Westhampton Beach High School senior Willow DuBrovin says that when her head finally hits the pillow at night, she gets “really deep sleep.”
It’s no surprise considering she’s accomplishing what might take others a lifetime, all before her high school graduation this June.
The awe-inspiring young woman and Master John Kim of Studio Moodo (97a Old Riverhead Road, Westhampton Beach, 631-998-0516) took a trip to Baltimore where DuBrovin passed her black belt exam on May 3. The feat made her the first at Studio Moodo to accomplish the coveted achievement.
“The goal was black belt from the beginning,” says DuBrovin.
Her martial arts journey started four years ago. DuBrovin initially did Jiu-jitsu at a studio in Southampton, but made the switch to Soo Bahk Do at Studio Moodo in 2023.
“I’m not a fan of ball sports so I knew that was never my thing,” says DuBrovin. “I loved Jiu-jitsu, it was great, but the Southampton traffic was not.”
Quickly, Kim realized the caliber of student he was dealing with.
“From the very beginning, she had this intangible characteristic about her that was pretty incredible,” says Kim. “Everybody who meets her is very impressed with her level of maturity, she’s very disciplined, she has very strong interpersonal skills.”
DuBrovin worked her way up through the martial art ranks and belts, practicing five days a week, for one hour every day.
In December, she set out to earn her black belt, doubling her in-studio time, coming in early and leaving late, on top of her already packed schedule.
As a columnist for Dan’s Papers, a contributor for the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, the chief marketer for her school’s nationally acclaimed Virtual Enterprise team, and president of the robotics team, DuBrovin set aside weekends for studying to maintain her nearly perfect grade point average.
“It was definitely difficult to learn how to manage everything, but over time, I created a schedule,” says DuBrovin. “It was worth it.”
To earn the black belt, DuBrovin was expected to complete 120 punches in 30 seconds, hold a six-and-a-half-minute plank, complete pre-sequenced moves and perform other high-intensity fitness tests.
The training process pushed her physically, but also mentally.
“I did not think I could work out as much as I’ve been able to,” DuBrovin says. “I never used to be athletic, coming here and forcing myself to train every day, I did not think I had that in me.”
DuBrovin adds that she was forced to overcome cognitive challenges with memorization and performing under pressure, but this bled into her other areas of involvement for the better.
In the fall, DuBrovin will bring her rigor to the Department of Physics at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she is seeking out martial art opportunities in the surrounding area.
Kim contacted the West Hampton School District to arrange for the first ever $1000 Studio Moodo academic scholarship to be presented to DuBrovin on May 21.
“She’s the perfect person to represent my studio, represent young adults, represent motivation,” says Kim.
