A black belt in taekwondo, Caitlin Johnson uses both her feet to repeatedly strike a padded kicking shield at her parents’ dojang (studio), Elite Taekwondo in Festus. The sound of her rapid strikes fills the room.
Johnson, 12, just started seventh grade at Festus Middle School, but she sometimes competes against 14-year-olds. She beats them all. It seems the only thing that can stop her is broken glass. She stepped on some in a warmup area as she was about to compete at the AAU Nationals Taekwondo Championships in Fort Lauderdale July 4-5. The medical team removed some of the glass from her foot, but a shard remained and she was unable to compete.
Eight of Johnson’s teammates finished in the top 10 at the meet. Josh and Christina Johnson own Elite Taekwondo and they just moved to a larger facility because they needed more room to train their students.
Their daughter, Jade-Ella, 6, was Elite’s highest finisher at the AAU meet with a silver medal. Their son, Josh Jr., 10, finished fifth out of 28 entrants. Competitors are matched based on belt color. Zayden Cain, 12, and Mia Njoku, 6, were national bronze medalists. Jackson Evans (6, fourth), Connor Miller (8, ninth), Brantley Ellis (8, 10th) and Leo Halley (7, fourth) also competed for Elite.
“Zayden had a fantastic first fight, scoring some impressive body kicks and headshot kicks, winning his rounds by 12-point gaps,” Christina said. “He ultimately lost out to a very skilled player but didn’t give up without a fight and lost by a few points.
“Mia had a game plan and stuck with it. She was very nervous but had her game face on.”
Because of her injury, Caitlin missed her opportunity to go to the AAU team trials and compete to make the U.S. national team.
“Caitlin fights in the advanced black belt division,” Chrsitina said. “These groups consist of AAU national team members and USA national team members. Caitlin is someone to watch out for at 12 years old. She has more than 200 gold medals for sparring.”
Taekwondo is a Korean form of martial arts. Christina is a fifth-degree black belt and fourth degree Kukkiwon, and a five-time British national champion. She was coached by Gareth Brown, the coach of the U.S. Olympic team that just competed in Paris. Josh Sr., also a fifth-degree black belt, is a Crystal City High graduate.
Caitlin began practicing taekwondo before she could walk and became a black belt by the time she was 9. She’s trying out for the eighth-grade volleyball team at her school.
“(Taekwondo) makes my confidence better,” she said. “I like to fight.”
Josh Jr. said he likes to practice taekwondo because it’s fun and he gets to kick. He said he plans to be the next member of the family to earn a black belt. He knows what that takes.
“Learn your forms and don’t quit,” he said.
Josh Sr. said karate and taekwondo are very different. It’s not uncommon for people to assume the Johnsons run a karate dojo.
“Karate is 75 percent hands and 25 percent feet; taekwondo is 75 percent feet and 25 percent hands,” Josh Sr. said.
Caitlin’s parents said they’re proud of her commitment to the sport and the talent she is realizing. “She scares your average person when she hits,” Josh Sr. said. “She’s powerful, fast and mobile.”
Christina is the master of the dojang and for students to move up in belts, they have to meet her exacting standards of training. Jade’s belt displays a piece of green tape. To move to the next belt, each student must get six pieces of tape. Some of those steps include showing respect, counting in Korean, stances and blocking kicks.
Students are not required to compete at tournaments. Elite has sparring team Team A for national tournaments and Team B for local tournaments, which are friendly and help build confidence.
“I want all of them to know that they’re important and that they can do anything,” Christina said. “I want them to believe in themselves because a lot of kids don’t, especially if they’re in foster care.”
About 25 percent of the students at Elite are in foster care and 35 to 40 percent are from low-income households. For students who need help, Christina said money is never an issue when it comes to fees or for travel. Elite picks up costs if they have to.
“All of them are like my own kids,” she said. “They know I wouldn’t put them in harm’s way and I keep them safe. So the moment they step in the ring, they know I’ve got their back.”
Just a few days before I interviewed the Johnsons at Elite, they were busting down drywall to make more room. Christina said it was vital to offer more space to train.
She added that each belt is earned.
“We joke that you can either earn your black belt or you can go buy it at Walmart for $10. If you want to earn it, it’s going to take blood, bruises and a lot of hard work and there will be times you want to quit.”