By Staff Writer Myles Deno
Earning a black belt was a difficult journey for Junior Andrew M., but through dedication and passion, he was able to earn this rare achievement in kung fu at the young age of 16.
Andrew first started learning kung fu when he was 6 years old, which is much earlier than other kids, who usually start at around 11 years old. At first, he only started going to kung fu because his dad made him, but eventually Andrew developed a passion for martial arts, built a community and has made strong friendships with other people at the school.
Andrew’s school had more than 20 total belts total for him to earn before earning a black belt. Each belt could take anywhere from 3 months to a year to earn for Andrew. To earn the black belt, Andrew had to perform 6 hand forms, perform 3 weapon forms, perform all the self defenses, and spar against his fellow students and his teacher.
However, Andrew could have earned his black belt sooner, but at his school, you have to be at least 16 to become a black belt. One of the things that makes Andrew proud about earning his black belt is the perseverance he showed in sticking with kung fu. He said, “Most students aren’t black belts at 16 as many don’t come to the school as often or some quit before reaching black belt. I have seen a lot of people come and go.”
Another factor that set Andrew back some in his quest to be a black belt was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Andrew had to put his plans for becoming a black belt on hold as his kung fu school was shut down for a year and a half. It was then that Andrew became out of shape because no one was pushing him. When the school opened back up in the summer of 2021, Andrew had to work extra hard to make up for lost time and spent hours in the school, practicing. When Andrew was finally back in form, he then went on to take the test to become a black belt. He said, “Despite the negatives of the pandemic, I learned that you can’t slack off when it comes to practice if you want to be the best”.
Prior to the pandemic, Andrew would go to practice at his kung fu school 3 times a week and would also practice about 3 times a week on his own time to sharpen his skills. Because of this, Andrew had to sacrifice his social life and has had to skip social events in favor of practicing martial arts multiple times a week. Andrew would practice the techniques tens of times until they were perfect.
Originally Andrew planned on stopping kung fu after he earned his black belt because that is what his dad told him he could do, but now Andrew wants to stick with it to aim for a higher rank. Once he earns his 2nd degree black belt, Andrew plans on becoming an instructor at his Kung fu school, but it all depends on where he ends up going to college.
