(Photo by Jackson Spenser)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
It was both a record-breaking and board-breaking evening at Lee’s Martial Arts in West Seattle: Three students tested for their Tae Kwon Do black belts, including the oldest woman ever to test at Lee’s.
Tracey Spenser is 51 years old. Her testing colleagues, Megan Veltman and Jesse Simpson, are 19 and 17 respectively.
Tracey started studying Tae Kwon Do four years ago, after enrolling her seven year-old son in the LMA program. She thought, “That looks like fun, I wish I could do that.” She was concerned that, then 47, she would be too old to start such a program, but after noticing the wide age range of students, including some with white hair, she decided, “If they can do it, so can I.”
And she has — in less time than most people take to achieve their black belts.
Granted, Tracey has been involved with sports and fitness her whole life — especially swimming, and was a Missouri State High School Swimming Champion. As an adult, she’s qualified to swim as a Masters Champion, and though she hasn’t made it to a World Masters Champion meet, she still holds that as a goal.
But achieving black-belt level was a challenge just the same.
“I pushed myself; I knew at my age it wasn’t going to get any easier, so I set goals.” Also, “I love it, it’s a great stress reliever. I think any woman can benefit from having a place where she can kick things and yell.”
She has also been pleasantly surprised by how warm and welcoming the martial-arts community has been to her, adding “I’ve felt encouraged and supported. It’s a fun, social thing that’s family-friendly. It’s for kids, adults, teens…I’ve made a lot of friends.”
And, she projects a new level of self-confidence. “If I can break a board, I can break a nose. People don’t mess with you.”
The black-belt test consists of demonstrating strikes, kicks and punches, non-contact sparring, nunchaku skills and board-breaking. Tracey broke multiple boards in quick succession, with punches and kicks, including a leap-spinning snap kick!
All three students passed and received their black belts. Here’s Megan:
(This photo and next two by Keri DeTore)
And Jesse:
Lee’s Martial Arts owners Lisa Skvarla and Joe Skvarla noted this group of recipients was particularly special because it’s the first group that’s been trained purely by the Skvarlas without Master Lee.
After the awarding of the belts, Lisa read what she called a “love letter” to each student, sharing her pride in their accomplishments.
How does it feel to be a black belt? Per Tracey – “Great! Relieved! Tired!” – but most of all, “On top of the world!”
| 11 COMMENTS