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Neel Daphtary started taking Tae Kwon Do lessons so he could defend himself from schoolyard bullies. Nine years later, he is the national champion in the super lightweight division.

by Ron D'Orazio Sports editor

Many people around the Cabrini campus may know senior Neel Daphtary as a new resident assis- taut in Xavier Hall. up a lot in elementary school. A year later, Daphtary entered tournaments to work towards try-outs for the U.S. Nationals team. Finally, Daphtary received the rank of black belt in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 15.

What they may not know is that Daphtary captured first place in the super lightweight division at the 1998 United States National Tae Kwon Do Championships.

The Championship was held Aug. 14-15 at the Tropicana Hotel Resorts in Atlantic City, NJ.

According to Daphtary, in order to win the title he had to battle through several rounds in a singleelimination tournament, where the first loss in a match disqualifies the combatant from further competition.

Daphtary's tournament history includes first-place finishes in open national tournaments in different states. The states where he has won include Massachusetts, South Carolina, New York and Pennsylvania.

Dm;ing tournaments, fighters can focus on many things. One of the thoughts that crosses Daphtary's mind is his elementary school days.

Daphtary then sought revenge on those who beat him up in the past.

"After the training, I beat up every kid whoever beat me up in grade school," Daphtary said.

Daphtary currently tours with the Reynolds National Karate team. He is a part-time instructor at the Del- Valley Karate Academy, where he teaches two Tae Kwon Do classes a week. He has attained a third-degree black belt as an instructor.

Dapbtary said that he still enjoys the fighting, but due to various injuries, he soon plans to quit the tournament circuit.

Injuries that he has sustained during matches have included cracked ribs and broken noses nine years. his win at Nationals.

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Daphtary said that he started training in the art of karate at the age of 12. He entered a karate school because was always small for his age and he used to get beat

Although he will not continue to be competitive, he will continue to teach and train to stay in shape as long as his legs can hold out.

Finding the time to train is difficult with his school schedule and

Though he does not have the time to train everyday, Daphtary maintains a steady diet and runs five to seven miles a day. Daphtary tries to workout in the gym four days a week and practice at DelValley at least three days a week.

Even though his days of beating bullies up may be over, Daphtary always tries watch and learn from other competitors.

After all, he says, the point of Tae Kwon Do is not learning to attack but knowing how to defend.