Episode 206
Ep. 206 - Actor and Athlete
Unlock the secrets to turning your passion into a relentless pursuit of excellence. This episode isn’t just about martial arts — it’s a masterclass in mindset, focus, and breaking beyond the belt to achieve your biggest goals. Senior Master Zach Hayden dives deep with Aaron Le, a 13-year-old martial arts phenom from San Diego making waves — not just with four district titles but with dreams of acting like a young Bruce Lee. Aaron shares how his Taekwondo training fuels his confidence, resilience, and determination to conquer acting roles, and reveals the mindset shifts that helped him win at district championships without drops and hesitation. You’ll discover:
- How martial arts instills life skills that extend far beyond the dojo, including confidence, perseverance, and focus
- The winning strategies Aaron uses to excel in traditional forms, sparring, and even in acting auditions
- Why focusing on one thing at a time — whether fighting for a world title or landing a dream role — is key to staying motivated and achieving success
- The parallels between tournament perseverance and auditioning for Hollywood, plus practical tips on how to stay committed during setbacks
In this inspiring conversation, Aaron Le exemplifies what it truly means to go beyond the belt, showing us that relentless effort and a clear purpose can turn young athletes into unstoppable forces. Whether you're a martial artist, aspiring actor, or someone chasing big dreams, this episode delivers actionable insights to elevate your game and mindset. Perfect for athletes striving for more, parents supporting young champions, or anyone ready to break barriers — don’t miss this chance to learn how focus, determination, and passion can redefine your future. Hit play now to start transforming your setbacks into setups for success.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
This week we have an actor and an athlete.
Speaker A:Let's get started.
Speaker A:Welcome to the ATA Nation podcast.
Speaker A:Instructors, students, parents, competitors of Songam Taekwondo, welcome back to the ATA Nation podcast.
Speaker A:I am your, your host, Senior Master Zach Hayden, and I am thrilled to be back with you today.
Speaker A:All of the district championships across the country have finished.
Speaker A:This episode is a day late, basically because of district championships and I have a, I have a rank advancement training camp at my school and so things got extra busy.
Speaker A:But I don't want to forget all of you out there in ATA Nation.
Speaker A:We got some great things going on.
Speaker A:So one, we have our athlete of the week this week.
Speaker A:Really exciting athlete of the week.
Speaker A:You might see him in the future in some, you know, TV shows, movies, whatnot.
Speaker A:So we want to check that out.
Speaker A:I also want to remind you that this week coming up, we'll probably be opening the TOC registration.
Speaker A:TOC registration at the World Championships will go live as soon as headquarters gets all that data in from the last set of districts.
Speaker A:Put it in.
Speaker A:Because you can only qualify for the Tournament of Champions if you were in the national top 10, the standings for the national top 10, not your individual state or you won district champion as a black belt.
Speaker A:So if you are a black belt who won district championships in an event, you will be then qualified for the toc.
Speaker A:And so they had to get all that information back from these different districts around the country to put into the system and make it eligible to open.
Speaker A:But stay paying attention.
Speaker A:Be aware that this is going to be coming out any day now.
Speaker A:And so stay tuned to ATA social media, your instructors make sure you're checking your email because they'll send some stuff out through there as well.
Speaker A:So just be aware that that is coming.
Speaker A:We don't want you to miss it because there will not be on site registration.
Speaker A:Second, this episode is coming out on June 16th.
Speaker A:This coming Saturday, we have a very special live BROADC coming to you.
Speaker A:We will be bringing to you the awards nominations from ATA headquarters.
Speaker A:We did this for the first time last year with ATA headquarters.
Speaker A:I was lucky enough to break into everybody's day and bring you the broadcast from AT headquarters.
Speaker A:Again this year this is going to happen, so stay tuned.
Speaker A:You can go to atanation podcast.com live atanation podcast.com live and click the Notify button right there on YouTube to be notified when it goes live.
Speaker A:It will be at noon Central time this Saturday.
Speaker A:It'll take us about 15, 20 minutes or so to go through all the nominations for awards that will be presented at world championships this year.
Speaker A:So you do not want to miss that.
