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Faith pegged as Olympic hopeful

Published Tuesday, June 30, 2009 1:09 PM

By Roger Lee
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Travis Faith’s dedication to Tae Kwon Do has made him one of a kind and there’s no telling where else it may take him.

Faith was introduced to the martial art at the age of 4 and he has been involved with it every since. He started off in an introductory class at Pinewood Prep, moved on to a full-time school and eventually found his way to Ray Smith’s dojo in Summerville.

Over the past 13 years, his skills have improved to the point that he has become one of the state’s elite martial artists. Now 17, he holds a fourth-degree black belt, which makes him a Master. It also puts him in a class of his own.

Smith, who is his Master, says Faith is the highest ranking black belt under the age of 18 in the entire USA Tae Kwon Do organization. His status is recognized not only by USA Tae Kwon Do, but also by the World Tae Kwon Do Federation at the Kukkiwon in Seoul South Korea.

His rise to that rank was highly decorated as Faith won gold at both the U.S. Open and U.S. Cup and silver at the 2005 Junior Olympics and Pan Am Open, where he competed against the highest level of international athletes. He also has 10 consecutive state championship titles.

When he was 14, he attended the Olympic Pipe Line Camp held at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Two years later, he attended the Olympic Pipe Line Camp in Birmingham, Alabama.

“Travis is South Carolina’s Olympic hopeful,” Smith said. “USA Tae Kwon Do thinks he has Olympic potential.”

At the pipeline camps, he was required to train for up to eight hours per day. However, he says while the training was a bit torturous, it was worth it.

“The camps are tough, but fun,” he said. “Your among some of the best martial artist in the nation and learning from Olympic coaches. A lot of it, they just put you through the basics, but you learn from people who have won medals so they put a new spin on it. It was a great experience.”

He says the sport never gets old. He enjoys everything about it, from the training to the international competitions.

“I like the workouts; they are fun,” he said. “It’s also great to see how far you can push yourself and see the benefits of your labor when you compete. For me, it also means a lot to have the opportunity to represent my country. It’s great to wear that flag on your uniform.”

Faith says the sport requires some sacrifice and that he wouldn’t have been able to excel at it without some support.

“Its hard to make yourself go out there and run every morning, sacrifice the food you love to get into that lower weight class and practice so many hours a day,” he said. “I think it comes down to dedication and motivation, which are two different things. My dedication to the sport comes from Master Smith and seeing where he came from and what he has accomplished. My motivation comes from my parents. With out my parents pushing me, I don’t think I could be standing where I am today.”

The next big event for Faith is the U.S. Open. What happens after that depends on a lot of variables.

Faith graduated from Pinewood this spring as a Junior Marshal. He was accepted into the College of Charleston Honors Program so this fall he will study biochemistry there.

“College will make it more difficult to continue progressing and my education has to come first,” he said. “If it’s possible, I’m hoping to start a team at the College of Charleston. They have some clubs dedicated to the martial arts, but I don’t think they have a Tae Kwon Do team.”

Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com.

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