When he was 8, Michael Hesleitner attended a friend’s birthday party that was held at a tae kwon do school in Ridgefield.
“It was just neat the way they did all the self defense things,” Hesleitner said. “I was really interested. I was fascinated by it.”
There was only one problem. Hesleitner didn’t know how to approach his parents to see if he could take tae kwon do lessons. So he waited. And waited…and waited. For four years.
“He finally told us that he really liked it,” said Michael’s father, Charlie. “He said he wanted to try it out, so we signed him up.”
At the age of 12, young Hesleitner headed to the USK Tae Kwon Do Center in Ridgefield for his first lesson in the art of self defense and discipline. It didn’t take long for him to start setting goals.
“I planned on getting to the next belt level every three months,” Hesleitner said. “When I began, I set a goal of eventually becoming a black belt.”
Earning a black belt is no small task, especially when there are 11 levels of expertise that have to be reached before attaining the ultimate. It is generally a slow and tedious procedure, filled with intense training and studying. No tae kwon do student ever puts a timetable as to when a black belt can be achieved – if ever.
“But it actually came pretty easy to me,” said Hesleitner, currently a freshman at North Bergen High School. “Learning the kicks and the forms were easy. I earned the first belt in three months and started getting a new belt every two months after that.”
Hesleitner made his way up the belt chart, just as he planned. And every two months, he earned a change in belt and a change in class status.
Last Saturday, after three years of work, Hesleitner reached his pinnacle. His teachers, Master Jay Kim and assistant Jaime Suero, presented Hesleitner with his black belt in a ceremony at the Ridgefield school.
Hesleitner was among 10 students who received the honor, complete with a certificate and a trophy.
“I thought it might take a little longer,” Hesleitner said. “It is pretty amazing that it happened so fast.”
Hesleitner was able to complete the necessary training in just three years because he took advanced classes three nights a week. He also took some classes with adults who were much bigger than the 5-foot-4, 102-pound teen.
“It gets a little hard in the self defense classes, when I’m teamed with an adult,” Hesleitner said. “But I hold my own.”
Hesleitner has also been able to compete in local tae kwon do tournaments. He received a medal for form in his first tournament last November at Lodi High School. He hopes to compete in other tournaments in the future.
“It’s a good feeling to know that I’ve accomplished something,” said Hesleitner, who will now study to become a second degree black belt. “It gives me something else to shoot for. I’m still learning and still growing.”
The elder Hesleitner said that he is extremely proud of his son’s accomplishments. Michael’s older sister, Jennifer, died four years ago, at the age of 14, from Hodgkin’s disease, leaving him as the only child.
“He’s always been a very quiet child,” Charlie Hesleitner said. “But he’s always had the ability to push himself to do whatever he wanted to do. He’s always done the best he could.”
Michael Hesleitner also has a passion for Boy Scouts. He is a member of Troop 160 out of Our Lady of Fatima Church and is one rank away from earning the pinnacle rank among Boy Scouts, namely Eagle Scout. He likes life science as his favorite class and hopes one day to become a mechanic.
In the meantime, Hesleitner plans to keep on kicking.
“I guess I want to show people that size doesn’t matter in tae kwon do,” Hesleitner said. “I might go to other tournaments, but people might look at me differently now, because I have the belt.”
And that’s something that no one can take away.