Fierce picture of the subject in question!
Midland’s Karate Kid: 7-year-old competes for black belt
Stephanie Miller
Midland Reporter Telegram
03/10/2005
By Stephanie A. Miller
Staff Writer
Though Dillon Renz has won numerous state awards for his karate skills, he is just as excited about today’s competition.
“I get my black belt,” the 7-year-old said. This afternoon, he will compete for his first-degree black belt in the Mu Duk Kwan style.
It’s rare for students as young as Renz to achieve such an accomplishment, karate experts said.
But the Quanah Parker Elementary first-grader is prepared for the challenge, said instructor Les Kelso.
“Dillon is not just special. He’s an anomaly,” said Kelso, the chief instructor of Tachu Academy of The Martial Arts where Renz has been studying Mu Duk Kwan since he was three.
Kelso said there is no difference among the degrees of black belts, but that some schools do not graduate students to black belt until they have reached a certain age or maturity level, he explained.
Kelso said his program accepts children at 3 years of age, but only if they show signs of maturity.
Renz has reached the maturity level of an 11-year-old, Kelso added. He has also developed some other attributes of a winner.
“He is an awesome fighter. It doesn’t matter how many opponents, he doesn’t show fear,” Kelso said. “I’ve never seen him scared ever in a fight.”
At today’s competition, Renz will be judged by three black belts, all of whom have taught him, with Kelso as one of the judges. Mu Duk Kwan, the karate style Renz has studied, has 10 degrees of black belt. The form has evolved into what is now known as Tae Kwon Do.
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Picture and original and full and happy article at:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14118345&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475621&rfi=6
I didn’t know they could quantify the amount of maturity a person has, but then again martial arts are amazing!