Speaker A:You might hear your school in there, you might hear your instructor in there, you might hear, you know, a friend of yours in there who knows.
Speaker A:So make sure you are tuning in.
Speaker A:You can find that live on Facebook.
Speaker A:There's event already set up on the ATA martial arts Facebook page.
Speaker A:But we would love for you to join us on YouTube as well so we can see your comments and put some of those on screen as we go.
Speaker A:Schools, if you want to reg, you know, set up a day, you know, everybody come in and party and watch and whatnot, you can do that as well.
Speaker A:But Saturday, this Saturday, noon Central standard time, the ATA award nominations will be going live.
Speaker A:So I'm excited to see you guys there for that as well as for our athlete of the week.
Speaker A:Let's get to it.
Speaker A:ATA nation.
Speaker A:I am excited to have with us today another awesome athlete of the week.
Speaker A:Could you introduce yourself for us?
Speaker B:Sir, yes, sir.
Speaker B:My name is erin lay.
Speaker B:I'm 13 years old and I'm a First street black belt from San Diego, California.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:First year black belt, San Diego, California.
Speaker A:Are you San Diego, California?
Speaker A:Are you with world class?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:World class martial arts.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker A:Are you on one of their demo teams?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Hey, well, we like to start with like, what got you started martial arts?
Speaker B:I started martial arts when I was very young.
Speaker B:I started when I was 8 years old because I was bullied for my vitiligo.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's a common thing.
Speaker A:And so when you started martial arts, was it something that you like really right away were like, oh, this is awesome or did it take you some time to warm up to it?
Speaker B:It took me some time to warm up to it because I was unease because I didn't know what to do because I did baseball, a bunch of sports before this.
Speaker A:And it's.
Speaker A:It's a lot different.
Speaker A:You know, you can.
Speaker A:You do those other team sports and stuff and then you go into martial arts and like, wait, this is much different than everything else.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Okay, so usually, you know, I've been asking athletes about their postseason goals kind of this postseason time, but you just competed at district championships.
Speaker A:How did it go?
Speaker B:I got four district titles in craven extreme and I got third place in traditional forms.
Speaker A:Nice.
Speaker A:Good deal.
Speaker A:So you swept it for creative and extreme?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:For creative and extreme weapons.
Speaker A:What's your go to weapon for each of those?
Speaker B:BO staff.
Speaker A:You do both staff for both, right?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Okay, so I'm gonna guess that there were no.
Speaker A:No drops this time.
Speaker B:No, sir.
Speaker A:Ah, is that normal for you?
Speaker A:No drops, or is it kind of one of those things?
Speaker A:Sometimes it drops.
Speaker B:It's normal for me not to drop.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker A:Okay, were you, as you were getting ready for districts, were you pretty confident going in on the district championships you were going for or was there some hesitation?
Speaker B:There was a bit of hesitation, but I was pretty sure in my mindset I was saying, you can do this, you can do this, you can win this.
Speaker A:Ah, nice.
Speaker A:Good mindset.
Speaker A:I love that we're is, is extreme and creative.
Speaker A:Your, your favorite, your go to event.
Speaker A:What's your, your, your favorite thing?
Speaker B:My go to event is Extreme Weapons.
Speaker A:Extreme weapons.
Speaker A:I just loves to throw those things.
Speaker B:I just love to throw the weapon and I just feel so free when I spin.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Okay, do you, do you participate?
Speaker A:Do you have a, like a, I know we said you're on one of the demo teams.
Speaker A:Do you have a team Sync?
Speaker B:No, sir, but I might actually start one with someone named Blake Shen in the future.
Speaker A:You know, they're expanding that division this year.
Speaker A:They're, they've got some new age divisions coming into it.
Speaker A:It's going to more tournaments.
Speaker A:It's a good year to get started with it.
Speaker A:And the crowd always loves spinning and throwing weapons.
Speaker A:I mean, you can't go wrong with that.
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:What about if you had to pick an event that's kind of, you're like, not my favorite event, what would that be?
Speaker B:Definitely sparring.
Speaker A:Sparring traditional or combat?
Speaker B:Traditional.
Speaker A:Traditional.
Speaker A:That's pretty, you know what I, I, I think of people who I've interviewed.
