“Footwork is like eating vegetables,” coach Derek Beckman told a line of young martial artists warming up and stretching Saturday morning.
“Nobody wants to do it, but it makes us fast,” he said.
In five months, four students from Montezuma Martial Arts Academy will travel to France to compete at the International Combat Organization World Championships for Team USA.
Eleven-year-old Matthew Brown says the chance to compete oversees this year feels like “a big birthday present vacation,” with his birthday following days later.
The trip also represents the highest level of competition Brown and teammates from Montezuma Martial Arts Academy have reached. The mid-October competition in Thonon-les-Bains, France, highlights growth for Montezuma Martial Arts Academy, a local program in Dolores founded in 2018 with a mission of developing both martial artists and community leaders.
The academy offers regular classes to achieve rank but also sparring classes, a weapons-demonstration class for kids, as well as kickboxing and grappling classes.
Qualifiers are Matthew, 11; Beatrice “Beats” Beckman, 10; Judah Marty, 17; and Clint Zwicker, 12.
Beckman, who competes in world competitions, coaches and owns the academy, praised the students’ commitment. He said not only did they qualify after placing first in an event at a tournament but the students dedicate hours multiple days a week in the studio, training while also volunteering to build character.
“The goals of the academy are not only to create outstanding martial artists but outstanding next generation leaders,” he said.
On Saturday, Beckman led a practice made up of punching drills, sprints, kicks and kata performances, while emphasizing certain techniques, noting proper heel alignment and coaching students to strike their kicks high.
“So, remember when we’re getting ready for competition, part of our training is to take this time to look sharp,” he told nine students.
Beyond physical mechanics, Beckman encourages them to treat the studio as a safe space for mistakes and highlights the importance of vocal intensity and confidence.
He told the class as they rehearsed choreography in kata performances: “Remember the two main things about karate: You get to be loud and you get to hurt things when you don’t get to do that anywhere else.”
Before beginning her kata routine, Beatrice “Beats” stood center at the mat to formally introduce herself and routine to the judges, bellowing loudly: “Judges, my name is Beats Beckman from Montezuma Martial Arts Academy, I would like to perform the Cu San Cu. With permission, may I begin.”
Beats said later she was excited for the overseas tournament to meet competitors from around the world and experience another culture; she tried learning French but it was difficult.
“With tournaments in Denver, people from different countries would come, but I’ve never competed with somebody from a different continent, so I think that’d be cool,” she said.
Matthew joined Taekwondo years ago while he and his family lived in Denver. He was inspired by the Karate Kid movies, ninja movies, “Spider-Man” and “Cobra Kai.” Back in preschool, however, he was picked on by the older kids in daycare, and martial arts became a cherished outlet.
“I started doing it, and I didn’t watch other sports before that and I was not the best at them,” Matthew said. “But when I got here, it just, like, clicked.”
Beckman said unlike athletes in more traditional sports, martial artists have limited spaces to display their abilities outside the dojo, making tournaments one of the few places they can put their athleticism on full display.
Clint said he is eager to see varying styles of karate.
“I’m excited just being there and with people from around the world. (It) is going to be crazy,” Clint said. “I am kind of nervous, but it’s a ways away. So, I have time to prepare.”
By the end of drills, the students were sweating. Beckman emphasized the experience matters more than the result.
“I don’t have any expectations for my students as far as they are going to train hard, do their best, have a good time with their teammates and foster some international relationships at the same time,” he said.
Beckman’s discipline and encouragement went hand-in-hand: He offered plenty of corrections but mainly praised students for showing up on a Saturday.
“There are skills that transfer here, whether in school or in our relationships. Character skills, integrity and self-control – being able to show up on time, being able to demonstrate grace with pressure,” he said. “Win or lose, we make our opponents work.”