by Joanne O'Sullivan / photos by Rebecca D'Angelo

A martial arts belt makes quite a statement that has nothing to do with fashion. It says: Don’t mess with me—I will take you down. Women who practice martial arts say the belt is just a small part of the picture. The real rewards of the arts are in building confidence, focus and inner strength. But there are also advantages to being able to use your body as a deadly weapon. “[A side kick] is my first choice for a kick if I want to break something,” says 53-year-old Joanne Bartsch, a fourth-degree black belt in tae kwan do who’s also a biology teacher at Asheville’s Carolina Day School.

First, a primer, since it can be difficult for the uninitiated to distinguish between different types of martial arts: jujitsu, karate, aikido and judo come from Japan, while kung fu comes from China. Tae kwan do, which originated in Korea, is the most popular martial art in the world and the fastest growing martial art among women, according to the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation. An emphasis on high powerful kicks distinguishes tae kwan do from karate or judo, but tae kwan do also includes sparring (punches) and breaking (splitting boards and blocks with a movement of the hand).

Many women are drawn to tae kwan do because they intend to use the moves for self-defense, says Ronya Banks, a co-owner of Asheville Sun Soo Traditional Tae Kwan Do. But the goal of the art is “to create good citizens,” she says. Just as important as the sport’s many physical moves are its five philosophical tenets: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. In ancient Korea, martial arts practitioners were wise community protectors who only used their fighting skills as a last resort. That tradition is still evident in current tae kwan do training. “We are training people in self-defense, and they could really hurt someone. It’s really important that they be people of integrity,” she says.

Banks, who owns Asheville Sun Soo with her husband Tony Morris, was not overly impressed with the sport when she first encountered it through her children. “It looked like a bunch of goofy people jumping around shouting,” she says. But when her kids starting taking a class at a different school, she took notice. “I put down my book and watched,” she says of observing their lessons. “It was very powerful.” Still, she didn’t try it herself until she heard from a friend that martial arts had helped him to both slim down and lower his blood pressure.

She started taking classes in 2002, and after a few months, dropped an astonishing 30 pounds. The practice also seemed to help her battle two chronic health problems: her bad knees and her carpal tunnel syndrome. Now she’s reached a second-degree black belt and teaches classes. Her daughter Ashley, a 21-year-old junior at UNC-Asheville, has a third-degree black belt and also teaches, both at the college and at Sun Soo.

Banks says that around 60 percent of the students at her school are women. And for some, tae kwan do is the first opportunity “to own their own power.” The loud, exuberant “spirit yell”—a burst of a yell that’s used to startle someone—is difficult for many women, says Banks. “They hold back. They can’t allow themselves to make noise and draw attention to themselves.” Others have a hard time looking at themselves in the classroom mirror. “So many women give of themselves to their families, but they can’t give themselves permission to be powerful and free.”

Beyond the physical power, says Jaxi Brannock, a 21-year-old instructor at Dojoku Martial Arts in Arden, practicing martial arts gives her a focus that spills over into everyday activities. Brannock has a first-degree black belt in tae kwan do and a third-degree brown belt in dojoku, a blend of six different martial arts created by Soke Raymond Cagle, the master under whom she trained. “It’s not something that you do for 45 minutes and then just go off. It’s not just working out. You apply it to every aspect of your life.” For example, Brannock, who is 5’5”, used to work as a waitress at a local restaurant but noticed some unethical behavior in the kitchen and behind the counter. Practicing martial arts, she says, gave her the confidence to finally quit the job and find a new one.

Bartsch says that learning to defend herself seemed a sensible reason to learn tae kwan do. But over time, the mental and spiritual aspects of the art have provided her with the greatest opportunities for growth. She teaches tae kwan do as a P.E. class at Carolina Day and in the after-school program, as well as an occasional class at Asheville Academy of Tae Kwan Do. She discovered the sport in 1996 by watching her kids do it. “They gave it up a long time ago, but I’m still it at it,” she says. She often jokes that becoming certified to teach tae kwan do was more challenging than qualifying to teach biology.

Bartsch encourages women to look beyond self-defense to the benefits of the martial arts philosophy. “That sense of being confident in your ability to take care of yourself physically translates to confidence in yourself, period,” she says. “I also think I am able to give up the need for control and be patient with others because of what I have gained through martial arts.” Banks says those who take up martial arts just to smash things or brag about belt level are probably in it for the wrong reasons and won’t succeed. “It’s not about the belt,” she says. In fact, the various martial arts are often exercises in self-control.