2014 has been kind to Brandon Moore, a local tae kwon do black belt who trains under Master Steven Reynolds at Planteen School of Tae Kwon Do. After earning his second-degree black belt in March, Moore, 13, won the Florida State Championship on April 12. On Saturday, he completed certification training to become an instructor.
Tell me about the State Championship win — how did you do it?
Well, I was up against some pretty good people. I did my form in front of five judges, and they would all give me a score from one to 10. The average score was seven. There are all these things about the numbers, where you take one out, and stuff like that. They had people writing my scores down, but I wasn’t allowed to see them.
How long have you been doing tae kwon do?
Four or five years. I started when I was 9 years old.
Now you’re 13, and you’re a certified instructor.
Yeah. I went to NCIT, which is the National Certified Instructor Training. Senior Grandmaster Brenda J. Sell did a presentation about how to instruct a class, what to do in certain situations and gave us a packet. Then, there was a test at the end. If you pass it, you’re nationally certified as an instructor.
So, what are your plans for teaching? Helping out at Planteen?
Yes. That’s actually what these black pants are for — they mean that I’m an instructor.
Any plans for future competitions?
Nationals, in July. Maybe joining a travel tournament team, going here and there and competing. I’m thinking about it.
What do you like to do outside of tae kwon do? Any other sports?
I like to play soccer, play video games and hang out. Right now, I’ve been playing “Call of Duty: Ghosts” a lot. I did play soccer for my school, Advantage Academy of Hillsborough. I played center-defense.
Who are your favorite athletes, in any sport?
Daniel Sterling. World famous tae kwon do guy. He goes to Japan and stuff like that to do tournaments. I think he’s real cool. He does a bunch of extreme stuff with weapons. Other than that … I don’t really watch a lot of sports. I just play them.
What’s your favorite food?
I’d probably just have to say wings. I’ll eat any type, but my favorite are Buffalo wings.
What’s your favorite movie?
“Batman Begins.” I like Batman.
If you could have any one superpower for the day, what would it be, and what would you do?
I’d have the power to have, like, Mr. Fantastic arms. Where I can stretch and stuff. I wouldn’t have to get off the couch to get the remote.