Nationals is around the corner, and we have another double header for you.

Let's get started.

Welcome to the ATA Nation Podcast.

ATA Nation.

Welcome back to another awesome episode of the ATA Nation podcast.

I am your host, Senior Master Zach Hayden, and I am thrilled to be back with you.

Hey, ladies and gentlemen, have you checked out all of the ATA social media platforms?

I know I say this all the time.

I know you're probably sick of me saying it, but I was just uploading a cool short to the ATA and you should check them out.

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So if you haven't hit those subscribe buttons, you are missing out.

All nationals right around the corner.

We're going to talk a little bit about that right here after we've got two awesome interviews.

We're going to start with our athlete of the week, and then from there, we're going to go to an interview I did with a great friend of the 18 Nation podcast, a fan, a guy who's listened from, I don't know, probably the beginning, and was an awesome interview I got to do at World Championship, pulling it out to share with you guys today.

So let's get to our awesome interviews at Nation.

We are excited to have another awesome athlete with us today.

Ma', am, can you introduce yourself for us?

Yes.

Hi, my name is Melanie Sugu.

I'm a Frisco black belt and I train at Excelsior Martial Arts in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Excelsior Martial Arts, Valparaiso.

Who's your instructor over there?

Master Harrington.

Master Harrington.

You make sure you tell him I said hi because Master Harrington and I went through our mastership training together.

We had a great time.

He's a fun guy.

Master Harrington, so you have a free Saturday today.

That means you're not at a tournament, which is a rare occurrence in the fall, right?

Yes.

So before we get to kind of your athletic skills and the things that you're working on, how did you get into martial arts?

So my brother really wanted to try jiu jitsu, but he was younger at the time, and my taekwondo instructor at the time was like, just try Taekwondo.

So he tried it, and then my mom wanted me to try it too, and I was like, no, I do not want to do it because I was not willing to do it.

So I finally did it, and I actually started liking it, and I, like, now love it.

So much I breathe, sleep it.

I could do it for like every day of my life.

So, you know, sometimes those first opinions we have about something just.

Just aren't quite right.

Yes.

So, you know, the tournament season's in full swing.

You got a free Saturday today, but usually you're out at a tournament.

What event at a tournament is the thing that like really gets you going.

I love extreme weapons because I like, love my bow staff.

I've only been doing it since like September, but I fell in love with it ever since.

Okay, so now I have a.

This is a strange question about your experience.

Do you have a bow staff that is like, you're like, this is the bo staff.

I have to do it with this.

It's a metallic one and I love it.

Gotcha.

And do you, do you always train with the same one or do you have other ones you train with?

And then this is like my competition BO staff.

I use the same one, but I probably need to get a new one so I don't break it.

But yeah, very cool.

And you said extreme weapons is your thing, so you like to throw it up, do all those tricks where you can release it.

What's your favorite thing to do tricky wise with your bo staff?

I like to pick it up with my foot because I feel like not most people can do it.

And I feel like it's really cool.

Very cool.

Excellent.

And what about like, if we're looking at tournaments and saying, hey, the event that is maybe not my favorite event, what would that be?

Sparring.

I know it's Taekwondo and it's fighting, but I don't really like doing that.

I love combat, but sparring is just not my thing.

Not your thing?

You know what, I love that, you know, when I started, combat wasn't a thing.

You know, we didn't have, you know, the combat bong monkey.

And so there wasn't really an outlet if you didn't like regular sparring.

You know, the combat is like such a great intermediate between like the full regular sparring and still getting the gear on and getting to whack people and whatever.

So do you do any team event with combat?

No, I do not.

No, you're like, no, I want to, I want to throw my, I want to throw my bow staff around.

Did you, what, what about last season?

You said your bo staff is new.

Did you do some extremely creative last.

So like my first like tournament was like, I did recreational.

I just started doing championship last year, September.

So like, I really was like, not like as like used to doing streams.

So I tried doing it and I fell in love with it because I love, like, freestyling and I love the forms, but, like, making them is so much cooler.

Gotcha.

Yeah, that, that, that makes sense.

Very cool that you're newer the competition scene.

What kind of goals do you have for this season?

I really want to get a title.

Last year in extreme weapons, I was one point away, but I really want to get a title rather that state district or hopefully worlds one day.

And yeah, I just really want to get a title and I love doing it.

That's awesome.

Now, what about, like, goals that you might have outside of the competition circuit?

Do you have things on new belts, you know, training, that kind of stuff?

What kind of goals do you have at the school?

So right now I'm a Level 0 instructor.

I have the red collar and I would.

I love teaching.

I love, like the tigers and teaching the students.

And my goal is to hope hopefully one day open a school because I love teaching it.

