, became involved in Tae kwon do with Black Dragon Martial Arts Club in Gwinn because she needed something to do.
“I had to find something to do when I was bored, so I just joined,” she said. “I’m pretty good, so I stay in it.”
Pretty good is right. Kovach recently progressed from a black belt with a brown stripe to a black belt. The black belt shows the wearer is competent in a style’s basic technique and principles. There are many levels of a black belt, so a student can continue to study.
Bethany Weiser, thirteen, of Gwinn, who has been training in Tae kwon do for five years with Black Dragon, more closely follows the classic scenario.
“I decided (to begin studying) when I was seven years old because I was dealing with a lot,” she said.
Weiser wanted to be able to defend herself in a controlled way if need be.
Weiser gives a pretty technical answer when asked to explain what the term martial arts means.
“I would explain martial arts to be a fundamental and disciplinary set of moves and instructions combined into a fighting area of moves and combat,” she said.
Martial arts include many traditional forms of Oriental self-defense or combat. There is a wide range of levels to be accomplished in the various forms. The levels usually are represented by belts that students proudly wear around their waists. Generally, there are seven possible belts to obtain, not including stripes. The first level is white. Students take a test after a certain number of classes to achieve a new belt. The final belt is the black belt.
Joyce Tredeau, a master instructor with the Spirit Warrior Karate program at the YMCA of Marquette County, has a seasonal analogy that goes with the white belt.
“The white belt is like wintertime…like a seed under the snow…so it takes a while to grow,” Tredeau said.
The instructor with the Black Dragon Martial Arts Club in Gwinn, Tina Fuller, explains that it can be a long, but rewarding process to get a new belt.
“It’s quite an accomplishment, especially when they reach their belt levels,” she said. “A black belt takes three or four years to get and about 100 and some classes to reach that level.”
Aikido, Daito Ryu Aiki Bujutsu, Hapkido, Kalarippayattu, Soo Bahk Do, Vovinam Viet Vo Dao and Wing Chun are all types of martial arts. There are hundreds of forms of martial arts; however, the most common types of martial arts include karate, Judo and Tae kwon do, and Soo Bahk Do.
Nicholas Overmyer, fifteen, from Gwinn, studies with Black Dragon. He explained how he feels martial arts are beneficial.
“It teaches you discipline, and you can defend yourself if you get attacked,” he said. “It teaches you perseverance.”
Fuller agrees martial arts are beneficial for kids in a number of ways . . .
—8-18 Media
Editor’s note: This story was written by Andrew Twohey, 15, and Anna Morrison, 11, with contributions by Faith Perala, 9.
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