Confidence. Self-control. Ability. In the study of the martial arts, few things are more important. More than most athletic events, martial arts like taekwondo emphasize mental discipline in athletic development.
"It produces a whole athlete," said taekwondo instructor John-Paul Noyes. "You use your feet and hands. It develops speed, agility and mental toughness."
Taekwondo is one of the most widely recognized martial arts.
"Only two martial arts out of the thousands are Olympic sports. Those two are taekwondo and judo," Noyes said. "That means these activities are highly regulated, dynamic and driven by Olympic competition."
In Kalispell, the Big Sky Martial Arts team has had a successful 1996 season. Composed of athletes who live throughout the valley, and some FHS students, including juniors Jeremy Warmoth, Justin Eisman and Dave Tenant, senior Matt Radel, and sophomores Jake Russell, Eli Sultz, and Andrew Miller. The team won every meet they competed in last season. 1996 was the first year that the team competed in tournaments outside the valley.
"As a school, we've won every tournament we ever went to," said Noyes. "Our first meet was last March and we were in four other tournaments."
The school emphasizes on the study of taekwondo, and also teach some judo and hapkido. Each martial art focuses on a certain style.
"Taekwondo is a Korean based martial art," said Noyes. "It's predominantly kicking with some punching. Those who are best at taekwondo are usually the most flexible and fast people. Hapkido is more self-defense. There's no real sport aspect to it. Judo's foundation is more on throws and groundwork."
But what inspires the athletes to participate in and even attempt to master martial arts?
"Martial arts is an analogy for life," said Warmoth. "Anything we do in there can be related to anything else - school, work, whatever."
"What I tell people is they can do a lot of things they think they couldn't do," said Jameson Banah. "Their accomplishments can be unlimited. They gain confidence and ability."