Family gets a kick out of doing martial arts

Dressed in matching white robes and black belts, three children rise up to deliver crisp kicks in the air.

They have more in common than their precise form.

Many children come to Al's Black Belt Club in Lombard daily to train in tae kwon do.

But rarely does a whole family train together.

Such is the case for the Carstens of Glen Ellyn. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 13-year-old Christina, 11-year-old Carolena, 8-year-old Cristian and 5-year-old Christopher come to class together.

"We all support each other," Christina said, "help each other and encourage each other."

Christina was the first Carstens to try tae kwon do. Her mom, Elsa, had her try it out when she was 5, mainly to teach self-defense.

Later, her sister Carolena and brother Cristian joined Christina, and finally little Christopher when he was only 2.

"Just for coordination, we thought it would be a good thing for the little kids," Elsa said. "They are taught discipline, focus, balance -- the things we were looking for."

Elsa and her husband, Richard, home-school the children. Elsa laughed that every day Carolena will tell her brothers and sister it's "time to get ready" an hour before class.

"This is like their gym class," Elsa said. But she added it is more than that. "It's such a big part of our daily life. I can't imagine the kids not having it."

The kids take part in black belt and sparring classes. At home they have set up equipment in their basement to work on back kicks and spin kicks, and spar with their dad. Richard got his black belt a few years ago at the kids' prodding.

They even run hills outside their house and go to the Glenbard West High School track to work out.

"Most of what we do is sprints," Christina said. "It helps your reactive muscles, as well as your breathing and conditioning. Mom and dad are very supportive."

This year the club took three major trips, including the U.S. Open in Orlando, as well as tournaments in Ft. Lauderdale and San Jose. All told, the Carstens kids have won 22 medals this year.

Two girls from Al's Black Belt Club won their first national championship after trying for five years -- Christina Carstens and Kacey Anderson.

"The message there is don't be discouraged if you're not the champion right away," said Al Qahhaar, owner and head instructor of the club. "We're really proud of those girls."

Qahhaar's tournament team starts training in January and continues for six months. Christopher is the youngest in the class, and the oldest is 14.

"It works out great," Qahhaar said. "The younger kids actually learn faster by following the older kids' example."