Still kicking in their 50s
VALENCIA — If life begins at 40, so can a career in tae kwon do.
Just ask Steve Sybert and Tim Curci.
Neither got started in the sport until after he turned 40. Curci, 56, recently tested for his fifth-degree black belt and is master instructor at Young Brothers School of Tae Kwon Do in Butler.
Sybert, 52, of Valencia, recently tested for his fourth-degree black belt and occasionally helps Master Robert Zang teach at Young Brothers in Cranberry Township.
"It's not that uncommon for people to begin (tae kwon do) in their 40s or even later anymore,"Zang said. "Less than 10 percent of my students have done that, but that's still 30 people or so."
Curci has about 90 students at his Butler school and said six didn't get started until after turning 40.
"People get into it for a variety of reasons,"Curci said. "Some do it for self-defense, because it's a good physical workout, or to gain more self-confidence and discipline.
"When I got started, it was for all of those things."
Sybert didn't enter the world of tae kwon do until age 42, two years after his wife Donna and son Mike got involved.
"Donna wanted a women's self-defense class and Michael needed an activity,"Sybert said. "He was so energetic and we wanted to get him involved in something.
"I had watched them take classes for a while and thought I'd try it to get in shape. Then I just kept going. All of a sudden, I'm a fourth-degree black belt."
Sybert attained his fourth-degree belt at age 52 — and had to break six one-inch boards to get there.
"I can kick above my head, too. Not many 50-year-old guys I know can do that," Sybert said, laughing.
Not many people believe Sybert is 52. He dropped 30 pounds and four inches off his waist two years into his tae kwon do training.
"I tell people my age and they think I'm kidding," he said. "I spar against guys a lot younger than me and more than hold my own. I owe all of that to tae kwon do."
Curci played football at Grove City College and has run triathlons. As he got older, he began missing not having competitive challenges in his life.One day, a friend decided to try a tae kwon do class and asked Curci to join him."I fell in love with it the first day I went,"Curci said. "I went to classes three or four days a week for four years."He's been master instructor at the Butler school for 10 years.Zang said many former athletes wind up in tae kwon do."This sport provides a constant challenge,"Zang said. "There is always a goal in front of you. There's always another level to achieve."It's health and physical fitness, along with the social aspect. Everyone is so respectful of each other. That atmosphere can be hard to find and people in their 40s and 50s find it refreshing once they do."Sybert pointed out that many students achieve their black belt, then leave the sport."They don't know what they're missing," he said. "Once I became a first-degree black belt, that's when this really became fun. It's when you finally understand what you're doing and the technique that's required."You refine your skills and push yourself to move forward. It becomes more invigorating."Curci agreed."I can't wait to go to class because every day I do, I learn something," he said. "Once you become a black belt, you really begin to learn, how to generate power with technique, using technique correctly. A lot more goes into it."For Sybert, Curci and others like them, tae kwon do is all about quality of life."All of the guys I work with golf and that's fine, but that's all they do,"Sybert said. "That can't be your only activity."People need to do things to get their heart pumping, that uses other muscles besides just their arms. Most guys my age have beer bellies and they're balding — not me."Part of that is good genes. Most of that is tae kwon do," he added.