Excellent.

That is a fantastic goal and definitely an achievable goal.

So many great young people set that goal.

And, you know, with all the opportunities we have in the ata, it'd be awesome to watch you open a school someday.

Now, as an athlete, as a, you know, a martial artist, what's it mean to you to be somebody who that goes beyond the belt?

So going beyond the belt means for me is all those attributes that you learn in Taekwondo, like self esteem, discipline, respect, communication.

You have to use it throughout your whole entire, like, life.

Like I do dance.

You have to do it in dance Taekwondo.

And you show that black belt attitude or a colorbell attitude wherever you go.

You show how to persevere through everything and have all those attributes.

Excellent.

I love that.

Now actually, speaking of those awesome attributes, sometimes I like to see, you know, I was talking to my leadership students a little last night and we were talking about some determination with self esteem and stuff like that.

And what is the attribute or the, the life skill that you like, really love?

Like, it's the one that you see and you're like, yeah, that's the.

I like.

That's the one that I, I go to.

I would say self esteem, because you don't have anything without self esteem.

You have to believe in yourself and that's all you have to do.

You will get everywhere.

Yes.

No, that's super important.

I mean, self esteem, it starts with that believing in yourself.

Now, what about.

Okay, now it could be the same one, but for a lot of us, we look at Those life skills and we go, that's the one I need to work on more sometimes.

It's the one that we like the best too, that we have to work on more.

But what, what's the one for you that you might, you might see and you're like, yeah, I gotta spend a little more time on that one.

For me, I would say communication, because I'm not as social as I would like to be.

And like, with taekwondo, I love doing taekwondo, but like, I feel like I could be better with communicating and like, I just think communication.

Yeah, no, that's a great one.

I, I love that you up and it's, it is, I think one that a lot of us when we get started in Taekwondo is, is struggling with sometimes.

You know, I was not a great communicator, you know, being real shy and whatnot and martial arts helped with that.

But like you said, it starts with that self esteem.

You know, you've got to build that self esteem to be able to be more confident in your communication, stuff like that.

So I love that.

It's just so neat to see other martial artists that are training, working hard.

We, we see guys at tournaments and, and you know, it's an inspiration and it's important for all of our athletes and all of our martial artists to see people as real humans, not just like, oh, you're always great at these things.

You know, sometimes we struggle with different things and that's nice to hear sometimes.

So, hey, congratulations on being chosen and one of these athletes of the week.

What a great thing and thank you so much for your time today.

Thanks.

Have a good day.

Hi, ATA Nation.

We have an awesome guest with us today, a loyal podcast fan.

Absolutely.

Introduce yourself, sir.

Hi, I'm Daniel Penton.

I'm a fifth degree black belt.

I just tested for sixth degree yesterday and I'm a six time world champion.

You tested for sixth degree yesterday?

Yes, sir.

Were you in my pod?

You were in my pod?

I was, sir, yeah.

I recommended some people for the podcast.

Yeah, yeah, that was excellent.

Very good.

So how do you feel about your testing?

I feel, I think possibly the best way is I feel a level of certainty that I did my best and that my best was good enough and also that there's room for improvement.

Excellent.

That is a great, a great mindset.

I think so often we have a testing and then we like beat ourselves up or we do, you know, I'm always a little pessimistic about my.

I'm always like, what's the lowest.

I think I Could have gotten the highest.

We're all acutely aware of our faults and flaws usually.

Yes.

Yeah.

I do remember your sparring match.

There were some good sparring matches that you had in testing yesterday.

So World Championships, you are.

What'd you say, six time?

Yes, sir.

I've won six.

Six titles total.

Did you compete TOC this year?

Yes, sir.

How'd it go?

Well, it was.

Oh, yeah, somebody's laughing.

It was an opportunity to demonstrate fortitude.

And I was.

I was.

After my testing, I competed in the forms competition, and I hit my first step spin heel kick, and the mat was so slippery I almost wiped out.

But I kind of, like caught myself and continued on.

But the almost fall was enough to knock me off the top of the podium, and I ended up in a tie for third place with the legendary Max Van Eck.

And, you know, what a great competitor.

Anyway, we both did our forms again, and I was fortunate to have two votes my way and one vote his way.

But it was a great experience.

Well, I'm going to say that if you're going to leave World Championships this year with either a title or a sixth degree, I personally would want to go with the sixth street.

That's just my thought, but, you know, to each his own.

Well, I went to Camp Jiangsu this last.

Yes.

And one of the things that I got from Chief Master Wegman was that you should pick four targets for your life.

One in your Taekwondo career, one in your personal life, and then, you know, two more like just.

Just have these different areas that you're shooting for.

And the one I've been writing down all year is test for 6, 3 black belt.

