THOMPSON — For those getting started in martial arts, Brooklyn resident Aris Roane stresses the importance of commitment despite the challenge of the sport.
“Just stick with it,” she said.
And for 12-year-old Roane, the commitment has paid off.
In March, Roane competed in the regional championship for the American Tang Soo Do Association. After winning the sparring challenge for young women, an exception was made for Roane to then compete against the adult women.
She won the tournament’s grand champion title for sparring.
How did a 12-year-old beat martial arts masters?
Roane first got into martial arts at age five, starting at another dojo before starting at her current one in Quest Martial Arts in Thompson. She got interested through her friends, and also was inspired by watching “the cool and strong things that martial artists do.”
“The first time I did a tournament, I loved it,” said Roane, who has been competing almost since she’s started.
Through her time there, Quest co-owner Mike Bogdanski said she’s always been self-driven.
“She’s always been working on a 10 in performance,” Bogdanski said. “Anything less than excellent is not good enough for her.”
Quest co-owner Kristen Duethorn mentioned Roane’s hard work ethic, but also her emotional maturity, celebrating achievement appropriately and looking at losses as learning opportunities, which makes her a role model for the younger girls in the school.
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“They’re all just wonderful children that have a lot of potential, so just being able to influence them means a lot,” Roane said.
Normally at these competitions, Christine Roane, Roane’s mother, said, there’s both a youth championship and an adult championship, but they weren’t holding a youth championship this time.
Christine Roane said competing against the adults was a good opportunity, saying her daughter has to hold back when competing against other children and teens.
“She has a lot of experience in regards to competition,” Christine Roane said. “She was in control of every match she had and I feel like she had to hold back a little bit when she was competing against the other youths.”
Aris Roane said she was still nervous competing against more experienced fighters. She’s only a black belt, whereas master belts are fourth degree or higher black belts.
How does a Tang Soo Do match work?
Bogdanski explained that sparring is semi-contact, and competitors can make light touches to legal areas, like the head and torso. Competitors are also wearing protective gear. The victor is determined by judges, watching the bout from all four corners, assigning points for good technique.
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As for the win, Christine Roane credits her daughter with not letting herself become trapped into a losing position, and Aris Roane said her speed was an important factor.
“My reaction time was faster than theirs,” Roane said.
Although a youth competing against adults is a rare opportunity, let alone one taking the title, Roane was pleased just to have the learning experience, and actually getting the belt was an exciting moment.
Duethorne and Bogdanski are both eager to say that Roane has a bright future.
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“We like to say, what can our black belt kids do, and the answer is, anything they put their mind to, because they’re really driven to performance,” Bogdanski said. “They know what hard work is, they know what failure is, and they know how to overcome it.”
For now, Roane is focusing on participating in more tournaments, as a judge in Quest’s own tournaments, and as a competitor in the North American Sport Karate Association’s Ocean State Grand Nationals April 8-10, and, as a seventh grader, considering where to attend high school.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Brooklyn, CT 12-year-old won a martial arts competition against adults
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