Getting their kicks
Ron Sankey chuckled at the mere thought of it.
A 38-year-old man taking up tae kwon do with his kid? Ridiculous.
"I figured I was a little too old to get into my jammies, do a bunch of bowing and saying 'yes sir, no sir,'" the Butler resident said.
His son, Lake, was in his first year of taking tae kwon do classes at Young Brothers' Butler studio. Lake got interested in the sport by watching Power Rangers cartoons on TV.
"My daughter's gymnastics teacher was acquaintances with the head (tae kwon do) instructor in Butler, so we signed him up," Sankey said.
"There was a cardio-kick class they did to straight rock music, a lot of kicking ... It was a workout that looked like fun. I was tempted to join in, and the master offered a free month of training if I took a demo class in tae kwon do."
So he did. And he's not laughing now.
Sankey, his wife Ronnie, 19-year-old daughter Skye and now 12-year-old Lake all are third-degree black belts.
"We've been going three times a week together for the past eight years," Sankey said. "There's never an end to it. You never stop learning."
What begins with a child taking a class out of curiosity often winds up with a family embarking on the learnings of tae kwon do.
Howard Aspinall, 41, has been a student at Tae Kwon Do America Plus in Slippery Rock for six years. His sons, Alex, 10, and Will, 6, take classes with him.
"Alex watched all the cartoons when he was 4 and thought martial arts looked pretty cool," Aspinall said. "We were watching a class through a window one time and he wanted to try it.
"I enrolled him in a class and watching him do all the jumping and kicking, well, I figured I could help him if I did it, too. A couple of other adults decided to start at that same time, so ..."
Aspinall is a second degree black belt today while Alex is a first degree. Will has his orange belt.
"I can keep up with the teenagers now," Aspinall said, laughing. "That's a good thing, since we'll be raising some eventually. We go to the studio twice a week, sometimes three times.
"It becomes a lifestyle. It gets you off the couch. I like the idea that we're not sitting around watching TV every night. We're out doing something physical, together."
The Ellenberger family of Butler — Carl and Sharon, with children Samuel, 9, Erin, 7, and Emma, 6 — has been in tae kwon do for four years.
"Samuel was just turning 5 and we were exploring different avenues for something he could do," Sharon Ellenberger said. "The moral codes of the activity attracted us to it.
"We watched him do his first test and, one by one, we all got involved."
The Sybert family of Middlesex Township has been involved in the Korean martial art for 15 years through Young Brothers in Cranberry.Steve Sybert and his wife, Donna, are both fourth-degree black belts. So is their 19-year-old son, Michael. Jeanna, their 13-year-old daughter, is a third-degree."Donna wanted to take a self-defense class and wanted to get Michael (then 4) involved in an activity," Steve Sybert said. "Tae kwon do solved both of those things."About two years after they got started, I wanted to get back into shape. I saw the caliber of workout they were getting, so I decided to join them."Besides the physical exercise, Sybert said he liked the mental disciplines his children were picking up through martial arts."Respect, courtesy, integrity, self-control, modesty ... they've learned all of those things through this activity," he said."When you're testing for your patterns in front of your class of peers, it takes a lot of poise to do that. There are 20 to 40 moves to a pattern you have to remember. You make a mistake, you don't pass."That sounds like pressure, but you're trained to handle it," Sybert added.Donna said training in martial arts together has brought her family closer."No matter what's going on in our lives, at school, work or wherever, our time in the studio is neutral ground," she said. "When we're at tae kwon do, we have a good time together."Donna Sybert used to be in a bowling league when Michael was little. She had to pay a sitter while she bowled."It made sense to enroll us both in tae kwon do," she said. "Instead of paying someone to watch my child, I was doing something with my child."Jeanna was virtually born into the discipline. When she was a baby, her mother held her in her arms while waiting her turn in line during a kicking drill."When it was my turn, I handed her off to the person behind me," Donna said. "Jeanna kept getting handed to the next person in line. She was always around it from the time she was born."Jeanna spars with her mother these days — physically, not verbally — and teaches adults in some classes."I like fighting my mom," she said. "I like to show off, but we have fun with it. She gives me tips. She knows a lot and she shows me ways to get better."I kicked my mom in the elbow once and injured my ankle. It hurt for a while. Sometimes stuff happens."Her mother agreed."It's not ballet," Mrs. Sybert said. "This can be a contact sport."