Speaker A:Traditional sparring.
Speaker A:And then like weapons are the two.
Speaker A:I think that are the most common things people say is they're not their favorite event.
Speaker A:Not that there's, you know, there's a big mix out there, but I think those are the ones I hear the most.
Speaker A:So as you're getting ready for world championships, what's the goal there?
Speaker A:I see you have a red one of those sweet world champion shirts already.
Speaker A:What was that?
Speaker A:What titles do you have already?
Speaker B:I have two world titles and Demo Team, I have zero that for my own.
Speaker A:Okay, so this year, this year it's my year.
Speaker A:It's your year.
Speaker A:What do you have an event that you're specifically trying for or you're just hoping for any of them?
Speaker A:Working hard on all of them.
Speaker A:What's the kind of the thought process there?
Speaker B:I've Been working hard on all of them.
Speaker B:But I would say the one I'm trying to get the most is definitely traditional forms.
Speaker A:Ah, that's a good one.
Speaker A:First degree, right?
Speaker A:You said you're in the first degree division?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:Very good.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:I love.
Speaker A:I love a good traditional forms.
Speaker A:That is a great one.
Speaker A:Are you.
Speaker A:So I assume you're in the standings for everything.
Speaker A:I mean, obviously those district titles got you in, but I'm assuming you were in the standings before that.
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker B:I'm number one in five categories.
Speaker A:Oh, nice.
Speaker A:What are the five categories?
Speaker A:Is it the four extremes and then traditional forms?
Speaker B:Traditional forms?
Speaker B:No, it's actually traditional weapons.
Speaker A:Oh, nice.
Speaker A:Okay, what's your.
Speaker A:What's your weapon?
Speaker B:You go with both staff, sir.
Speaker A:Okay, okay, that makes sense.
Speaker A:It's the one you're doing for extreme and creative.
Speaker A:Okay, very cool.
Speaker A:Okay, if we're looking past worlds, because we're obviously the goal at worlds title, that's.
Speaker A:That's what you're going for for Worlds.
Speaker A:But if you're looking past world championships this year, maybe new season or even just in the school, what kind of goals are you setting for yourself?
Speaker B:A few of my goals is, besides the world title, is definitely trying to get a role in acting because a few people may know I'm an actor now.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Oh, that's super cool.
Speaker A:What, what got you started in.
Speaker A:In acting?
Speaker B:It got me into acting when I found out that they were casting for a Disney show.
Speaker B:And Hannah Zaytan, she sent me this.
Speaker B:She's like, aaron, would you like to try out for this?
Speaker B:We agreed.
Speaker B:I auditioned and I got plenty of auditions after I got my management agencer.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:So what, like, if you could dream, like, this is the part I want to play.
Speaker A:Is there a, like a character or something out there that you're like, this is the part I would love to play.
Speaker B:I would love to do a comedy or an action.
Speaker B:I kind of want to be like young Bruce Lee.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, that'd be really cool.
Speaker A:They should do, you know, like, they have that, you know, like a young Sherlock Holmes.
Speaker A:They have shows like that.
Speaker A:They need a young Bruce Lee show.
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:There we go.
Speaker A:That would be you.
Speaker A:And then I will be able to be like, guys, I interviewed that guy.
Speaker A:He was.
Speaker A:I knew him before.
Speaker A:That'd be cool.
Speaker A:Okay, awesome.
Speaker A:So now are you doing for that acting?
Speaker A:Are you.
Speaker A:Are there trainings that you're doing?
Speaker A:Are you taking classes?
Speaker A:Are you just practicing with people?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker B:I practice with Hana many times and I have My own acting coach named Samuel Warren.
Speaker A:And is that like a.
Speaker A:You know, I don't know anything about acting.
Speaker A:Are you like a weekly, you know, a couple times a week, Every couple of weeks.
Speaker A:What's the.
Speaker A:And you're going in and you're probably reading lines and trying different things.
Speaker B:So there's an acting class, right?
Speaker B:We go to the acting class every single Saturday.
Speaker B:We practice there many times.
Speaker B:He critiqued us, he gives us lines, he gives us scripts, he gives us scenes.
