Action Jackson

65-YEAR-OLD EARNS BLACK BELT IN TAEKWONDO

Jackson practices defense drills with black belt Savannah Barnes, 13, in class Tuesday morning at Northwest Taekwon-Do.
Jackson practices defense drills with black belt Savannah Barnes, 13, in class Tuesday morning at Northwest Taekwon-Do.

— By Corinne Meyerson

SPECIAL TO NWA MEDIA 

CENTERON — Blaine Jackson stands out in a room full of people. 

It’s a Tuesday night at the Northwest Taekwon-Do studio, and at 65 years old, it’s hard to miss Jackson in a class primarily filled with children and teenagers.

The partner he’s practicing with is 15-year-old Ray Sanders.

Jackson was alive when Taekwondo was brought to the United States from Korea in the 1950s. Sanders was born the year Hanson’s “MMMBop” became a worldwide sensation. 

But the difference between the two isn’t just in age; it’s also in their ranks. 

Jackson earned his first-degree black belt on Dec. 14, while Sanders will test for his soon.

“If I’m around, nobody can say the word ‘old’ as an excuse,” Jackson said.

It isn’t just impressive that Jackson accomplished the feat at 65, but he only began Taekwondo two years ago.

“I know guys who started at 40 and still do it,” said Jack DeSousa, the club’s owner and a fifth-degree black belt. “I know a couple guys in their 50s who do it, but they are ex-Marines.”

Jackson isn’t an ex-Marine.

He moved to Northwest Arkansas to take a job as a science teacher at a junior high school in the 1970s. After five years, he left teaching and enrolled in law school at Arkansas and still practices today. 

Missing his active days when he was a scoutmaster for Boy Scouts, Jackson wanted get back in shape. His inspiration to attempt Taekwondo came from an unlikely source.

“I saw my 4-year-old grandson doing it, and I thought it might be interesting to try,” Jackson said. 

He was skeptical at first and took three private lessons before he joined the class setting. It was in his final lesson that he was exposed to what sold him on the martial art.

“When I first started, my instructor at the time said, ‘You know there’s something you might like to try,’” Jackson said. “He went in the back and brought out a board and said, ‘Let’s see how this works.’

“I broke it on the first try. That was the hook.”

DeSousa was far more skeptical than Jackson.

“Someone like Blaine is very rare,” DeSousa said. “Most that age, if they do a martial art, it’s tai chi, something easy on the joints, maybe some light yoga. I thought, ‘Is this an old guy trying to get his second wind?’

“I started believing about green belt that he had a shot at this. He did amazing. He made a believer out of me.”

Jackson’s age and late exposure to Taekwondo are reasons to be surprised at what he has achieved. Add in 15 knee surgeries, and it would seem impossible. 

“This is a guy with more metal in his knees than you might have in an automobile, and he’s out there smashing through boards,” said Steve Blakeley, an instructor and second-degree black belt. 

Blakeley said it was an emotional moment when Jackson completed the 2 1/2-hour test required to earn the coveted black belt.

“It was almost tears to everyone’s eyes,” Blakeley said. “Mr. DeSousa, he’s talking about Blaine, and he gives the award and says, ‘I want to acknowledge that on this day, I am awarding Blaine Jackson a first-degree black belt.’ And you can tell there was a quiver in Mr. DeSousa’s voice.”

But ask Jackson about his greatest memory in Taekwondo, and he doesn’t even mention receiving his black belt. 

One is the time he slipped and landed on his back while attempting to execute a high kick during a test for his blue belt. The other is a time he helped a young boy struggling to break through a board.

“I’ve always loved teaching people and helping, so that felt really good that he and his mother were so appreciative,” Jackson said. 

Jackson isn’t planning to slow down anytime soon. He’s already begun working toward a second-degree black belt and hopes someday to earn his third-degree black belt.

He’s getting his story out there to encourage people that regardless of age or injuries, they can do something as physical as Taekwondo if they give it a chance. 

“I think Mr. DeSousa likes to keep me around to prove to anyone that they can do this,” Jackson said. 

DeSousa agreed that Jackson is an inspiration to the young and old and everyone in between. More than anything, though, he praised Jackson for not letting any hardships hinder his aspirations that most would have thought were out of reach.

“There’s 100 reasons he shouldn’t be able to do this,” DeSousa said. “He’s defied ‘em all.”

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