Danny Washington: Bridge Builder, Blackbelt, Celebrity Look-a-like

"If you aim your kick at the wood you're just gonna hit it.  If you aim past the board you're gonna break it.  See?  The first time I tried to break it, it really hurt.  But I did it."

Danny Washington, Montclair resident and 12-year-old Tae Kwon Do champion, is discussing how to split a piece of wood in half with his bare hands.  Or feet, as the case may be.

"It's hard to explain how Tae Kwon Do feels.  You're pumped with adrenaline.  You feel a lot more safe while you're doing it.  You feel energized." 

Danny, a second-degree black belt/red stripe, has been practicing Tae Kwon Do for seven years – in other words, more than half his life.   He says from the moment he tried it, at age three, he loved it.

"It's awesome to have control in mind, body and spirit," he reflects.  "When I was five I was thinking, 'I just want to have fun' because I didn't know what self-defense was.  Now, I go to get stronger and learn to defend myself better, and for the connection between people." 

Danny attends Tae Kwon Do classes nearly every day at Grand Master Cho's Talium in Cedar Grove.   He has individual instruction and A-team practice with kids aged 8-18.  "My team is called the S.W.A.T. team: Special Winning Attitude Team," he says proudly.  In June, Danny traveled with Master Cho's SWAT team to Korea with a group, American TKD United.  In July, he and his team went to Texas to compete at a national Tae Kwon Do Championship.  Danny and his team came in first place.

Both trips, he says, were amazing.

"In Korea, we saw the opening ceremony for an international tournament, and we got to go to Jeju Island, where there's a huge volcano," he says excitedly.  "There was a Buddhist Temple there.  They wanted people to drink the water from the volcano but I wasn't gonna do that."  He pauses.  "I've wanted to go to Korea pretty much since I started Tae Kwon Do.  I wanted to do a form (stance) called Poom Sae Keumgang, and I wanted to do it on the mountain it was named after.  But when I got there I realized it was in North Korea, not South Korea.  So of course I couldn't go."

Danny says one of the funniest parts of his Korean experience was being repeatedly mistaken for the American movie star, Jaden Smith.  In The Karate Kid, Smith plays an American boy who does Kung Fu so it was only natural that, when the Korean kids saw Washington – who does resemble Smith – practicing martial arts, and heard his American accent, they got excited.

"It was so funny," Danny giggles.  "Kids were introducing me to their friends and acting all friendly.  I thought it was just 'cause they loved Americans.  Then I realized: they think I'm Jaden Smith."

Even though he was having so much fun, Danny sometimes found it hard to adapt to the Korean culture. "They have this stuff called kimchee, it's like a spicy cabbage thing.  It looks good -- but it's NOT!  We tried to go to McDonalds but they served bulgo-gee burgers.  I think there was squid in them.  And their fries were a lot healthier than ours.  It was so annoying."

Danny also had a jarring experience at a Korean sauna.  "It was so big, there was a pool in it.  We were hanging out by the pool and all of a sudden this naked guy walked past!  It was nasty!  Then we realized we were in a sauna."  Danny grins.  "My friend and me, we were scarred for life!"

Still, Danny found learning about eastern culture fascinating.  Visiting a Korean Tae Kwon Do school was one of his favorite parts of the trip.

"We traveled to a junior school.  The kids were really good (athletes), and younger than us – like, down to five years old.  They go to Korean school in the morning and then they go to American school in the afternoon.  Then they practice Tae Kwon Do for hours.  They don't get home until 9:00 at night.  We were like, WOW.  DANG."

Witnessing the hard work and discipline of Korean school children was an eye-opener for Danny, though his mom, Courtney, admits her son's life is, to some degree, similar to the Korean kids' lives.  

"Sports forces everyone to organize their time," she observes quietly.  "During the school year Danny has jazz band before school, homework after school, then Tae Kwon Do and all of his clubs: Robotics, Science Olympiad and Scrabble.  My rule has always been that if the kids' homework isn't done, they can't go to after school activities."

A single mom since Danny was a year old, Washington has three other children, Christina, 19, Sonia, 17 and Angela, 15.  Her ability to monitor her children's activities, while juggling their physical needs and her own full-time job is, to say the least, admirable.

"Danny's Tae Kwon Do is a big commitment but it's not inconvenient because it's so close.  It's only in Cedar Grove," Washington says.  "They perform locally so it's not a hassle.  And the kids gain discipline and respect and get opportunities to travel.  It's a nice environment."

Besides, Washington admits, "I enjoy watching him.  He's so enthusiastic.  It's a pleasure to see him so dedicated to his sport.  I told him if he does his best I'll support him no matter what.  So I guess I'm in this for the long haul."

Washington laughs, remembering Danny's determination as a young child.  "He would practice these amazing kicks for hours – I don't know how he did it!  Master Ricky just couldn't get him to stop at the end of the day.  Once he turned off the lights on him!  Daniel continued to practice in the dark."

When he's not doing Tae Kwon Do, Danny is passionate about math and science.  Last year he and some classmates from Glenfield Middle School went to the National Science Bowl at Princeton University.  Their assignment was to build a weight-bearing bridge out of straws.  Danny's team came in first place.

"It was such a cool bridge," Danny remembers, his eyes lighting up at the memory.  "I wish I still had it but we had to test it to the breaking point.  Pieces exploded everywhere!  I was seeking cover somewhere else.  But I was still looking.  I can still see it now."

Danny says he wants to be an engineer when he grows up.  "The college I want go to has the best engineering program in America.  But it's far away.  Where is it again, Mom?"

"In Massachusetts," she answers.  "M.I.T."  She turns to me.  "Daniel definitely would make a good engineer.  In Princeton (at the National Science Bowl) the judges spent a lot of time speaking with him.  They were very impressed with Daniel." 

Washington, who teaches at Glenfield ("applied mathematics, basic engineering concepts and basic physics --nothing fancy," she insists) knows her son has the potential to be an exceptional scholar.  But for now, she's taking it one step at a time. 

"Daniel is a very good student but he's not a big fan of homework," she says.  "I don't mind.  I don't want him to be too tense about it.  I think he'll do well, no matter what academic interest or activity he ultimately chooses.  Once he makes up his mind to do something, he stays with it."