So that was the number one.

That was the top.

That was the priority.

Perfect.

Yeah.

Good, good, good.

I'm sure you'll be anxiously awaiting results from at headquarters.

Well, you know, I know that they take some time, which is fine, and I will just be patiently waiting.

I don't.

I don't have anxiety about such thing.

Of course not.

I will say that the amount of time it takes them now is like half the amount of time it used to take them years ago.

It used to be like two months.

Feel like it was forever and we were dying.

So it's a little better now.

So how is.

You're a school owner, you're just recently rebranded.

This episode will probably come out after our business beyond the Mat episode about rebranding.

How's Rocket Taekwondo doing?

So Rocket Taekwondo is doing really well.

We had this problem with our branding.

We knew about it because whenever our Students would say they were coming to class.

They would say, I'm going to karate.

And this was a problem for us because we do taekwondo, not karate.

What?

I know it's banana pants, but we thought about who we were.

We've changed logos before, but we never actually, like, thought about, okay, who are we and what are we doing here?

And what makes us unique?

We are fortunate enough to be where they launch the rockets into outer space.

So our school has lots of people who work at the Space center, their kids, and it just.

Rocket Taekwondo really fits with one of the metaphors that I've been using for the last 15 years, which is about focus.

You know, when you talk about focus, what's the difference between a bomb and a rocket?

Focus.

And it's focus.

It's the same energy.

But if you channel that energy in a positive direction, it'll take you anywhere you want to go.

And if you let that energy be unfocused, then it will hurt everyone around you.

Oh, man, I love that.

Yeah, that goes right with it.

And obviously, being on Space coast, you.

Guys, you know, our team was the Rockets.

Our tournament was the Space Coast Rumble.

Like, we had everything rocket themed.

Except the name.

Except the name.

Finally get the name with the program.

Yeah.

Awesome.

So as we look at 20, 25, 26, tournament season, or just maybe school, personal training.

What.

What kind of goals do you have for this year?

I think it's important for, you know, we talk to a lot of athletes, younger, you know, kids and whatnot, but to see a guy who's been doing taekwondo.

Actually, hold on.

Before we continue, how'd you start taekwondo?

I always ask how you start Taekwondo, and I didn't do it.

That's okay.

It's okay.

I'll give you the medium version.

Okay.

So I always wanted to do martial arts.

Always.

From the time I was four, I had Ninja Turtles.

I worked extra around the neighborhood.

I would go knock on people's doors and say, hey, can I sweep your driveway for $2?

Because I knew that Ninja Turtles were $4, and that therefore, two driveways of sweeping equaled one Ninja Turtle.

And so I would just go door to door and try to figure out.

And then it turned into raking and mowing and all the things I'm trying to buy.

Ninja Turtles the whole time.

Right.

Smart man.

What's your favorite Ninja Turtle?

So, Donatello, I knew I liked you.

Yes, of course.

Thank you.

So finally, I became a teenager, and I realized that I could just sign myself up for martial arts classes.

It didn't have to be like, this fantasy that I was playing with Ninja Turtles.

I could actually, like, train, do Ninja Turtle.

And I. I went to a martial arts school in town, and the master there was wonderful, but he felt like old school.

He'll tell you when you're promoted, and the criteria wasn't clear.

And one day he pointed someone out to me, says, see that guy?

He's a brown belt.

He wants to be a black belt, but he's never going to be one because this technique or that technique, he doesn't do the way I want him to.

And so he's just going to be out.

And I was like, and you're letting him train here?

You don't have any integrity, sir.

You're taking his money and you're dangling the carrot, and you're never going to give him what he's so anxious for.

Or I didn't even know.

Or the tools to get there or to get there.

Right.

So it just felt like, well, I don't really trust you.

There were some other experiences where, like, I didn't trust him anymore.

So that was, like, a thing.

So I stopped at that time.

It was certainly not an ATA school.

No, no, no, it wasn't.

Because that wouldn't happen.

It was called sajido, not to shout anybody out.

I think he's probably still a great person.

I know he's still there, but.

I joined the Coast Guard after high school.

I did a year of college, and I realized that if I continued on my current path, I would find myself in a desk for the rest of my life.

And I was like, absolutely not.

Can't do it.

So I joined the Coast Guard.

I spent four years.

I did the tour in Alaska, and we did law enforcement training, which was ppct.

And it was.

So when I ended up in Florida, I had some hobbies that were not as productive as they could have been.

And my fiance, now Mrs. Fenton, my wife, said, hey, honey, you like that martial arts stuff.

Why don't you try that?

So I did find an ATA school, and I walked in now Master Burke, and I said to her, she said, well, what do you want to get out of your martial arts training?

