Father-daughter attain different black belt statuses on same day

GLEN CARBON - Bill DeVries is a man who loves the art of Tae Kwon Do.

Recently on June 4, he did a black belt testing and moved to a fourth-degree black belt which entitles a person to the master designation.

By day, DeVries is a court reporter for Midwest Litigation Services and is certified in that field with RDR/DRR rank.

“Martial arts is something I did for about six months in high school, then I went away to college and got sidetracked,” he said. “I woke up one day and I was 26 years old and I asked myself, ‘Why did I ever stop doing martial arts?’ There were a lot of action movies in the 1980s.”

Bill’s daughter, Kaitlyn DeVries, also tested for the rank of black belt at age 10.

“This was a very significant day for me and Kaitlyn and her mom,” he said. “It took her a little over three years. It was completely a family experience.”

The two both workout and train at Myung Martial Arts at 35 Kettle Drive in Glen Carbon.

“We both passed and she received a Cho Dan Bow and her next test will be for a full first degree belt in Tae Kwon Do,” he said. “The feeling you get is an internal pride knowing you accomplished such a thing. It is not just making your way through a four-hour testing, but also a reflection back of all the years you have been attending and it starts with your first white belt class and first black belt transition.”

His daughter wrote a paper about why she wanted to be a black belt. The paper depicted her deep feelings about the art form and how much she had the desire to rise to that level.

Now that he has a fourth-degree belt, he said he is going to continue to develop his knowledge of martial arts and continue to work with Master Myung with higher techniques and technical forms.

In some years down the road, Bill DeVries said he hopes can discuss what kind of formal testing has to take place to raise his level to a fifth degree black belt. Master Myung himself is a seventh-degree.

DeVries stressed that anyone can accomplish whatever goal he or she wants to, as long as one puts forth the effort and stays focused.

“You just have to put your mind to it,” he said.

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