By Stella Bryson, Sports Editor
Shawn O’Neill and Chris Rock founded Dae-Yang Taekwondo when they moved to the Outer Banks 25 years ago. Since then, they’ve taught countless students and have watched clumsy toddlers grow into powerful and coordinated adults.
When senior Katie Kilburn started taking lessons at Dae-Yang Taekwondo eight years ago, she had no idea she would earn a black belt, win titles at tournaments all over Virginia and meet people who would be her friends for years to come.
Kilburn started as a way to be active, because she didn’t like to play team sports.
“My parents thought it would be a good outlet for me to get my energy out,” Kilburn said. “I ended up liking it a lot.”
Everyone seems to join taekwondo for a different reason. Senior Ava Norko started taekwondo because her mom wanted her to learn self defense and improve her strength for other sports. Junior Izzy Fernandez joined because she had some outside influence.
“I started taekwondo because my friend Alyssa (Goulet) begged me to join her,” Fernandez said. “She wanted another friend in the class so she wouldn’t be alone.”
The four of them – Kilburn, Norko, Fernandez and Goulet – met in class one day over seven years ago and the rest is history.
“They’ve been a close group since they were about 8,” O’Neill said. “They’ve grown up working together, pushing each other and competing together.”
As a group of girls who practice together at the same time every week, it’s pretty hard not to become friends.
“We are friends outside of class, but the friendship definitely started because of taekwondo,” Norko said.
For O’Neill, one of the best parts of teaching taekwondo is simply getting to watch her students interact and develop friendships through the sport.
“My favorite memories of them are just watching them in class or at tournaments when they’re being goofy and just hanging out,” O’Neill said.
But, nothing lasts forever. Eventually, kids grow up, and even though you can do taekwondo for your entire life, at some point, the students “graduate” from Dae-Yang Taekwondo. When a student gets their official black belt, they’re still encouraged to return for lessons, but they aren’t technically a student anymore.
Kilburn and Norko both recently passed their official black belt test and now are preparing for the next steps of their lives. Naturally, this means that the close group of girls will be separated.
“It’s always really hard for us when the students go off to college,” O’Neill said. “They come up in groups, and this group has been really close to each other and to us for many years. It’s very bittersweet.”
Every student has a different reason for sticking with taekwondo, but for Fernandez the upsides are wide-ranging.
“It teaches you about respect, allows you to exercise with friends, and is a good way to learn to defend yourself,” she said. “Taekwondo has made me stronger throughout my years of training.”
Taekwondo is also beneficial if you do other sports. Norko plays soccer and fully believes that taekwondo positively affects her performance on the pitch.
“Not only do I get stronger, but taekwondo also helps with my mobility, especially for soccer because I do a bunch of jumping, turning and skipping movements,” Norko said.
There aren’t just tangible bonuses when it comes to learning taekwondo, or any martial art in general. O’Neill believes that many teenagers should join taekwondo because of the cognitive benefits.
“The physical part is great for them, but it’s also just a good way to lead your life. To always use courtesy and have integrity,” O’Neill said. “When you start learning those when you’re young, you’ll grow up and see those skills become habits.”
Norko has seen taekwondo help with resiliency and mental toughness.
“Taekwondo definitely makes me stronger, and I think it’s mostly in the physical sense, but there’s also a lot of mental strength that comes with it,” Norko said. “I’ve had to learn how to overcome my fears and improve my focus.”
O’Neill and her husband always make sure to uphold the five tenets of taekwondo: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. The girls have practiced these traits since they were young.
“There’s a huge mental side of taekwondo,” Kilburn said. “When you’re in a high-pressure situation like a test, you have to just remember to keep everything under control and let your body and mind relax.”
Although it isn’t explicitly stated as one of the five tenants, one word that is commonly associated with taekwondo is respect. Most martial arts place an emphasis on being respectful both on and off the mat.
“There’s a lot of respect involved,” O’Neill said. “You bow when you come in, you bow to your partners. You always want to make sure to show respect to everyone around you, because you’re all working together to get better.”
Over the years, respect has become a shared ideology between students and teachers alike. Bittersweet memories are in the students’ minds as they grow and move on.
“My instructors are really good people and they care about what they do and what they teach us,” Kilburn said. “It’s not just taekwondo, they’ve taught us life lessons.”
Senior Stella Bryson can be reached at 23brysonst69@daretolearn.org.