I said, I want to be like Bruce Lee.

And she said, we can help with that.

And I said, okay, sign me up.

Let's go.

And it's been.

And that was 2008, so it has been 17 years.

Excellent since.

How exciting.

What a good.

What a good first example of how not to be an instructor.

And don't dangle something you can't provide.

In front of people.

It's just a jerky thing to do.

And now it's a core part of of the way that I teach and the integrity that I feel like I bring to my program.

I don't want to string someone along and not tell them what they need for the next step.

Yeah, you got to prepare them.

If they've got goals and I'm just.

Letting them go and if they don't want to advance, that is also fine.

But I need to tell you, hey, this is what's required to go to the next step for sure.

So speaking of goals, goals for your next year, what are you looking forward to?

Well, hopefully I'm anxiously awaiting mastership training.

So the sixth degree black belt comes with it.

The opportunity to go through the process of being mentored by Grandmaster and hopefully becoming a master next year.

I read all the encyclopedias as a color belt, so I knew about the V Rong Bong staff of the Flying Dragon and I have been waiting patiently for a Grandmaster to hit me on the in the head with it.

I hope that I'm not too annoying between now and then because I think he get me extra hard.

I feel like I have seen different speeds at which he will hit people.

In the head with a. Yeah, well, you know, I mean, I'm just ready for it.

A little bit of dragon imprintation on my forehead.

Yeah.

So that's one big goal.

Another big goal I have for our business is we have this amazing team of instructors like Mrs. Hooley is running classes right now while we're at Worlds and we have some instructors here who are competing.

So to be able to grow the school and create more opportunities, especially for the juniors, that is the direction of this next season I think about not only in the year term, but longer term.

What's the direction that we're headed and I think that's it is to create those opportunities for juniors so that if they want them that they're available.

I mean you can't just shoot a rocket into space without a trajectory.

You've got to make sure that it's focused in the right place.

You want to go to the moon, you have to go for the moon.

Yeah, yeah.

You can't just go anywhere.

Well, thank you so much, sir.

I appreciate it.

Good luck.

Hopefully the testing results go your way.

Yeah, I'm waiting patiently for the results.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you so much.

Sure.

It still recorded while it went to sleep.

Oh, it did.

Awesome.

I hope you enjoyed those interviews as much as I Enjoyed having them on the show.

I believe I forgot to mention that Mr. Petton, I believe is a 6 degree black belt now.

He tested at World Championships as we were there and I believe he got a passing result.

So pretty exciting.

I think at Fall Nationals is where they get to find out if they become Master nominees.

That's the first step.

I always forget the words which one goes when?

Anyways, ladies and gentlemen, all kinds of great stuff coming up at Full Nationals.

If you haven't made plans to attend or if you're attending but you haven't registered for one of the seminars or some of the seminars.

I've got myself registered for seminars.

I'm taking both personal training seminars.

I'm taking some business seminars.

If you haven't heard about all the seminars going on.

I know Chief Master Skiles has been putting some stuff out on social media.

Go to the website, make sure you're checking those out because there's still time to register.

You can still go to all Nationals, still get registered for some of these events.

And I don't know about you.

My favorite part of going to national events is to train.

That's what I love to do.

I love to get more training in and it is just so much fun.

Speaking of training, not only can you check out Fall Nationals coming right up around the corner, but the HU League Classic in Little Rock in December as well.

Going to be a huge event.

Lots of neat things going on there.

And it's right at the end of Camp Jongsu.

So you want to make sure if you haven't registered for that, that you check that out as well.

Head over to atamartialarts.com for all the info.

And a regional.

No.

Maybe you need to hit up a regional camp.

I know there's a couple left.

This fall I will be at our regional camp, Region 102B's regional camp in just another week or so.

So you don't want to miss out on regional camps.

These are great training opportunities.

My favorite thing about them is not just the training, but the bonding.

You get to have the same thing when I go to Pole Nationals.

The bonding.

Any.

Any tournaments, any trainings.

Just bonding you get to have with these people.

So I love to take as many opportunities as possible to hit those trainings up.

And of course you get the bonus of personal development points if you're a.

A rank that needs those as well.

And you know, just being part of the ATA Nation family is so much fun.

That's going to wrap it up for us today.

I really appreciate your time.

If you are in South Bend this weekend, make sure you hit me up and say hi.

And I believe I have a couple more of my I just ordered some new AtNation podcast St.

So I have one of those.

A couple of those you might be able to get from me if you're in South Bend for the weekend for the awesome tournament.

I know there's a few of you out there I need to send stickers to.

I got bad about sending those.

I'm so sorry.

So sorry.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Get out there and go beyond the.

Belt ATA Nation podcast.

Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATA family.