THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606070218
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY JAMI FRANKENBERRY, SUN SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 70 lines
TWO THOUSAND kicks, 500 pushups, 500 situps, more than eight miles of running and countless jumping jacks and sparring sessions.
And no regrets.
That's how Ronnie Jordan and Corey Condon, students at the Jeff Bateman School of Karate, describe their recent accomplishment - earning a first-degree black belt.
``No matter what you think, you aren't in shape,'' said Jordan, a 33-year-old farmer from Holland. ``I was dreading the pushups and kicks and not worried about the rest of the test, but we had six-on-one fights and one-on-one fights. . . That seemed like an eternity.''
Added Condon, a 12-year-old from Hampton, ``That fighting was the hardest, all those people coming at you at one time. Every second feels like a minute.''
For Jordan, the journey to becoming a black belt was a long one that began in 1983.
``I stopped and started, but have been here (at Bateman's school) for four years,'' said Jordan, whose eight-year-old son has started taking classes with his father. ``I got into it for the physical fitness part of it. My first goal was to quit smoking. Since that first day, I haven't smoked a cigarette. I tried to get one belt at a time. After I was back in it, I knew I wanted (a black belt). I'm 33, but I feel like I'm 18.''
Jordan admitted karate did not come easy for him.
``I'm not a natural,'' he said. ``I have two left feet. It takes me three times as long as anybody else.''
Bateman noticed that during Jordan's first class four years ago.
``I looked at him and said, `This guy's going to be hard to teach,' '' said Bateman. ``But if someone wants to work at it, they'll get it, and he kept coming back. Becoming a black belt was his goal and he kept striving.''
Condon, a student at Davis Middle School, became interested when his father, a friend of Bateman's, offered to enroll him in classes.
``My dad asked me and I thought it would be something I could stick with,'' he said. ``My goal was to become a black belt and I wanted to prove to my friends that I could do it.''
Condon and Jordan said the 13-hour test was a grueling trial of endurance, skill and dedication. It took place over two days in the karate school, on back roads and in fields. Along with the fighting, pushups, situps, kicks and running, Bateman threw in some ``knuckle pushups on concrete,'' said Jordan. ``We tasted dirt, felt dirt, then did so many pushups.''
Bateman said Condon and Jordan had seen several other black belt tests, but that didn't necessarily help.
``Every test is different,'' he said. ``You might see three black belt tests, but your's won't be the same.''
Condon and Jordan prepared for the test by meeting several times a week and working out. The preparation paid off, according to Bateman.
``They were ready,'' said Bateman. ``They prepared themselves. It's not as easy as you think. It's not for everybody because not everybody can accept that.''
Condon and Jordan are already preparing for their next objective - a second degree black belt - which Bateman said will take another two or three years.
``This is something nobody can take away from us,'' Jordan said, ``but you'll never be as good as you want to be. You can always better yourself. (Training for a second degree) just makes you train that much harder. You can't be a fat black belt.'' MEMO: Jeff Bateman's School of Karate offers free introductory classes
to beginners. For information, call 934-6133. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Corey Condon, left, and Ronnie Jordan are students at the Jeff
Bateman School of Karate in Suffolk. by CNB