By Catherine Laroche
If there is such thing as the “Ultimate Karate Jokes” book, chances are University of Louisville junior English major Destin Hudson has heard every single one 10 times.
What’s not a joke are Hudson’s major accomplishments in karate. At the age of 22, he’s already competed in the Funakoshi Shotokan Karate Association World Championships three times and approximately 30 regional tournaments across the U.S.
Hudson began his journey in karate at the young age of seven. Although he’s heard jokes influenced by “The Karate Kid” and “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” over and over again, these movies were actually his inspirations in taking up karate.
Growing up, Hudson routinely went straight to the karate school and practiced until about 8:30 p.m. every day.
One of Hudson’s many accomplishments came recently after spending a week in London competing at the FSKA World Championships. Although he fell short of claiming his third World Championship title in a row, he earned a silver medal in the Men’s 22-34 Black Belt Kumite.
“No matter how successful I’ve been, I’ve learned more from my failures than my successes,” Hudson said. “The person that beat me is a really nice guy and I’ve seen him before in the states. He deserved to win. I feel bad about losing, obviously, but you just learn from it. You can’t worry about stuff like that; you just keep pushing yourself and get better.”
Although disappointed at his second place finish, he didn’t let that ruin his experience overseas.
“It was huge,” Hudson said. “I’m used to going to world championships in America, but overseas is a little bit bigger and they get a little more into it. It was an eye-opening experience seeing that many people having to compete against each other. There’s really high caliber karate going on there, so it’s kind of a step up.”
Despite the success, Hudson said that his biggest accomplishment has been teaching karate back home in Owensboro, Ky.
“I really like teaching the kids,” Hudson said. “It was a lot of fun and it keeps you young at heart. Obviously, I like going to tournaments and winning, but I enjoy it [teaching] a lot more. Teaching someone and watching them go win is more of an accomplishment than doing it yourself.”
Dwight Ottman, a former pupil of Hudson, said it would be hard to find a better karate teacher than Hudson.
“Being only 22, he achieved a teaching position at a fairly young age,” Ottman said. “He has had to handle kids as young as five up to adults such as myself in their 40’s. He has learned to work across those age boundaries and has helped mold many of our World Champions.”
Since arriving at U of L, Hudson said it has been rough balancing school, karate and a job, but he manages to always find time to study, train and work.
Perhaps Hudson’s sensei (teacher) plays a part in helping him balance everything through motivation and guidance. He said that his sensei is his inspiration in continuing karate.
“He’s been a father to me since I was seven,” Hudson said. “Everything I’ve ever done in karate is because of him. He drives me in both karate and life.”
Hudson’s sensei isn’t the only reason he continues to do karate. His passion and love for karate makes it that much harder for him to give it up.
“It’s the main role in my life,” Hudson said. “It’s taught me a lot. It really prepares you for a lot of the challenges you’re going to be facing. There’s a lot more character development in karate than a lot of people give you credit for. I attribute a lot of who I am today to karate. Without karate, I’d be a lot different.”
Although, karate has helped Hudson keep in shape and win world championships, to him, there are more rewarding aspects.
“The best thing about karate is it’s not about belts and medals,” Hudson said. “It’s about growth and development. It’s about improving yourself and getting better than you were.”
Hudson’s goal in life and karate is to teach. Upon graduation, he plans on teaching senior English at the high school level. He also hopes to one day have his own karate school and become a writer.
“When you learn something like that and receive such a gift, like my sensei gave me, you’re almost obligated to give it to other people,” Hudson said. “I’ll never lose that. He gave me a gift that no one can ever take from me. I’ve always loved teaching, so it’s definitely in my future.”
