Wishing Payton the absolute best as she moves on (for now) from a very successful martial arts career to pursue opportunities in ballet. Through her years of dedicated training and competition she earned her black belt, had over six hundred classes trained, won ten state gold medals, was two time regional forms grand champion, earned multiple Student of the Month honors, was the very first 20/20 Armor sparring championship belt holder anywhere when she won the King of the Ring tournament in 2018 and also held the Poomsae championship for four months.
Goodbyes usually don’t happen in martial arts. Students who move on, especially black belts, are generally portrayed as outcasts or worse by many instructors who refuse to place their student’s hopes and dreams above their fragile, selfish ego. That’s not how it works here at Genesis. We hope Payton chases her next goals with the same fire that brought her success in martial arts and that she achieves each and every one of them. It’s goodbye for now, but you are always most welcome in our humble dojang. You will be missed! ✊ -David Metz Taekwondo