Speaker B:And if we don't get what right, he makes us do it again.
Speaker B:And we just keep reading it and we do.
Speaker B:We learn two more each week.
Speaker A:Okay, I'm guessing, how has your martial arts training helped carry over into your acting training?
Speaker B:Definitely the life skills that has helped me into this store.
Speaker B:Taekwondo has helped me fulfill this role because taekwondo also helped me with my confidence and my determination, sir.
Speaker A:Oh, that's great.
Speaker A:I mean, and being an actor, it takes a lot of.
Speaker A:A lot of determination.
Speaker A:I've talked to senior master Tyquan Lee from ATA headquarters.
Speaker A:Is, you know, he, he tried out, would do some acting things, and he said, you know, going in there and trying out and getting, you know, turned away and what.
Speaker A:That takes a lot of, a lot of perseverance.
Speaker B:It's also somewhat like a tournament.
Speaker B:There's many amazing people all there competing just for one rule.
Speaker A:That's a good, that's a good analogy.
Speaker A:I mean, it is a lot like trying to be a world champ.
Speaker A:You know, there's only a few people get.
Speaker A:Get that title, so.
Speaker A:Very cool.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I love these goals.
Speaker A:That's super exciting.
Speaker A:Now, what does it mean to you to be an athlete that goes beyond the belt?
Speaker B:Going beyond the belt, to me personally, is that working hard every single day and focusing on one thing, not just like not paying attention to everything.
Speaker B:You just need to focus on one thing and stick to that one thing.
Speaker B:I've been focusing on training, acting and my schoolwork because I know if I get this, then I'll have a big and bright future.
Speaker B:And that is what going beyond the boat means to me.
Speaker A:I love that.
Speaker A:Using that determination, that focus outside of your martial arts, staying focused on those goals, those things you're working on, working hard on that.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:Congratulations, sir, on being an athlete of the week.
Speaker A:Congratulations on your district titles already.
Speaker A:And then we're going to see at Worlds, right?
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:And then on the red carpet.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for your time today and we'll see you Worlds.
Speaker B:See you soon.
Speaker A:We just continue to keep having great athletes.
Speaker A:I don't know about you guys, but I saw some amazing athletes and got to see some of the athletes that have been on the show at District Championships this weekend and I am thrilled to get to see a bunch of them, most of them at World Championships.
Speaker A:It is not too late to register for the Super 20.
Speaker A:The Super 20 is a tournament open to anyone and everyone.
Speaker A:It's not too late to register for that.
Speaker A:And some amazing seminars going on at World Championships.
Speaker A:I'm going, you'll see me there.
Speaker A:I am getting, I think I'm going to get a little bling that I'm going to bring there and try to get some YouTube subscribers, those kind of things.
Speaker A:So it's going to be a lot of fun between now and then.
Speaker A:I have a very, very busy schedule with this summer.
Speaker A:Lots of things going on, some travel, some other things.
Speaker A:And so the episodes will continue to be a little light.
Speaker A:We're going to try to make sure we get them out to you on a weekly schedule.
Speaker A:As you know, for those of you who've been around for a long time in the podcast, I don't want, I would highly suggest you go back and listen to the archives.
Speaker A:But we used to do this only twice a month.
Speaker A:Now we're doing it every single week and we got athletes of the week in there and at World Championships.
Speaker A:I plan on getting some additional interviews with some high ranks, some different people that we can bring onto the podcast.
Speaker A:There's a lot going on and we are not always able to stay ahead of it.
Speaker A:I know this weekend also there is the Athlete Development camp in Little Rock.
Speaker A:So some of you guys will be there while you're there.
Speaker A:Maybe between matches you can pop up on your phone and watch the live awards nominations.
Speaker A:On Saturday you'll be in the middle sweating a bunch, probably in your third or fourth T shirt change by that time.
Speaker A:But maybe we'll hear from some of some of you out there how athlete Development Camp went.
Speaker A:We would love to see that.
Speaker A:Until next time, make sure you hit that subscribe button on YouTube and your favorite podcast player and get out there and go beyond the Belt ATA Nation podcast.
Speaker A:Be sure to subscribe and share with your ATA family.
