Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994 TAG: 9406300103
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
It all began six years ago during a telephone conversation with his son Freddie, a Marine stationed in Japan. Freddie, the fourth of five Davis kids and the next to youngest boy, told his dad he was studying martial arts.
It may have been parental instinct or it may have been the tough guy in him coming out that made Tommy Davis respond: ``You know, they have a karate class down here now. I just might take that class and kick your butt when you get home.''
Freddie took the challenge.
``Dad, do it.''
The tough guy started to back down.
``Fred, I was just kidding,'' he said.
The die was cast, however. The gauntlet thrown down and taken up. Soon after that fateful phone call, Davis signed up for lessons at the Pearisburg Community Center.
Last month, he became a first-degree black belt in tae kwon do, the Korean martial arts form that is similar to karate.
Davis won't give away his age (one of his boys said he's in his mid-60s), but it hardly matters that he's the oldest fellow in his class and always one of the oldest participants in the competitions his group attends.
``I guess he's the oldest student I've ever worked with,'' said Mike Harrell, the tae kwon do instructor in Pearisburg, ``and he's one of the toughest.''
Davis, a well-known Pearisburg citizen who has run a TV shop in town for more than three decades, is widely regarded as a nice guy, although he is not a guy to be trifled with.
A broad-shouldered 5-foot-10, 185-pounder, Davis regularly pumps iron at home, runs a couple of miles daily and trains in tae kwon do three times a week. The Pearisburg Recreation Department allows the class to use the community center's gymnasium for lessons.
Davis admits that it took longer for him to reach black belt status than it would for a younger student. Of course, he outlasted many of those younger students.
He earned his black belt in May by successfully completing the rigorous physical test. First, he ran two miles in less than 19 minutes, then he immediately did 75 push-ups and 75 sit-ups. After that, he demonstrated specific tae kwon do punching and kicking forms and followed by breaking boards with his hands and feet.
With one kick, he broke three 1-inch boards. He broke two more with a swift punch from each fist. Finally, he put the teachings to practical use by fighting two men at once.
Then, he was a black belt.
``At no point in any of this did Mr. Davis want any special treatment,'' said Harrell. ``When he's in the ring, he doesn't want anybody taking it easy on him. This is a very, very physical workout. His dedication has paid off.''
Davis has always worked hard. He always came out for football practice in high school, even though he rarely played in games since there was little cause to use a sophomore lineman who weighed 98 pounds. He pulled a hitch in the army, where he learned how to box. Before opening his business, Davis worked on a line gang for the power company, putting up power lines and digging ditches through the rugged, mountainous countryside.
As strong as he was then, he was never a black belt.
``Let's put it this way,'' he said, ``I feel better now than I did 20 years ago.''
He has won three trophies in competitions throughout Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, including a first-place finish in a 35-year-old division in Beckley, W.Va.
Davis would have fought in a higher age bracket in that tournament, but the only other guy his age took leave of the premises once he got a close-up look at his thickly muscled opponent and watched him shadow-box with another competitor.
There have been other impressive performances. His best showing was probably a second-place finish in the 45-and-up division during the East Coast championships in Greensboro when he was a brown belt.
He has even tried to make good on his promise to whip his son, which was the reason he got into martial arts in the first place.
``Fred and I really get into it when he's home,'' Davis said. ``I'll be standing in the kitchen and he'll try to surprise me. He'll come flying in with a big scream and a leap through the air.''
The next time Fred comes home, he'll have to be more careful. He's never pulled a sneak attack against a black belt before.
by CNB