Michael and Jeanna do other sports as well. Michael played baseball until he was 18 and ran track at Mars High School. Jeanna plays basketball and softball.Tae kwon do has proven helpful in those ventures."The hand-eye coordination, the cardio, muscle buildup, it all comes in handy when I'm playing ball," Jeanna said.Michael said he runs track because it gets him into better shape for tae kwon do. He serves as officer and instructor of the tae kwon do club at Penn State University, which has 60 members."I love how competitive it is, the fact it's an individual sport, yet a contact sport," he said. "I love the aggressiveness of it."When I'm sparring and I lose, it's OK because I automatically know how to fix it. When I get hit in the face, I know how to fix it. As you advance in the sport, everything comes faster."Matthew and Kim Opsitos of Cranberry Township, with children Isabelle, 12, Matthew, 10, and Emily 8, have been attending tae kwon do classes for a year at Shipton's Martial Arts in Seven Fields."It's a mind and body thing with all of us," Mrs. Opsitos said. "Our kids work together and help each other."It's neat to see kids supporting their parents and parents supporting their kids in the same activity."Despite being at Shipton's for a relatively short time, Mr. Opsitos is in the leadership program there."Our kids will be black belts," Mrs. Opsitos said. "This is more than a physical activity. It refines life's skills such as respect and courage that round out an individual."
Robert Kirkwood and his 8-year-old son, Logan, have been attending tae kwon do class together in Butler for a year and a half."My son was involved in hockey for a while, baseball, soccer, but he's found his niche here," Kirkwood said. "It's more of an individual activity that he can progress in at his own pace. There's not a whole team waiting for him to do something."I enjoy the competitions, the tournaments. We go to Family Night at the studio every week and work on some material at home. We're physically active and Logan doesn't shy away from anything anymore."Sankey played college baseball years ago and said "I've never been in better physical condition that I'm in now."I feel better at age 45 than I did when I was 30," he said.Steve Sybert echoed such sentiments."I'll be 54 soon," he said. "I was 42 when I started this and I feel better now than I did then."
With many families, tae kwon do gets in the blood and stays there."That's because the entire group at the school is like one big family," Mrs. Ellenberger said. "When my husband and I are testing and we're off on our own, we trust our kids with anyone who's there."It's just an environment you feel good about having your children, and yourself, in."When that environment wasn't readily available, the Opsitos family created its own."Our school closed for a week, so we used our backyard to put on our own family mini-clinic during that time," Kim Opsitos said. "We didn't want to get out of the routine of doing something fun together."Michael Sybert has already competed in Las Vegas and Italy. He has aspirations of becoming a Grand Master, which is a ninth-degree black belt."It's awesome when you're sparring people," he said. "There's no feeling like it. I'm in this for life, to go as far as I can. I can't imagine not doing it."Ron Sankey said his daughter, Skye, an accomplished pole vaulter at California (Pa.) University, has benefited from her tae kwon do skills."Just in self-confidence alone," he said. "And now she knows how to defend herself for life."As a father, you always wonder ... If someone grabbed my daughter, what would she do? You're a victim if you act like a victim. Criminals are looking for the weak. They don't want a confrontation."Skye would give them one — big-time," he added.Self-defense, life disciplines, physical workouts and a mutual activity.The family that plays together, stays together — and grows together."Set a goal, work hard and achieve it," Donna Sybert said. "Tae kwon do reinforces that process every day."
Here is an explanation of belt colors in tae kwon do, derived from the book of General Choi Hong Hi:• White belt — Indicates the student is "innocent" and has no knowledge of tae kwon do. The white belt is automatically gained by taking tae kwon do classes.• Yellow belt — Indicates the student is getting to know the basic techniques, usually not skilled enough to show noncontact sparring. The color is compared to a plant growing its roots.• Green belt — Indicates the student is growing as a tae kwon do student. The color is compared to a plant growing its leaves.• Blue belt — Indicates the student is reaching higher, like a plant that is growing toward the sky.• Red belt — Indicates danger and the student is warned to practice control of his/her movements. The color also warns an opponent.• Black belt — Indicates the maturity of the student in the art. Also an indication of being impenetrable for fear and darkness. There are nine degrees of black belt.<BR></BR><BR></BR>
In addition to the student oath, which requires respecting instructors and seniors, never misusing tae kwon do and making a more peaceful world, here are the tenets students promise to observe. Some schools include modesty.Courtesy Integrity Perseverance Self-control Indomitable spirit<BR></BR><BR></BR><BR></BR><BR></BR><BR></BR>
Here's what one can expect from a tae kwon do class:• Learn techniques and curriculum of tae kwon do• Aerobic workouts, including stretching• Self-defense techniques• Patterns: Systematic, prearranged sequence of martial techniques performed with or without a weapon• Sparring: Free-form fighting with agreement to make injuries unlikely• Relaxation and meditation exercises• Throwing and falling techniques• Breaking boards — power breaking and speed breaking• Exams to progress• Focus on mental and ethical discipline, justice, etiquette, respect and self-confidence
