BETHESDA, Md. — Two young black belts in taekwondo are passing their skills on to a budding new pupil — their mom.
Melissa Marquez has been studying taekwondo for a year at Coles Martial Arts Academy in Bethesda, the same studio as her sons, Ryan Oliver, 13, and Dylan Oliver, 9.
“I really watched them going to class, performing, going through the ranks, and I wanted to do it too,” said Marquez, 48, of Bethesda. “But since I’m a single mom, I sort of had to wait until the timing was right. And the timing is right now that they’re actually both black belts, so they’re good tutors for me.”
Ryan began studying the Korean martial art when he was 4, and will soon go up for his third-degree black belt. Dylan Oliver has been taking taekwondo classes since he was 5.
Marquez is rising in the ranks behind her boys. In recent weeks, she has been attending extra classes at the academy and practicing frequently with her sons at home as she prepared to earn her red belt, which is a few ranks below a black belt.
Marquez said her boys are very good at the technical aspects of taekwondo.
“I ask them to be extremely picky and they are, because it’s their opportunity to tell me what to do and tell me what I’m doing wrong,” she said. “And they’re actually both very good teachers.”
She had already earned her belt prior to the ceremony, but she said performing was still a little nerve-wracking.
“I think I did OK. I did my best,” Marquez said. “You’re always feeling a little bit nervous and under pressure, and, actually, I was doing it with somewhat of a knee injury. My knee has really been bothering me the last couple of weeks.”
Her sons seemed impressed.
“I knew she was going to do well from the beginning,” Ryan said.
Only when pressed did he do some nitpicking. “I did see her mess up a couple times,” he said. “I mean, I could say one thing: She got a little nervous and she started looking around for other people to help her, and maybe that’s not the best thing. I think she was just a little nervous. Maybe that’s why she made some of her mistakes. I just think, just focus on your own thing.”
“I knew she was going to do well,” added Dylan. “She messed up, maybe little mistakes, maybe three or four times.”
Why practice taekwondo and not some other martial art or sport?
“This is a really good form of self-defense, I would say, and one thing that I really enjoy about it is the forms,” said Marquez. “The forms are beautiful. I was very much drawn to the musical forms.”
Ryan said it was because he started at a young age. “I kind of got stuck to it and it was a lot fun, and so to this day, I just pursue it,” he said.
Dylan said taekwondo gives him confidence. “It makes me feel safer doing it.”
Marquez had lots of praise for their teacher, Grand Master Michael Coles.
“The things that he will sort of instill in his students about confidence, about believing in yourself, the mental aspects of the sport that sort of carry over into your regular lives,” Marquez said. “I think that’s extremely important. I like that my kids started at a young age sort of hearing those things. You need to hear them over and over and over again, and hopefully it sticks. But it’s good for the adults too, because we need to be reminded.”
Marquez said it will take her another two years to catch up to her sons, and earn her black belt.
