Senior Lucas Herrera has been practicing Tang Soo Do since he was six years old.  Tang Soo Do is a karate based martial art that is similar to Taekwondo and Karate but is not as well known.

  “When I was younger, I really wanted to join, but they said that I was too young,” said Herrera. “One day the school passed out the flyer and I showed it to my parents, who then took me to my first class.”

 When Herrera started competing he was seven years old. At first, he did not lose competitions which led him to become overconfident.

  “It was kind of a kick in the stomach for me when I finally lost,” said Herrera. “It inspired me to train harder and work more.”

  Tang Soo Do is a year round sport. This gives him something to stick to all year and keep him busy.

 He has hour long practices after school every Monday and Thursday. Monday is when they train, while Thursday is the day for fighting.

   Now, Herrera competes on the national and world levels. There are three national competitions held each year in the United States. Every three years there is a world competition.

  “I can not pick and choose which competitions are my favorite because each year there is something different,” said Herrera. “If I had to choose I would pick one of the world tournaments.”

  Herrera went to a world tournament in Malaysia, three years ago. He also recently traveled to compete for a world competition in London.

  There are a total of ten degrees of a black belt, ten being the highest. Out of those degrees, Herrera is a third degree black belt.

  “Once you reach a certain rank, there is not much more you can learn from there,” said Herrera.  

  Herrera’s main inspiration to continue this sport is Andrew Sierra. Sierra is a successful Harvard graduate that Herrera met due to Tang Soo Do. He has helped Herrera by being different from everyone else and sticking around through becoming a master of Tang Soo Do.

  Herrera has fought hard to accomplish the things he has at only seventeen years old. Planning to continue Tang Soo Do in the future, he hopes to get better with time and hard work.