This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Martial Arts Has Created a World Wind Tour for NHS Senior

Our latest Athlete in the Spotlight is about to compete in a national martial arts competition in Europe.

Most of us can only dream of traveling to far off places we would like to visit one day. For Naugatuck High School senior Neil Mascola that dream has become a reality through his association with the sport of martial arts.

Mascola will embark on another adventurous journey this week that will take him to Cardiff Wales, England for the International Tang Soo Do Competition.

Neil is a third degree back belt in Tang Soo Do in his 12th year as a student with USA Martial Arts of Naugatuck. When it comes to traveling the world the Naugatuck senior has already logged enough travel miles having performed and competed in Amsterdam and Poland in 2007, and China in 2009.

Find out what's happening in Naugatuckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Neil is a student in just one of over 70 schools in Connecticut that belong to the Federation,” said Tang Soo Do Federation spokesperson Master Nancy Robinson. “The Federations founder Grand Master Robert Cheezic annually holds International Competitions each year.”

The event will have representatives from England, Ireland, Poland and all over Europe competing along with about 100 competitors from the United States.

Find out what's happening in Naugatuckwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“It’s a very diverse group of competitors from children to adults,” Robinson said. “We can expect up to 1,000 competitors at the international event.”

Mascola, who works part-time at St. Francis Parish, began taking martial arts at the young age of five years old. He has steadily progressed through the ranks and is currently the Captain of the “Demo Team” a demonstration unit that tours Connecticut performing at fairs, schools and community events.

“I love it,” Mascola said. “It’s the most favorite thing I’ve done in my whole life. The disciplined nature of martial arts has taught me to set goals for myself.”

 “You can be successful in anything you do every time because of the values it teaches you. It certainly built a strong character in me at a very young age and I’m a better person for it.”

Mascola has toured all though New England in various competitions but his fondest memories is of his over seas trips to compete in far away places.

In 2009 Mascola toured China on a 14-day trip with his parents and other members of the USA Martial Arts, visiting such places as the Great Wall of China, Beijing and performed in front of the most accomplished Martial Arts experts in the world.

“It takes a little while to get accustomed to the different cultures,” said Mascola. “But English is pretty much the universal language.”

Mascola said he’s looking forward to this competition. He said he hopes to bring home the “grand championship in weapons,” he said.

“I will be involved with martial arts the rest of my life,” Mascola said. “My next step up from third-degree black belt is master black belt. But I have already spoke to Grand Master Cheezic about that and I don’t want to move up there until I’m through competing.”

“Next year we are going to visit the Coliseum in Rome. So I still have a few years of competing left before I settle down and open up my own school.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?