How Taekwondo Unites Our Family A Brief Family History We are the Esposito family: David (6th Dan) and Jean (5th Dan), our three children: Kelly (4th Dan), Dylan (5th Dan), and Cheyenne (4th Dan). That’s a total of 24 Dans in the family! Our story in many ways is typical of many Taekwondo families, with a few twists and turns throughout our journey. Kelly was the first to begin learning Taekwondo when she was 12. It wasn’t until after she earned her first black belt that the rest of the family joined her at Park’s Taekwondo in South Portland, Maine. As a one year old, Dylan was diagnosed with a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, primarily affecting his left hand, arm, and leg. (Note: this is a VERY MILD case unnoticeable to most and Dylan has worked hard his entire life to maintain his motor skills). When Dylan was 4 ½ his neurologist recommended he join a structured physical activity. Taekwondo was the obvious choice. This started Dylan, David, and Jean on their Taekwondo path with Cheyenne watching classes from her car seat or the lap of one of the other parents at Park’s Taekwondo. Once Cheyenne turned 4 she officially joined the rest of the family in Taekwondo, although she had been learning since before
she could walk! Jean, Dylan, and Cheyenne progressed through the color belts without any real disruption for four years. David’s journey was a bit different than theirs. David achieved his black belt in Shotokan Karate & Judo as a youth. He then spent several years practicing kick-boxing. David joined the family in studying Taekwondo but with his background, his progression through the belts was at a different pace.
The Twists and Turns of the Path The Owner/Instructor at Park’s Taekwondo, Master Hinckley, having been in the Army Reserves was called to active duty in 2003. David assisted in the running of the dojang while Kelly shared Head Instructor duties with another black belt student, Ben Littlefield. This worked well enough for just about a year. At that time Master Hinckley elected to remain in the Army until retirement which involved moving his family to Georgia. The dojang was sold and shortly thereafter closed. Maine is not a large state. There were not many options to study Taekwondo in the area. The only other dojang in the immediate vicinity was not a good fit for the Esposito family. taekwondotimes.com / January 2021
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