Ean Krause, freshman at NDA, started doing taekwondo at ten years old to learn how to protect himself and others. He also realized that it was a great way to burn energy and help him focus.

He trains two to three times a week and attends hour-long sessions on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. He usually returns home around 6 p.m., which takes up a lot of his time, but it doesn’t go unnoticed. 

Krause is a black belt, one of the highest levels you can achieve in taekwondo.

Krause has competed in at least six tournaments so far, getting first place three times, second place twice and third once. 

His latest challenge was the State tournament, where black belts fight in a special ring. 

“I always go last because of my rank,” Krause explains.

In the matches, points are earned through strikes. You get three for a head kick, two for a body kick, and one for a punch. While ties between lower belt ranks are settled with a golden point round, which is when whoever gets the first point wins, black belts break ties by whoever got the most headshots.