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85-year-old man earns Taekwondo black belt
David Anderson
About 40 hours of practicing punches and kicks, movements and memorizing the tenets of Tae Kwon Do paid off for Bill Vandivere on Saturday as the 85-year-old Kinston resident earned his black belt.
"It's great," he said of passing the test. "I'm pleased as punch."
Vandivere has about 40 years on the next-oldest student or instructor at King Tiger Tae Kwon Do of Kinston, where he and his wife Alice — also 85 — have studied the Korean martial art for about six years.
"I'm almost six times as old as they are and yet we stick together and support each other," Vandivere said of his classmates.
Most students at King Tiger are children between the ages of 5 and 13, or adults age 18 and up, Master Thomas Alphin said. Alphin has been a Tae Kwon Do instructor for more than 20 years, and has competed internationally. He led Vandivere and four of his fellow students through their black belt tests on Saturday. Students had to demonstrate various poomsaes, or forms that were a rhythmic combination of blocks, punches and kicks, break boards, and demonstrate their knowledge of Tae Kwon Do terms.
Alphin told the younger students he considers Vandivere "one of the most dedicated students in martial arts today," because of his work ethic. "Even though Mr. Vandivere makes mistakes sometimes in the poomsae, I overlook that because of the amount of work that he does," he said.
Vandivere — who competed in the World Expo in Korea and China in 2007 — had spent hours during the week leading up to his test, working at King Tiger with his fellow student, Michael Hawks of Grifton. Hawks, who works at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, typically comes to King Tiger twice a week, and also practices at home. "He's very dedicated," Hawks said of Vandivere.
Vandivere last had training in hand-to-hand fighting and self defense when he was in the Army during World War II — he was a member of the 315th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, which saw action in Europe from the Normandy invasion in 1944 through the end of the European campaign in 1945.
He and his wife Alice got into Tae Kwon Do to maintain their physical health. "To improve balance, build core strength, and I guess, because I enjoyed the company," he said.
Alphin said martial arts helps with reflexes, circulation and cardiovascular health. He said the extensive memorization required also helps maintain mental health. He said the curriculum at King Tiger is modified for senior citizen students such as the Vandiveres. As an example, students typically kick high when breaking boards, but Vandivere was allowed to kick low to break the board. "Tae Kwon Do is a close family and it's a culture," Vandivere said.
For more information on Taekwondo, visit the World Tae Kwon Do Federation's website, wtf.org.
11-year-old earns multiple black belts, teaches peers martial arts
By Nicole Paitsel, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you close your eyes, the grunts and instructions coming from Samantha Knopfer sound much older than her 11 years.
The 84-pound blond little girl struts around The Karate Connection in Yorktown as if she owns it. And her dad does. But that’s not what gives Samantha her commanding air. It might be the four black belts she earned last year for various forms of martial arts. Or, it might be that she’s won multiple state and regional karate titles and is on her way to her second national competition in July.
But if you ask Samantha, and she’ll make you lean in to listen to her whispery voice during a one-on-one conversation, she’ll say that her karate confidence comes from all of the hard work she puts in.
And hard work it is. Lest someone think that all of Samantha’s black belts were earned on the tails of her father’s white karate Gi, Steve Knopfer brought in instructors from out of state to judge Samantha’s black belt test.
To earn her belts, she ran 5 miles, did 500 push-ups, 500 sit-ups, 2,000 kicks and memorized the precise movements of the style. And she did it alongside adults in their 30s and 40s attempting to earn the same prestige that comes with a black belt.
“Samantha is a very special little girl,” Steve says. “She comes in here and works so hard. During her last competition she got to the very last round before she ever admitted that she wasn’t feeling very well. I took her to the doctor and she had pneumonia. She fought like a champion, and she had pneumonia.”
Samantha has black belts in four styles of karate — Shorin-Ryu, which originated from Chinese kung-fu, Shotokan, a Japanese style, Goju-Ryu, a softer, circular style that originated from Chinese kung-fu and Ryukyu-Kobudo, a weapons art.
Besides having achieved so many black belts for a child of her age, Samantha also helps out at The Karate Connection and teaches a few classes. Her whispery voice is gone then.
“Do it on my count,” she shouts out to her students.
“That’s good, but your arm needs to be straighter,” she adds.
On the sidelines, the parents of other children gush about Samantha’s ability to share her knowledge with the class. Some of the boys have a hard time taking instruction from a girl their own age, one mom admits, but they get used to it.
The other teachers are just as amazed at the transformation that seems to come over Samantha when she’s in her karate element.
“As a martial arts teacher, it’s a real honor to work with Samantha,” says Luis Singleton, a senior instructor at The Karate Connection. “It’s really exciting to see her progress, and her martial arts skills are very good for her age. She’s going to be a great master one day.”
But Samantha wasn’t always a growling black belt fighter. She’s primarily a shy little girl with a slight learning disability. Earning her way to the top has done wonders for her everyday confidence, her dad says.
“You should have seen her before karate,” Steve says. “If someone would speak to her, she would just about crawl inside of my shirt.”
But he says he has asked her many times if she’d like to try another sport. The answer, he says, is always no.
“This is just what I do,” Samantha whispers.
Jiu-jitsu instructor saves San Francisco police officer from attack
A San Francisco cop enduring a pummeling from a “crazed” Muni fare evader Wednesday was fortunate that the attack happened outside a martial arts academy.
Hero jiu-jitsu instructor Pedro Arrigoni came to the cop’s rescue, putting the suspect into a choke hold and forcing him into submission at around 1 pm, police said.
The 24-year-old Portola resident said he had just finished teaching a class at the AB Mixed Martial Arts Academy at 2975 San Bruno Ave. when he saw the suspect had mounted the cop after unleashing a flurry of punches.
