Since the Clarksville YMCA opened in December 1999, many new programs have been developed for patrons. The latest is tae kwon do instruction.

Two local men were the first to earn black belt certifications through this martial arts program.

Ben Garren and Sean Castleberry are two of the approximately 10,000 people who use the recreation facility.

Garren and Castleberry attended martial arts classes to pursue black belt status and are now instructors guiding others into the worlds of tae kwon do and hapkido.

"Since the program started in September, we've had 281 youth and 81 adults participate in the martial arts programs we offer," said Amy Goodwin, senior program director.

She said the tae kwon do classes are a great fit with the YMCA, and are open to youth and adults.

"The YMCA mission is built on teaching values and sportsmanship, all the things the martial arts program is built on, too," Goodwin said.

Garren's fascination with tae kwon do started in high school. His father, a teacher with the Department of Defense School System, was assigned to Korea.

"I had always wanted to learn Korean martial arts and to learn from a Korean master," Garren said.

Now a computer operator living in Clarksville for the past two years, Garren has achieved black belt status under the guidance of a tae kwon do master teacher, Clint Hale.

Hale is the senior instructor for local YMCA martial arts program and a Fort Campbell firefighter.

Hale started serious tae kwon do training at age 13 and has been teaching for about 10 years.

"tae kwon do to me is an art that has a sporting value," he said. "I like to incorporate the culture and history aspects because Tae Kwon is probably 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical."

He feels the basic tenets of tae kwon do make it an activity that benefits everyone.

"Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit are the fundamental tenets that are universal about tae kwon do," Hale said. "I don't look at male or female. It's been my experience that it's the individual who makes the martial artist not the gender."

That sense of open-ended potential is something that Hale carries into the classroom, Castleberry said.

"He has encouraged, supported and trained me. Master Hale has challenged me in the same way he does other students," said Castleberry, assistant director of student life and leadership at Austin Peay State University.

Castleberry's interest in tae kwon do started after his 7-year-old son, Christian, started lessons.

"I had never taken any kind of martial arts. After my son wanted lessons, I decided it would be a good way to be more involved with him," he said.

Christian is still taking classes and has achieved a blue/black belt status.

Father and son love the activity.

"The basic tenets are wonderful tools for youth to grow their self-confidence. As an adult I had self-confidence, but now I have a lot more physical flexibility, too," Castleberry said with a laugh.

Ann Wallace can be reached at 245-0287 or by e-mail at [email protected]