Getting in their kicks: Tae Kwon Do becomes popular activity for family

With their bare feet lined up in a neat row, 11 Tae Kwon Do students listen attentively to their instructor. They’ve been anticipating this day for weeks and training for it for months – the test that will determine if they’ve gained enough knowledge and skill to move up to the next level.

Brittney Lorengo and her 8-year-old son, Bleyz, stand beside each other in white uniforms and matching white belts. Brittney’s stepmom, Carol Lisle, watches closely from a corner of the McGrade Center gym, a brown belt holding her uniform in place.

Bleyz is especially nervous. The performance is videotaped and instructors and experienced students act as judges, with pencil and paper in hand.

In order to earn their yellow belts, Bleyz and his mom must remember how to perform different kicks, punches, strikes and blocks. They must know by heart six series of memorized moves, known as forms or poomses. Judges will also ask questions about the meaning behind the forms, the five tenets of Tae Kwon Do, and the history of Libby Dae Myung School.

Bleyz wasn’t sure he would be prepared for the test, which is given every three months, but his mom and grandmother convinced him to try. He and Brittney took Tae Kwon Do two days a week for four months last year, but quit when he joined baseball. They began again in January, and Bleyz has displayed dedication to the martial art that his mom hadn’t seen before.  

“He was wandering around the house, practicing all the time,” she recalled. “He’d have me go through a mock test. He’d stand in the kitchen and say, ‘OK, mom. Tell me what you want me to do.’”

Bleyz also gets good practice in at his grandparents’ house. Carol, who has attended Libby Dae Myung for over five years now, can offer more fine-tuned instruction.

“He asks me to show him something or he asks me to watch him while he does something,” Carol said. “We have a heavy bag and a paddle at home so he likes to practice.”

Tae Kwon Do is different from other sports that Bleyz participates in. The martial art teaches values like perseverance and self-control and is something he can do with his family.

Lately, Carol has been driving him to one class per week – and staying to help teach – and Brittney has been learning alongside him during the second class of the week. His grandpa picks him up from class and his mom stays an additional two hours for the adult class.

With the demands of work, school and three children, Tae Kwon Do offers Brittney valued one-on-one time with Bleyz.

“It was really neat because it wasn’t just something to do with Carol,” Brittney said, “but something that Bleyz and I could do together because there aren’t a lot of activities or sports that are like that.”

It’s common for family members to join Libby Dae Myung, but this case is a little out-of-the-ordinary. 

“We’ve had lots of parents and kids, but I don’t know if we’ve had three generations before,” said Dan Rose, their instructor and a second-degree black belt.

Rose tested six students last week going for their yellow belt – including Brittney and Bleyz – and five students hoping to shed their yellow belt for green. It’s one of the most dedicated young groups he’s seen since he began teaching in 2004.

Students must work six months before they are eligible to test for their yellow belt. They must continue classes another additional nine months before they can go for their green belt. 

“It’s a long time to stick with something when you’re 8-years-old, just to change the color around your waste,” Rose said.

Parents and other supporters watched from folding chairs last Thursday as students revealed to Rose what they have learned over the months. The silence was only broken by Rose’s commands, the swishing of crisp white uniforms and an occasion yelp from a toddler in the audience.

Bleyz looked fearless as he stepped up for the most dreaded portion of the test – performing a form alone in front of peers, judges and family.

Blocking and punching invisible villains in self-defense, he stepped backward, to the side and forward. His expression remained serious, his movements tight and disciplined. He finished pal-gae 1, his favorite poomse, with fists in front and then loose hands at his side.

Judges later told him what he did well and how he could improve.

“They said I have to slow down with my poomses,” Bleyz said. “I have to listen to what they say and I can’t look around.”

The nervousness tends to either make students forget moves or to perform them too quickly.

“You have to take the time to make every move count,” Carol said. “Sometimes you’re nervous and you try to go a little too fast.”

Bleyz and Brittney don’t know yet if they’ve earned their yellow belt, but Rose said that for beginners, the mindset is even more important than the physical aspect.  

“The biggest part of the test is how they carry themselves and their attitude for the whole thing,” Rose said.

Brittney has seen a change in her son’s attitude that she believes is a reflection of his learning the five tenets of Tae Kwon Do - modesty, etiquette, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit.

 “Modesty – my child is not a humble kid,” she said, “so I’ve noticed a difference with that one. He doesn’t brag as much.”

Brittney and her family – siblings, nieces, nephews, parents and grandparents – try to spend an evening together twice a month. Though practicing martial arts is never the planned activity, it’s bound to be brought up between the two budding students and the more experienced brown belt.    

 “Family Night is every other Wednesday,” Brittney said. “You can bet that Bleyz is going to ask something about Tae Kwon Do.”