Police say 23-year-old Paris Augusta assaulted the cop while trying to avoid a fare evasion citation. The police officer, joined by a reserve officer, had done a routine fare inspection on the bus, police Lt. Troy Dangerfield said. Augusta was escorted off the bus after he could not show proof of payment, Dangerfield said.
Augusta allegedly walked away from the officer, trying to avoid a citation. The cops twice commanded him to stop, but he would not listen, Dangerfield said.
Finally, one of the cops chased after him. When the officer placed his hand on Augusta’s shoulder, Augusta allegedly whipped around and started punching him, Dangerfield said. He hit the officer “several times in the head and face.” He then charged at the cop and tackled him to the ground, police said.
“Meanwhile, a witness came to help pull the suspect off the officers,” he said. That witness was Arrigoni, who has been practicing martial arts his whole life. Arrigoni said he used a choke hold to subdue Augusta, whom police described as “crazed.” “When he was about to pass out, he said, ‘I give up, I give up,’” Arrigoni said.
The two officers then took the subdued 5-foot-9, 166-pound Augusta into custody. He was booked for assault on a police officer and resisting arrest, Dangerfield said. The bleeding cop suffered minor injuries in the attack, Dangerfield said.
“I don’t hit people, I don’t box,” Arrigoni said. “I do Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Once you have the guy under your control, you don’t have to do anything more.” Ester Basilio, who works at the academy and is the owner’s sister, said she was not surprised Arrigoni would jump in to help. “That’s just him,” Basilio said. “I wouldn’t say that that was the first time he’s jumped in to help a friend or stranger.”
Arrigoni said he tries to coax troubled neighborhood kids to learn jiu-jitsu, saying the art form teaches respect and nonevasive fighting tactics. He believes all San Francisco cops should be trained in jiu-jitsu.
Golden Opportunity: Yoshie Ueno, Judo
Olympic Review continues its countdown to the 2012 Games with exclusive interviews with stars of the 26 sports on the programme, who are targeting gold in London. Japan’s Yoshie Ueno is aiming to emulate her elder sister and win Olympic gold at the 2012 Games in London.
Q. At what age did you start judo?
I started at the age of three. Both my father and mother were judoka and before I knew it, I was wearing a judogi.
Q. How is your training progressing for the 2012 Games?
I won’t be able to win gold with the judo I’m using now. Last year, I won the World Championships [in Tokyo] but I’m not satisfied. There are obstacles that I need to overcome this year if I want to improve my fighting. I’m always training to be aggressive and confident.
Q. What are you most looking forward to about London 2012?
It’s important that I push myself to the full. I’m not just concerned with winning by ippon (judo’s KO). I’d like to perform my best on the world’s biggest stage.
Q. What do you think of London?
I visited on my way back from a training camp in Europe last year. There are a lot of tall buildings and it’s a big city. It was pretty. I got the feeling that compared with Paris, London is more of a business town rather than a tourist destination.
Q. Who will be your main rivals for the gold medal in London?>
France has a solid judo team. Teams such as China and South Korea must also not be underestimated. But what’s most important is conquering myself. I am my biggest rival. Also, I have to defeat the up-and-coming judoka in my country who will be vying for a spot on the national team.
Q. How have the achievements of your sister, Masae, inspired you?
My older sister always had a fighting spirit and aimed to never lose no matter what. She was always determined to win and with a drive to score ippon. She would never show weakness in a fight. I have a more gentle side, so my sister has something I don’t have. I train with her about once a week so I can learn from her.
Q. Who were your Olympic heroes when you were growing up?
My older sister, Masae, is my biggest hero. Winning consecutive Olympic titles is really something great; that’s not something that just anyone can do. In Athens, I cheered her on from the stands and in Beijing I was always at her side, assisting with her needs. I decided to aim for the Olympic Games after seeing what my older sister had accomplished. Aside from judo, South Korean figure skater Kim Yu Na is also someone I admire. She was able to skate a perfect programme at the Winter Games in Vancouver. She rose to the occasion, despite the enormous pressure, the high expectations and the attention from everyone. She was smiling on the ice, but I felt her determination to win no matter what.
Q. What music do you listen to on your MP3 player?
I listen to Japanese pop stars from groups, like Johnny’s and AKB48. I don’t listen to much Western music.
Kaizen kids shine at top national competition in Nottingham
FOUR students from Grimsby’s Kaizen No-Michi School of Shotokan Karate gave a masterclass performance at a national competition in Nottingham. Karate kids Jade Taylor, 14, Alice Hylton, 12, Beckham Tuplin, 11, and Lacie Stembridge, 11, returned home with a haul of medals from the Seibukan Children’s Karate Competition.
Stembridge won three events and was unanimously voted the Best Female Competitor of the Day Award. In a team kata event, Hylton, a first Dan; Tuplin, fourth kyu; and Stembridge, first kyu, worked in synch to claim first place. Stembridge also took first prize in the individual and mixed team kumite events for 9 and 10 year olds. Taylor finished third in an all-age individual kata – his debut competition. Hylton also shined in the individual events, winning the individual kata for all ages and finishing second in the 11-13 years individual kumite and team kumite (mixed team sparring).
Sensei Jackie Jones, third Dan assistant instructor at Kaizen No-Michi, said: “I feel so proud of all of the students. “They all trained hard in class and have amazing and outstanding results for their efforts.”
As reported, Stembridge recently became the first student in the Shotokan.co.uk Karate-Do Organisation (SCUKO) to achieve distinction accreditation from a grading. So landing the accolade of best female in the Nottingham event drew further praise from her third Dan instructor. “This is the second top honour she has received within the last few months,” said Jones. “She really is an inspiration to everyone.”
