Wednesday, October 24, 2001
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Wednesday, October 24, 2001 |
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Son of former Steeler wins junior world cup title By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Former Pittsburgh Steeler and Fayette County resident Greg Lloyd knows a little about facing incredible odds and intimidation from his NFL career. Now, his son, James, 6, is learning from his dad. James defeated a black belt from Tennessee at the Junior World Cup in Smyrna recently, giving the young man a title and some added confidence in his abilities. James, a white belt, has been studying and training in karate at the Oh Do Kwan School in Fayetteville, where his father is also an instructor, since the age of three. In the Junior World Cup, James faced six other fighters, all the same age but of different skill levels. The matches lasted two rounds of two minutes each and were scored by a panel of judges. In the end, James was crowned the champion. "Many schools award belts based on time at the school or time studying," said school director Joaquim Bonilla. "Here, at Oh Do Kwan, belts are awarded due to degree of ability and skill." This was the fifth junior world cup title that a student from the school has won. When facing his opponent in the championship match, James was in awe of the black belt, but Bonilla told James he only needed to want it more. "Belts don't make the person," said Bonilla. "The person makes the belt." After defeating his opponent, James had one final match against the winner of the five year old group. This opponent was another white belt and James showed a lot of control in the win. James will continue to train with his father, who is his instructor, compete in tournaments and, as they say at Oh Do Kwan, "keep on banging."
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