Tae kwon do instructor helps kids achieve their goals

Al Qahhaar has been practicing the martial arts for 35 years, and he can thank Bruce Lee for that.

Actually, he can thank his parents who went to see the movie "Enter the Dragon" starring Lee in 1973. That was a Friday night, and they were so impressed they promptly signed Qahhaar, then only 6, and his 5-year-old brother up on Saturday for lessons at a recreation center in Chicago.

While his brother lasted about six years in the activity, Qahhaar turned it into a lifelong endeavor.

"I got to the point where I started to meet some pretty lofty goals of mine as far as competition was concerned," he said. "So I won my first national championship when I was 14 years old. I am still the youngest ever to make the USA men's Tae Kwon Do Club at age 14."

The road to being a national champion was not without a few ups and downs, but never any detours.

"Starting at age six, and then training for so many years and starting to compete, it wasn't easy at first," Qahhaar said.

"I lost a lot. For three years in a row, I would win nothing, or maybe I would win third place every now and then. I just kind of fell in love with the competition, and there was nothing else to do in my community. At that time there wasn't a lot of choices, so it kept me out of trouble."

Today, Qahhaar is the owner and founder of Al's Black Belt Club in Lombard. He and his wife, Jill, opened the club in June 2001 with 20 students and a 900-square-foot facility. Two years later, they moved to a larger location, and Nov. 1 moved into a facility with 5,500 square feet at 840 Springer Drive in Lombard. They now have more than enough space for the almost 150 members they train today.

Qahhaar, 41, worked, trained and competed with a purpose for many years before taking the jump of owning his own club.

"I had worked for a couple of the local schools here in DuPage County as an instructor and for another school as a program director," he said.

"At the same time I was doing that, I was beginning to improve my teaching skills by teaching for park district programs. I did a variety of martial arts things for several years for other people, all with the hopes of someday having my own school. So that's kind of how my journey led me to Al's Black Belt Club."

Qahhaar, a Master Instructor, brings an impressive resume to the table as the holder of a fifth-degree black belt. Equally impressive is that Jill and their sons, Tyler, 19, and Eli, 13, all have earned second-degree black belts. A definite family affair with 11 black belts among them. Jill is also an instructor.

The club's competitive team boasts 38 medals in three national tournaments, as well as 17 national titles in Olympic style sparring and forms. That team currently consists of about 20 members, of which 14 are between ages 7 and 14. While those are the most hard-core competitors, many more give it their best shot less often.

"We have a lot more students who compete, but maybe only once or twice a year, just for the experience," Qahhaar said.

"That's one of the unique niches of my school is that my program is designed to meet everyone's needs. I have students who just want to earn their black belts and learn some self-defense, and my program can accommodate that.

"From time to time, I meet parents who want their children to excel and compete, so we are willing and have a great program in place to facilitate that as well," he said.

Qahhaar laments that more and more schools are opting out of tournament competition. He believes the journey to excellence is just as important as winning a championship.

"I think the experience of not winning is just as good as that experience of finally being a champion," he said. "I think those life lessons need to be taught appropriately early in life."

Qahhaar's goal is admittedly to have 100 percent of his students earn black belts, but that number is closer to 90 percent. He is still proud of that rate, and just as proud of the many success stories of students achieving not only martial arts skills, but social and leadership skills as well. He is grateful he has been a part of that.

"I'm very lucky," Qahhaar said. "I get to share in a very small part of these kids' lives. That's what we're all here for, to give back and try to teach the kids all we can so that they can get better."

For details, call (630) 678-0750 or visit www.alsblackbeltclub.com.