Joshua Aguirre is not your average karate kid.

By the age of nine, he was a world traveler, winning 153 medals and his second black belt. Most recently, he won four gold medals at the 2021 Florida Open International Online Taekwondo Championship and won the Grand Taekwondo Championship title at the AAU2020 Junior Olympics.

“I am happy, joyful, excited to see what I can do next, and I thank my husband, my community, my parents and those who still support my dreams. I do, ”he said.

Aguile, in Lebanon County, was recognized by the World Record High Range Book in 2019 as the youngest person in the world to receive a second black belt, but he keeps it in mind.

“He is very humble,” said his mother, Milena Escoler. “Even though people all over the world know you, you are the same person, so we recommend that you continue to be. No need to change. And he said, “Yeah, mom, why is that changing? ”

He continues to do so, and on September 27, he goes to the senator’s second visit from Pennsylvania, where his accomplishments are recognized.

“I am very, very honored,” said Aguile. “And it’s full of people on the upper floor, so when I get there I’m always very, very, a little nervous.”

But when you see him practicing taekwondo, you won’t know it.

“I’m very nervous, but he’s so confident I have to show him confidence,” Escoler said. “I thank God because I can trust God.”

Not a safe lamp in the house

Inspired by kung fu movies starring stars such as Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee, Aguile was running around the house and practicing the move at the age of four. Sign him up for a taekwondo class.

And so, Aguirre had a new model. Master David Gladwell started teaching Agile in a Peawee class at Lebanese Family Karate. When he was four, he still saw his work twice a week with him.

“He was the first person to inspire me because he helped me as a chief petty officer with whom I had a lot of practice and training,” said Aguile.

Most children haven’t learned any technical moves or taekwondo patterns by age four, according to Gladwell. But Aguile was different.

“He just mastered the technique and was way better than any student I had ever had,” Gladwell said.

The taekwondo pattern is a series of movements that you can practice without a partner.

Gladwell said that in 37 years of study, Aguile was the first student to move directly from the Peawee class to the Taekwondo class. Students aged 4 to 8 usually train in the school’s star classes before going to school.

“I quickly knew he would be very successful,” Gladwell said.

The future of taekwondo

If this had been allowed, Aguile would have skipped the Junior Olympics and gone straight to the Olympics. However, with the age limit for Olympic taekwondo athletes set at 17, Agile looks to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

“I wish I could go now, but I have to wait,” he said.

Gladwell is ready to compete when he hits his age criteria after Aguile beat a player almost twice as old to win six gold at the 2020 AAU Junior Olympics. There’s no doubt about it .

“It’s only a few years away, but I’m sure he will do a lot from now on,” Gladwell added.

And that also takes a lot of practice, which Aguile is preparing. He recognized the level of dedication required to steadily increase Taekwondo rankings.

“It takes a lot of practice and you have to learn a lot of shapes and patterns,” Aguile said. “Technically, you don’t need to be age, but it will take a while.”

To accommodate all the drills, competitions and training, Aguile began taking online courses at the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School. He takes his studies very seriously, hoping that one day he will finish his studies and devote all of his time to sports.

“I want to be a master who can have a school with three different floors, which means three different martial arts: taekwondo, karate and kung fu,” he said. “I want to help a lot of people when I grow up.”

He’s already heading there, in one or more ways. Gladwell said he was an inspiring and encouraging mentor to all of the students he trained with. And recently, Aguile created the Joshua Aguile Foundation to help low-income children participate in sports.

During the pandemic, he couldn’t help but notice that some children were struggling to pay for the sports they enjoyed. In many cases, these children have had to give up. Aguile insisted to her parents that this could not continue to happen.

Thanks to the Foundation, Aguile and her mother will find businesses and businesses willing to sponsor low-income children who are interested in sports.

“As parents, we already know that paying for tickets, uniforms and even competition registration fees can be difficult,” Escoler said. “This is why we are supporting Joshua.”

“We do everything together”

Escolar is not just a mother who encourages on the sidelines. She officially qualified for his coaching to accompany him as a coach for several tournaments.

“If people decide to do it as a family, it’s fine,” Escoler added. “The discipline and connection you make is great. ”

Coaches also have levels. So Escoler noticed in the yellow taekwondo strip that he bowed to his son when he got the black strip.

“It’s very gratifying to watch him grow up,” she said.

When Aguile entered a more complex tournament, Escoler said he was working with his head coach, Master Andrew Park. Park teaches at Team Eagles Training Center in New York City, so Aguile usually trains with him online. Occasionally, Escolar and Aguirre take a four-hour trip for face-to-face training.

Yet in all travel, training and school education, Aguile always takes the time to play with his brother Alexander. Sometimes he even volunteers to serve as a target for Alexander to start a practice match.

“We have a family balance and a code. It’s a big capital letter and a big balance, ”Escoler said. “He’s a kid. He loves it and wants to compete every day. No. He needs to rest because he balances himself once or twice a week.

She insists on the importance of breaks, but Aguile’s parents do not hide their pride in her accomplishments. Every time Aguile comes home with another medal, his father, Jorge Aguile, pulls out a hammer and hangs it on the wall. He is also working on improving his son’s personal training center in the attic.

“As a family, we do everything together,” Escoler said.