A week ago tomorrow, Matt Coopersmith was awarded his back belt in Taekwondo by Master Lee.
Matt studies Taekwondo at Lee’s Martial Arts in Newcastle. He started in kindergarten and is…”really happy and proud to receive my black belt after working towards it for so long.” To advance to a black belt requires both the mastery of technique and deep concentration to focus one’s power. It is truly an impressive achievement!
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art. Wikipedia says that “[i]n Korean, tae (태, 跆) means “to strike or break with foot”; kwon (권, 拳) means “to strike or break with fist”; and do (도, 道) means “way”, “method”, or “art”. Thus, taekwondo may be loosely translated as “the art of the foot and fist” or “the art of kicking and punching.” Since 2000, Taekwondo and Judo are the only two Asian martial arts that are included in the Olympic games.
During his test Matt broke three boards at once and if you wonder how that is done, just look at this amazing video.