Recently, The Villages Taekwondo club awarded six black belts of varying degrees to students, at the Sea Breeze Regional Recreation Complex.
Drenched in sweat and taking deep breaths after the rigorous test, Diane Ruggiero and Paula Krivak stood on mats with their backs towards the judges, awaiting the decision.
The arena was filled with pin-drop silence, and only judges could be heard deliberating to ready the final results.
Then Master Drew Loiacono turned around and felicitated the women on securing their first black belts.
“It feels great. Lots of time and lots of work, but worth it,” Ruggiero, of the Village of Osceola Hills said.
On the first day, both red belts went through a rigorous exam, testing their skills and endurance. They did sit-ups, push-ups, and jumping jacks in repetition during the test and continued showing off their taekwondo forms. The exam also involved questions on strike styles and tenents of taekwondo.
The participants presented light sparring: one-on-one, two-on-one and three-on-one against other black belts.
Ruggerio and Krivak, of the Village of Marsh Bend, were awarded their first dan black belts. Autumn Schwartz earned a second dan black belt. Douglas Franklin and Glenn Martin earned third dans. And Ted Deshaw earned an honorary third dan. The four residents earning second and third black belts also went through rigorous exercise, sparring and quizzes.
For the students who already were black belts, they went through similar tests.
Franklin, of the Village Mira Mesa, started doing taekwondo at a young age and earned his first black belt in 1981 in Canada. After a long pause, he resumed when he moved to The Villages five years ago. At 71 years old and facing health issues, the test was just as exhausting for him.
“They talk about indomitable spirit, just breathing,” Douglas said. “Loiacono doesn’t give you much ease during tests. Its go, go, go. Run back. Jump again, now run back, jump again. Then three-on-one fighting, the sparring. It really keeps you sharp mentally and physically.”
With a spectacular show and the black belt exams, Loiacono, of the Village of Briar Meadow, was extremely pleased with all of his students who participated.
“All of them stood out,” Loiacono said. “I’m proud of every one of them.”
The students accepted their black belts at the Black Belt Extravaganza in Melbourne. Taekwondo schools from around the state took part in the event to show off their skills.
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun