Anglemyer's Academy continues to earn awards in Taekwondo

CONSTANTINE — Cindy Anglemyer has seen a lot in her 40 years of teaching Taekwondo.

It's part of what keeps her teaching the art. Her classes, held three times a week in Constantine at her academy, are filled with students eager to better themselves as they look to advance up the ranks.

Anglemyer herself was promoted to the rank of eighth degree Grand Master. She is the first female to hold the rank with the North American Taekwondo Association and her academy has been producing champions since 1986.

"We get a lot of students who I've watched grow up from the ages of 5 and they're still with me in their 20s," Anglemyer said. "Watching the kids grow up and achieve big things is awesome. It's a blessing running this place."

During the summer, the Anglemyer Academy was able to earn three First Degree black belts with Raeann Michalek, Carter Wickey and Kaitlin Edwards. Kris Alwine and Brock Michalek were each promoted to Second Degree while Samantha Chaplin and Tim Schroeder each earned their Third Degree marks this summer as well.

Recently, Anglemyer's Academy secured 36 gold and silver medals from a recent challenge match. In the Black Belt Division, Brock Michalek earned two golds, Wickey earned two golds and one silver while Edwards earned a silver. In the Brown Belt Division, Ashlynn Michalek earned both a gold and a silver.

The Blue Belt Division saw Grant Michalek earn two golds and a silver while Coleman Foley earned one gold and two silvers. The Green Belt Division had plenty of winners. Matthew Cross earned three golds and one silver, Kirsten Chupp and Laurel Chupp each earned a gold. Alex and Evelyn Steffel both won gold.

Yellow Division winners include Lucas Freshour with a gold, Josie Binkley with one gold and one silver, Henrik Morris with three silvers, Steve Steffel with a gold, both Tiffany Steffel and Peyton Stubbin with a silver plus Kelvin Williams with one gold and Dave Vanlieu with a silver.

In the white Belt Division, Journey Rainwater collected three silver finishes.

Classes are taught at the Constantine location on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursday from 6-7:30 p.m. She gets help from her 10 active black belt holders, an achievement Anglemyer is certainly proud of.

There's a lot of achieving going on within Anglemyer's Academy. It's the discipline to the art, she said, that makes it special. Nobody buys a black belt when they train with Anglemyer, they earn one.

Many families kick together at Anglemyer's as well. She said because all ages train together at her Academy, families are allowed to work together during the classes.

They're actively looking to increase their success stories as well. Anglemyer said the first week is currently free for anyone looking to get into Taekwondo with Anglemyers. The only requirement is to show up at their location — 1235 S Washington St. in Constantine — 15-20 minutes prior to class and meet with Anglemyer herself.

"The first week is always free," she said. "We are always open for new students who are interested."

Anglemyer's holds the record for winning the tournament held in Elkhart, Ind. at 15 consecutive years. This year's event will take place this weekend and Anglemyer's is once again looking to pick up a victory.

"Our black belts average six to nine years," she said. "It's a fact that they don't buy the belt — they earn a belt."

Typical class sizes are in the 20-30 range and last 90 minutes.

Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at bwatson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as twitter, @BwatsonSJ.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Anglemyer's Academy continues to earn awards in Taekwondo